how can i clean the front of my jbl lsr4328p speakers?

[avpmusik]

i've had these speakers for about 4 years, and i have no idea what happened, but it seems like over time, the front of my speakers, minus the cone.. have this sticky residue on it. i tried to gentley rub it with a rag with the smallest amount of water to see if the sticky residue would go away and it seemed to of made it even worse.

i tried to google my answer on speaker cleaning maintenance and didnt get any answers, so i was wondering if you guys had any ideas on what i could do to
clean the frontside of my speakers.

thanks

[Mykv]

I'm glad you posted this! I've had my 4328P's for about three years now and a few months ago I noticed the same thing. The residue seems to be getting worse almost like the face of the monitors are melting. Even the buttons on the front are getting sticky now. I tried cleaning an area with a soft damp cloth and like you, it made the situation worse. I love these monitors so I'm hoping there is an easy way to clean them. I called JBL a couple of weeks ago and I have been playing phone tag with one of the representatives. I'm going to call them tomorrow. If I get in touch with them I will post the results. If you find out anything, please post!

[Mykv]

I called tech support this morning and they were really no help. The only thing tech support could recommend was using a damp cloth. I told the guy that I can literally push my finger on the monitor face plate and it would leave an imprint. I also told him that because of the residue, the front buttons are getting sticky. He said that the only thing he could recommend was using the damp cloth. My monitors are still under the 4 year warranty and I'm pretty sure I'll be sending them in to have them take a look. I left a message for the original person that called me a few weeks ago. Hopefully they will have a different answer.

[Mykv]

I just got a call back from JBL. They asked me to send them in for evaluation. The cool thing about their customer service is that they respond pretty fast...I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

[avpmusik]

Originally Posted by Mykv

I just got a call back from JBL. They asked me to send them in for evaluation. The cool thing about their customer service is that they respond pretty fast...I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

i looked for their pro speaker tech supprt number and couldnt find one.
are you going to send yours in? do they cover shipping?
the speakers are pretty heavy and i would imagine it would cost alot to ship.

[Mykv]

Yeah, I'm going to be sending them in. Unfortunately, they do not cover the shipping. I get a discount on shipping through my work because shipping to JBL is considered business to business. I'll see if I can get the cost for shipping without the discount. I live in Laguna Beach so it can't be much more than San Diego.

The customer service rep said that I could take them in on my own if I wanted which I might do if the cost is astronomical. Here's their address and phone number:

JBL Professional Customer Service
Attention: Repairs
8500 Balboa Blvd., Dock 15
Northridge, CA 91329
USA
(818) 895-3479

During the day they have a receptionist but this will connect to a CS rep named Jenny if the switchboard does not answer. Also, they are only open Tuesday-Thursday.

I have a friend out in PA that turned me on to these monitors. We bought them roughly at the same time. He has the exact same problem but thought it was due to his project studio being in the basement of his house and the humidity down there. He may be sending his back too.

[Matt Grabe]

I'm having the same issue with my LSR4328's.

[Wesley Krusher]

Same issue here! Interested to hear what (if anything) JBL has to say about it.

[drBill]

No such problems with my 28P's but they all have the carbon fibre front panels. However, my experience with JBL Pro Speaker support is fantastic. They take care of their customers. Good luck!

[themainbitch]

use a blow dryer and that can knock some of the loose dust off start with the dryer on low first to make sure nothing is loose inside. If nothing moves around on the low setting bump it up to med/high or high and blow dry atleast 1 foot away.

[NEWTON IN ORBIT]

If under warranty, send em' back. If outta warranty, try rubbing alcohol, first testing on somewhere out of sight.

Has the sound changed any? Could it be leaky caps? Are they active speakers?

I have no idea what this could be, aside maybe some adhesive used in the manufacturing process.

Sucks.

Good luck,
john

[Mykv]

Thanks. No the sound has not changed any. They still sound amazing. It's a protective/cosmetic issue with the face plate not the cones. The residue is like a polish or wax they used on the outside but it is getting tackier/stickier over time. Yeah, the warranty is the way to go. I'm sending them back next week and I'll keep you posted on the results.

[superwack]

Same thing is happening to my 4326s - clearly there is some sort of issue with the materials JBL used... please do report what you find out - I may run mine over tomorrow as I'm in LA (out of warranty though)

[SoundEng1]

Same thing going on here, sticky adhisive like residue.

[superwack]

Update: just dropped my 4326's off @ JBL. They said that this seems to be happening to a "group" of the speakers but stopped short of admitting a problem (not surprised and didn't expect they would)

Was told they would evaluate the speakers and would have to replace the entire enclosure as there was no fix.

My pair are about a year out of warranty - the speakers have been getting stickier for years - so I'm hoping I won't get charged (they wouldn't say either way)

I was told it would take at least 2 weeks before they get back to me. I'll post what I find out.

[mikeka]

... And happening here on my 4328's (about 2 years old). Stickiness mainly on the rubber-like surround that seems to hold the front panel to the enclosure. Thanks to the OP for bringing this up! Seems to be widespread (gulp).

