JBL 4343... What can you teach me?

[Markd51]

Probably one of the top 5 most highly revered of the 4300 series of monitors.

Probably the most revered, rare, and most expensive of the bunch today was the 4345 Monitor. As I understand, only 500 pair of these were made.

I ultimately wanted something like the 4343, knowing that the 4345 was way way beyond my monetary reach at the time. Thus I settled for the "poor man's 4343/4345, and bought a pair of mint 4430 monitors. I've been very happy with these.

Downside like you say on many of these Monitors was the Speaker connectors, many sporting the push pin type connectors. Thus no provision for Spades, and Bananas if desired. Still, some might say the best connector of all is no connector at all, just pure bare wire. In that case, one simply may trim an inch every 6-12 months for a clean corrosion free connection.

As for connectors, of course you want to do the job right, and I feel one shouldn't spare no expense in this area. Probably connectors from the likes of Cardas, or perhaps even the Edison Price Solid Copper connectors that I once installed on my 4 JBL L65 Jubals might be a good choice.

Not sure about WBT having models with long enough shanks that will completely pass through the mounting plate, but would imagine they make them as well.

With models such as yours, probably the best advice would be to do the least amount of harm. Parts that are liable to crap out over time (besides foam suspensions on drivers) would be things like the Caps, and the L-Pads. If your L-Pads are working fine, a good rule would be not to mess with them too much. Generally flat settings on them were the best.

If drivers ever need re-foaming, Orange County Speaker is probably the best bet. Those were the people who did the 2235H Drivers on my 4430 Monitors, the previous owner had them done just a month or so before I purchased them. First rate professional repairs is what Orange County is known for.

I was lucky acquiring my pair that came shipped freight (C&L) from Iowa to New Mexico. These that I have were never used in a studio, and the seller went through great lengths packing-crating them even better than the original JBL Packing.

Wish you the best of enjoyment, I know exactly how hard they are to acquire, and how hard such speakers are to part with.
Mark

[TWiiii]

They are only rated at 75 watts continuous which gives about 112 db at 1 meter. But I can imagine they can handle shorter peaks 6db higher as that was the normal practice at the time, But be careful they are not the power handling giants as some of JBL's speakers of today. That said you should enjoy many hours of terrific sound. You might consider upgrading the capacitors in the crossover. Having a flexible crossover will help you to balance the speaker to your room, too. Careful orientation in your listening space as well as your choicr of listening position are two important adjustable variables that need to be optimized for best reproduction. You might consider a processor from Lyngdorf, Mcintosh, or EQ's to touch up the balance a bit in your environment to get the last degree of high performance from your speakers. Good listening!

[zonker92]

Those are some beautiful speakers that I would love to hear. I'm delighted to see you're enjoying them so much. On the crossover, it sounds like you've already received a lot of good advice with regard to the binding posts, caps and L pads, although I might argue that adjusting the L pads is actually a good way to keep them from oxidizing.

My only additional comments would be (1) the hot glue that adheres the crossover components to the PC boards can be easily cut with a hot chisel or putty knife (I heat mine over a propane torch); and (2) it can be a nice upgrade to charge-couple the crossovers (bias them with a little DC current). That's how I did my 4435 crossovers. It's not simple but it's not rocket science either.

Also, if they have biamp switches, I have found that Greg Timbers's recommendation to bypass them is terrific advice: I found that the switch is a piece of crap that really chokes down the bass response. On my 4430s in particular, bypassing it opened up huge new realms of bass.

[Pampero]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

My 4343's were the Studio version in Blue. What you own is very rare, you can probably count on one hand speakers such as yours in mint condition.

The 4343 in walnut, black (as well as studio gray), were sold by the Pro division and were identical for any given vintage except for the cabinet veneers/treatment. In other words, all 4343s are "studio" versions. I was the JBL Professional division representative for the Pacific Northwest territory for the 31 years between 1979 and 2010 when I retired.

Yes, rare speakers. The bulk of pro monitors sold in the country at that time were the two and three ways ....4308, 4310 and 4311 or 4312B (with titanium tweeter...the B denoted the tweeter, not the color). The larger boxes such as the 4333, 4343/45 and especially the 4350 were rare sales in most parts of the country.