JBL 2370A Horn with Pyle PDS442

JBL 2370A Horn with Pyle PDS442

For those on a shoe-string budget, consider this compression driver from Pyle. The PDS442 cost only $24 at Parts Express. One would think that at such a low price, the performance would be inferior. Not with Pyle. I find their compression drivers to be usable and excellent value for money. Here’s the proof.

Fig 1 – JBL 2370A with Pyle PDS442 RAW Frequency Response.

Fig 1 is the RAW response of the 2370A horn with the Pyle PDS442 compression driver. The microphone was on axis with the horn at a distance of 2 FT. No smoothing was applied.

The response looks very similar to the PRV D280Ti. What sets it apart are the two notches at 9kHz and 12kHz. The response is surprisingly smooth. No EQ necessary to eliminate “honking” that horns are notorious for. 

There is no datasheet from Pyle so the minimum crossover frequency is unknown. For home use, it should not be a problem at 2kHz~2.2kHz (12dB). For DJs (as in mobile discos), I would cross at those frequencies with a 24dB/oct LR electronic crossover. If passive, slightly higher up at 2.5kHz (12dB) for robustness.

Fig 2 – JBL 2370A with Pyle PDS442 Impedance

The Impedance plot of the Pyle PDS442 with the JBL 2370A (Fig 2) shows a single peak at 1400Hz. That simplifies things. I may just be able to get away from not using a conjugate network if I cross at 2.5kHz. That will save some cost.

Fig 3 – Spectrograms of JBL 2370A with Pyle PDS442

The top Spectrograms in Fig 3 shows a hot spot at 2.5kHz followed by a lesser one at 3.8kHz. They are the peaks in the FR in Fig 1.

The artifacts in the lower Spectrogram do not last more than 3msec. This combo sounds “clean”. I don’t expect any coloration.

Fig 4 – Waterfall of JBL 2370A with Pyle PDS442

The Waterfall plot in Fig 4 shows artifacts at 8kHz and 18kHz. They will not degrade the sound quality as they do not last more than 1msec.

Fig 5 – ToneBurst Energy Storage of JBL 2370A with Pyle PDS442

The light blue slices in Fig 5 are the unwanted energy in the response. In an ideal response, they should not be there. Seems that there is a burst at 5Khz, followed by another at 10kHz. This is reflected in the Waterfall plot. 

Fig 6 –  Harmonic Distortion of JBL 2370A with Pyle PDS442

It is in the Harmonic Distortion plots that we see some noticeable differences between the Selenium D220Ti and a really cheap Pyle PDS442.

The 2nd Harmonic shot up to 1.26% whereas the D220Ti came in at 0.3%. Even the 3rd Harmonic is worse. It’s now at 0.202%. The D220Ti was at 0.075%.

Would I use this cheap Pyle PDS442?

Why not. It works and works well. If you don’t have a lot of cash to spend but are lucky enough to have a JBL 2370A horn in hand, the Pyle PDS 442 will do the job.

Though the Harmonic Distortion is higher the the Selenium D220Ti and the PRV D280Ti, it’s a small penalty to pay. Spending less means more cash in the pocket.

Note that the JBL2370A mount is 3-bolt whereas the Pyle PDS442 is screw. I used an Eminence S2B-A adapter to mate the two. No issues encountered as can be seen in Fig 1.

Unless otherwise stated, all measurements were made in Full Space (4 pi) with the mic at 36 ins, tweeter axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No smoothing applied.