[superwack]

I would encourage anyone having this issue (even slightly as it will get worse and, as JBL told me, there is no fix and cleaning them will not work) to contact Jenny at JBL (818) 895-3479 - she is aware of the issue with my set and with member MyKv's - maybe if everyone calls/sends in their speakers at once JBL will do a recall which would cover shipping, repair, etc. I'm lucky enough to live near JBL but for others, shipping these speakers will be costly.

[phillysoulman]

No problem with my 6328 ps
I love them

[Mykv]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be dropping mine off this Thursday. Thought I could ship them but was having problems finding boxes big enough to fit them.

[squeegybug]

I have this same thing with several remote controls.

That soft rubberized finish seems to leach plasticizers or something, makes it sticky and eventually completely unusable.

I'll be interested to read JBL's response here. If many of these are still under warranty then they might be very busy.

Maybe if it costs them enough money then finally manufacturers will stop using that rubber junk on electronic products.

Steve

[radguitars]

I'm redoing my studio and noticed this just a day ago and asked my wife if she thought this was weird. Sticky, tacky and nasty. Good for some things but definitely not for professional monitors. I google searched the problem only to find this is an issue for sure. I contacted Jenny as per the above post and she talked me through what to do. I bought these in 2008 and have the receipt here in front of me. The timing is right since my studio will be pulled apart for remodeling. Thanks to everyone who posted the great info on who to call and where to go. I too live here in CA so I will drop them off in the original boxes.

Thanks!

[mikeka]

Originally Posted by radguitars

I contacted Jenny as per the above post and she talked me through what to do.

So what did she say? I called her and left a detailed message a few days before xmas and haven't heard back. I'll be in L.A. in a few weeks and would love to drop 'em off.

[radguitars]

Originally Posted by mikeka

So what did she say? I called her and left a detailed message a few days before xmas and haven't heard back. I'll be in L.A. in a few weeks and would love to drop 'em off.

The above post has the info I got. A receipt is a must. You can drop them off or ship them to the above address. Jenny was cool and it will take about 2 1/2 weeks to evaluate then they will notify me.

That's all I found so I hope that helps.

[mikeka]

Thanks rad ..... do keep us posted!

[imaginaryday]

i am having the same problem with the rubberized coating. it feels as the rubber is melting away. the lint from the cleaning cloth seems to stick to the rubber.

[Julian J. Ludwig]

I was thinking of buying 5 of them! By now, I'm not sure. It seems to me a serious problem in the material used.

It would be great to get feedback from JBL.

[tdg911]

I am so glad this post came up yet on the other hand I know what you all are going through with these kickass monitors. I purchased 2 LSR-4328P monitors along with the LSR-4312SP subwoofer in March 2008. These monitors are hooked up to an M-Audio mobile pre for playback from my Yamaha Motif XS8 and Mac Pro for playing some music now and then.

My office is a NON smoking environment, air conditioned to 71-72F year round and I have never used any cleaning solution on the enclosures. Last year I noticed the front bezels "melting". I can't even dust them now!

I contacted JBL in California last year about this identical issue that you all are experiencing. I had explained my situation and I was told to "send them in for evaluation. We do not know if the warranty will cover them". Round trip shipping for me is $600.00! My response was "I'm not going to gamble on a $600 hunch. You should cover this". Hell, even a local JBL service center wanted to charge me $75.00 just to look at them. Seriously? Take them out of the box to look at the face? $75 dollars?

Here's the deal, it's not the $600 that has ticked me off, it's the fact that JBL will not acknowledge that they do in FACT have a defect with these enclosures and they will not honor their warranty, period.

I hope that we can all get together on this to show the JBL folks that this is more widespread than they first thought.

I love the monitors, it's the best sounding speaker I've heard. But the fronts look like they've been to hell and back when the rest of my studio/office looks pristine.

It boils down to this... What good is it when buying the "best" product when you cannot get support on it? I'm seriously considering purchasing another high end set of monitors from another manufacturer but I'm in love with the sound. I hope JBL see's this post (come monday it's time for me to open up this issue with JBL again since a lot more people are having issues, thanks to the OP for posting this).

Happy new Years all!

T

[Mykv]

I took my monitors in to JBL this past Thursday. Like Superwack, my monitors are no longer under warranty (I thought they were)...I've had them for just about 5 years. I was basically told the same thing as Superwack's earlier post. If you are bringing them to JBL for repair, I would still bring the receipt even if it's out of warranty. The customer service rep did photo copy it. They are evaluating my monitors so we'll see what they come back with. He did not tell me either way if I would be charged for the repairs. Hopefully I'll have them back soon because I hate having to mix strictly with my old monitors...

[tdg911]

Thanks for the update. I think if we all keep hounding JBL about this something positive will get done. I've called them this morning several times this morning and still haven't heard back from anyone. I left voicemail for Alfonso (manager). I called the number that was posted in this thread and jumped out of voicemail for Jenny. Just an FYI.

[superwack]

Update: Jenny called me today and told me that JBL evaluated my speakers and that they are going to swap out my cabinets - FOR NO CHARGE!!! - should be done by the end of the week!

Super excited - Will post when I get them back!!!