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View Full Version : The last pair of JBL's I'm gonna buy (for now...) <8^)



Regis
06-11-2008, 08:11 AM
The SoCal Craigslist Lotto paid off yesterday. Scanning the OC Craigslist and typing in JBL, an ad for a pair of 4315's popped up and my adrenaline level just jumped. The pair looked like in excellent condition and the seller was asking $400. They had walnut cabs and the grills and nameplates were on it. The ad just got posted, so the vast army of Search Bots of JBL Ebay'rs didn't catch it yet, but I did!

I was on the phone within seconds and made the deal, got four fresh C-notes and was on the freeway within a half hour. Gawd, was I excited. I've been wanting a decent pair of 4-ways for a long time and add to that, a pair in the legendary JBL Blue. I love my L-300's, but to have a pair of nice four ways is good too.

I got there and I know they weigh about a 100 pounds or so, but it was still surprising how big these guys were. The cabs were in excellent condition with no water damage on top and only a couple of small knicks. The grills were in great shape with only a dust build-up on the upper beveled edges. I circled the pair in the middle of the living room and the paper tags were still on the back. They are not bi-ampable as equiped, but that's fine with me. I pulled the grills off and sure enough, the surrounds on the woofer and the midrange suffered the usual surround rot and shreds of foam laid in the bottom of the grills. The serial numbers were sequential as well. I hid my elation carefully and handed over four franklins for them.

Apparently, the seller was a young man in his early twenties and they were his Dad's speakers. He helped me load them up in the Focus Wagon and I drove home with that JBL high, that comes from scoring an excellent deal! They are not going on Ebay. They are not getting parted out. They are mine!

Getting them home I had a bud help me carry them in. The 4315's are taller than my L-300's and nearly just as wide! They are a big pair of speak's! They are not as deep, but aren't that far from it either. I hooked them up to the vintage ESS Eclipse Amplifier (the L-300's are running off the Perreaux) and I put on the recent digitally remaster of the Eagles 'Hotel California' and punched in the first track on the Sony CD-Pro player. Moderate volume level here, just want to try them out.

The deep and warm bass of the first guitar note filled the room and even with most of the foam missing, they sounded very detailed and clean. The girlfriend kind of freaked on how big they were and I had to promise that I'm not going to bring any more big speakers home! She even made me sign a promissary note! But I added that if I sold the two pairs (L-300's and 4315's), I could bring a new pair home (read Array or 4343, or 44 or even 45...):D

Fred Sanford
06-11-2008, 08:18 AM
:applaud:

Nice work...need more pics.

je

briang
06-11-2008, 08:24 AM
Cool!:applaud:

Don Mascali
06-11-2008, 08:25 AM
"and I drove home with that JBL high, that comes from scoring an excellent deal!"

These things are like crack ina box.
We'll need JBLAnonymous soon!:applaud:

oznob
06-11-2008, 08:29 AM
Excellent score Regis, congrats! Johnaec has a lot of experience with the 4315 and I'm sure would be willing to give you a hand with getting them dialed in. Since you are in SoCal, keep Edgewound in mind for the surround job, he does excellent work!

Again, congrats!:applaud:

Mark

Chas
06-11-2008, 08:42 AM
Great deal. I would love to have a pair of those. Never seen them in the flesh, but they seem very nicely proportioned.
Enjoy.:)
PS Is the GF a lawyer?:D

Regis
06-11-2008, 08:47 AM
Excellent score Regis, congrats! Johnaec has a lot of experience with the 4315 and I'm sure would be willing to give you a hand with getting them dialed in. Since you are in SoCal, keep Edgewound in mind for the surround job, he does excellent work!

Again, congrats!:applaud:

Mark

Thanks all! And I will get in touch with Johnaec and Edgewound. I also tracked your recent SVA acquisition and I've always wanted a pair of those (especially after Ti-Dome rants on and on, on how great they are), but the GF would kill me!

