4301Bs versus L46s

Greetings all.

I am replacing a fried system with a vintage componants as a new hobbie. I am basically clueless but have been learning through different forums here and there.

Before I knew what I was really doing I purchased the L46s just becuase they were in the price range and seemed cosmetically OK. And, what little I did know was that JBL made good speakers. That is basically it. Then, I got a little "bid happy" and purchased the 4301Bs just in case they sounded good too. Only after reading the various forums did I discover that I did a "good thing."

I have had the L46s for about a week and the 4301Bs should arrive in the next couple of days. The L46s are a jaw dropping step up from my old Advent 1002s. But, because of space (my home office) only one can prevail. My question is which of the two speakers is the most durable and will give me less trouble. Which of the two speakers are easier to maintain and repair should it be needed. I like to "feel" my music.

Best Wishes

DK

I just refoamed a pair of LX44's. Don't know how close they are. My point is that my woofer needed to have the surround glued on the back of the woofer which was a pain. I see many people make the mistake of glueing it on the front of the surround. Other than that they are really well constucted, Easy to get into and the board is easily accessed when the woofer is taken out. There were no + or - listed on the speaker terminals so make note of that. I dont know if that is common place for JBLs. That's all I got. Welcome to the forum. I think I may recognize your Dark Night name from another site....AK?

I like my L46s, but the rubber surrounds on the woofers did need replacing on all of them. The 034 tweeters are getting harder to find replacements for, but I have yet to blow one (cracked one terminal being ham-handed, but managed to fix it).

Not familiar with the 4301B.

je

Thank you. Yes, I am also posting on AK. I may post this question there too. But I wanted a targeted JBL audience, although there seems to be a JBL fan club at AK too.

What is really interesting as I surf the two forums, are the posts about find vintage JBL speakers fresh in the box after all these years. There was a 4301B post like that in around Christmas here. I would have taken them in a heart beat. There are a pair of JBL L100s just like that on the auction house now. However that is was too much coin for me to spend and still stayed married.

DK

in my opinion the L46's and the 4301's sound better than the L100 so dont even bother with those. I do personally own both speakers and depending on my mood depends on which one I like better, my L46's are a very pleasing speaker to listen too. Some recording's I find them to be a little less forgiving in the high end (they do play higher though) than the 4301's. I mix to my 4301's a lot I guess I just have gotten used to them for that and wouldnt take many other monitors. They have a frightening amount of low end for such a little speaker. Both could use the support of a sub if you really want any good bass though. On the repair aspect it would be the 4301's that take it there are still parts everywhere for them. I guess the best thing you can do is listen to them both and decide which ones suit your needs more

That is just the type of info that I was looking for. Thanks. I would love to keep both but it is just not possible. The units are literally supposed to fit into a book case that does span one wall. So, only one pair can fit. I guess a "real" audiophile would get rid of enough books to make room for both.

DK

I feel your pain DK. Me and the fiance had a nice "conversation" on the fact that I have 8 speakers in the living room. :banghead: She just doesn't understand the whole stereo thing. I would bet to guess her perfect system is a bose clock radio but I digress. The LX-44's are very bright also compared to any other speaker I have owned. There are things that I am hearing on my CDs that I have never heard before. :D

I have a couple of friends who have "skills" that allow them to take "side" jobs and stash money away to purchase more gear. What I can't understand out is how and/or why the wives don't figure out something is going on when the room gets more crowded with new gear. My wife would notice the addition of a new egg-timer from 50 yards away.

DK