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...)