BMWCCA
06-11-2008, 09:59 AM
but the GF would kill me!There are plenty more girls in the world. But, like JBLs, the good ones at the right price seem to be kind of scarce! Keep working on her. And remember, it's easier sometimes to ask for forgiveness than permission.

-married for 27 years . . . to the same woman!

mech986
06-11-2008, 08:04 PM
Hey Regis,

Nice Score!! You must have had quite a drive from Palmdale to the OC where these were - usually about 2 hours?

We need to start a 4315 club here as I had a pair delivered a couple of weeks ago from Utah. Yours have the grille logo/labels and mine don't. Drivers sound like they are in the same condition and you will find Edgewound's prices to be very agreeable for repairs to these drivers.

Show us a few pics with the grilles off.

Bart

mech986
06-11-2008, 08:09 PM
Here's the thread on mine.

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=21254&highlight=4315%2A

I would assume from your pic and description they look pretty similar. Do yours have the A letter on the end of the serial number?

Bart

Regis
06-12-2008, 07:54 AM
Hey Regis,

Nice Score!! You must have had quite a drive from Palmdale to the OC where these were - usually about 2 hours?

We need to start a 4315 club here as I had a pair delivered a couple of weeks ago from Utah. Yours have the grille logo/labels and mine don't. Drivers sound like they are in the same condition and you will find Edgewound's prices to be very agreeable for repairs to these drivers.

Show us a few pics with the grilles off.

Bart

Thanks! And yes, the drive was relatively traffic free on I-5 and the 55 and I made it in 2 hrs (good guess!). 2 hours back too! Just good timing. I had just taken pics last night, and hope to post them soon. I checked out your thread and mine are in very similiar shape. You scored good too! Aren't they beautiful? Last night, I ran them carefully and I really was amazed at how tight, crisp and solid they sound.

I love my L-300's but the problem with a three way, is that the woofer has to do that job of covering the lower mid-range, while covering the bass too. I notice that with the 4315's, while listening to very familiar smooth jazz CD's, such as the Bob James Trio, the 4315 reproduces the piano details much more faithfully. The 2405 midrange has no problem with laying back, that's for sure! The bass (even with rotted surrounds) is surprisingly fast and well-defined. I love these speakers! The four drivers seem to trade off the frequencies they cover seamlessly.

The JBL Gods definitely have smiled on the both of us!:D

PS: Mine have the "A" at the end of the SN too...

Krunchy
06-12-2008, 08:35 AM
Congrats Regis! :applaud:
Great deal, the Gods have definitely smiled down on you my friend.
When's the next batch of pictures coming? :D

Enjoy!

Audiobeer
06-21-2008, 06:10 PM
I just don't get finds like these here in the Midwest! Great job! :applaud:

Regis
06-23-2008, 08:06 AM
Yep, Craigslist is good, but it wasn't easy. Even out here, you'd better be ready to leave work immediately and call within minutes! Last Friday, I drove to Upland to drop off the woofers and mid-basses for refoaming by Edgewound. It was a pleasure finally meeting Ken and I must've stayed there for an easy hour or more. Sure learned a lot!

Also, I have to fess up and confess that I was wrong about the L-300's. Playing them together (and they play well together), the 4315's midbass and midrange were noticeably louder than the big Summits. In fact, the L-300's sounded kind of dead compared to the 4315's (except for the low end and the big 15's go really low).

After dropping off the speakers, I only had the L-300's to listen to. I pulled the grills and sat back and was listening to them and of course, looking at the label, which has the speaker adjustment control. A little voice in my head said "Hey Stupid! Yah, you! I'm talking to you! Those are speaker adjustments idiot! You can adjust them as you please" I got up and turned up the present and brilliance a few notches and you can guess the results. Suddenly, the L-300's were performing on-par with what I thought the 4315's were. The sparkle and shine was there. The detail was there! No $hit sherlock. I felt like a dumb-a$$ for disrespecting the big beasts on this forum, so please accept my apologies.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to picking up the 4315 drivers this Friday. I cleaned the grills yesterday and they are mint! I can hardly wait.

pos
06-23-2008, 08:36 AM
I think you are supposed to do it the other way, lowering the mids and highs on the 4315, according to Greg Timbers himself:
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=94921&postcount=12


The 4315 requires that the HF and UHF L-Pads be turned down considerably below the "0" setting or the system is too bright.

