I'm back with my 4430's. My feedback requested for another idea.

First, thanks to ALL for the help and feedback ("Upgrading the 4430 monitors"). I can see some great projects on the horizon for me....as soon as I get the time for cabinet building. But, I just figured out most of my summer schedule. Insane. That great project just may not happen this summer or.... time/time/time and always time. I would really enjoy it, though. Yes, I know, I need to build me some 4343b's or 4345's....and I want to!

What about this: Use what I have now to make it work just for now, drawing on the strengths that I have.

Temporary makeshift solution. (O.K. start to cringe). My B&W 640's just play circles around the 4430's in the mid and treble. They do not distort at high volume treble the way the 4430's do and they are just much better balanced in the treble. I know that you told me that the 4430's are junk. The 4430's do sound good down low--a lot better than the B&W's, which go below 50 Hz. but just are not very tight or accurate in the lower bass.

Proposal: Use both. B&W crossing over to 4430's @ about 250 or 300 Hz.

1) I already have the amps to bi-amp. I would need to procure the crossovers.

2) Although the JBL's are supposed to be 3 db more efficient, they sound identical in efficiency as the B&W's to my ear (same stepped volume control setting , exact same source material, exact same listening postition). It's really, really, close--cannot actually hear a loudness difference. Kinda spooky, coincidental that it would come out this way.

3) Impedance is (at least nominally) the same.

Question 1: does this sound workable? I think it's worth the experiment.

________

Crossovers. It doesn't look hard to buy a JBL 5235. It does look hard to buy the right cards.

Question 2: Is it overly difficult to procure the right cards?

Question 3: What frequency to crossover? 250, 300, other?

Question 3b: rolloff at 12 or 18 db/octave? Does it matter?

Question 4: Can the 5235 handle an unbalanced input?

Other suggestions? Again, I'm trying to avoid cabinet building for the moment, mostly because I see a stalled out cabinet project in my near future.

As always, Thanks!! What a great group.

Monte
Indianapolis