Regis
06-23-2008, 09:02 AM
I think you are supposed to do it the other way, lowering the mids and highs on the 4315, according to Greg Timbers himself:
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=94921&postcount=12


Thank You! And yes, I saw that thread when I was researching the 4315's that I purchased, and I agree with you (but they sound so damn good like that though!). Is it possible that 'flat and accurate' gets trumped by typical 'JBL Midbass Hump', West Coast style sound? Is it possible that I'm misleading myself and that maybe I'll see the error of my ways and correct it eventually? Time will tell and thanks for the thoughts.

Titanium Dome
06-23-2008, 11:33 AM
Well, we are on the West Coast.

Regis
06-23-2008, 12:09 PM
Well, we are on the West Coast.

Yes we are, though you're a lot closer than I am! T'was funny though, comparing the ports on the 4315's to the L-300's. The 4315's have a single flashlight sized hole and the L-300's have a 105mm Howitzer hole that you can stick your whole arm in. I believe the L-65's have bigger ports, though the cabs are smaller. Supposedly, the 2203 can be tuned downed to 25 hz depending on the enclosure, but the specs indicate 35hz.

We'll see Friday afternoon, when I get the 12's and the 8's back in. The 12's have the same magnet as the 15's and each Alnico driver weighs 13 pounds...:D

Regis
06-26-2008, 07:33 AM
Sorry for the blurry image on one of the pic's, the camera was misbehaving, but one of them came out OK....

Krunchy
06-26-2008, 06:46 PM
Looking good Regis, you got the 12's & 8's back, how are the 4315's sounding now that you dialed in the L300's?

mech986
06-26-2008, 08:28 PM
Hi Regis,

Just was wondering, did you rebuild the bases on the L300's? From the photo, they seem a little higher than I remember, but it might just be the angle from the camera's perspectiive?

Is this a before photo, 'cause the woofer surrounds still look a little irregular.

bart

Regis
06-30-2008, 08:18 AM
Looking good Regis, you got the 12's & 8's back, how are the 4315's sounding now that you dialed in the L300's?

Thanks! Forgive the late reply, I access from a work PC and I've been gone on my every-other-Friday-off Friday. Sir Edgewound is going to have them ready this week and I'll get them Thursday in my mitts.

From the earlier session, even with the 4315's woofers as they were, they seemed like they'd play well with the L-300's (aka 4333). I believe that they have about the same sensitivity (correct me if I'm wrong!). When I had the 250 ti's next to them a good while back, the L-300's were a good deal louder at 1 watt and up than the 250's, so that wouldn't have been a good combo. But the 4315-L-300 pairing might just work!

Regis
06-30-2008, 08:24 AM
Hi Regis,

Just was wondering, did you rebuild the bases on the L300's? From the photo, they seem a little higher than I remember, but it might just be the angle from the camera's perspectiive?

Is this a before photo, 'cause the woofer surrounds still look a little irregular.

bart

Gawd, you are one sharp-eyed devil! Yes, I did have the bases rebuilt and they are a good half inch higher than stock. The appearance changed and they seemed 'less squatty' looking. Also, yes, this is a before photo (good eye!). The drivers will be in this weekend (whoo-hoo!). Also, have to get ahold of my woodworking buddy to build some tilt-back speaker stands with wheels (and maybe skirting to hide the casters).

I'd like to tilt them back at the same angle as the L-300 front baffle. They basically live next to each other by the stereo and I move them to the sides when I'm going to listen to them. Gotta have room to move the bicycles in and out, as we ride three to four times a week.