4350 Newbie

[JBLRaiser]

Heres the pics so far ........

And yes, the rugs have been removed and system has been considerably tidied up since

Cheers

'Nutz

anticipation quelled. Absolutely fine.

[Audionutz]

Good God you are one lucky man!!!

Yes indeed, and I endeavour not to forget it too often .......

[John]

the woofs should have all been reconed.

Hey Bo ,The woofs would of had to have been reconed at least once if they are the original 2230A woofers. All the first year 4350's had the white woofers in them.

[Audionutz]

Here's a better pic taken by the reviewer just this morning.

Cheers

'Nutz

[Woofer]

Couldn't you have moved the Speaks in a bit for the shot?
I can't fit the whole pic in my screen....

[Audionutz]

Couldn't you have moved the Speaks in a bit for the shot?
I can't fit the whole pic in my screen....

'Onya Grommet ! A bigger screen maybe ...? Or try looking around the corner a bit, you should be able to see it all then

As for moving them, as you know I'm only 5'2" and 150lbs dripping wet, that's easier said than done

[Woofer]

Yo, 'nutz...

It may be you are not accustomed to the big low-end of a "real" speaker and so the MF, HF and UHF are under-balanced (gain wise) for your taste. Working with the amp(s) output(s), using differential gain, you could achieve a balance more to your liking.

I think what 'nutz has forgotten to mention boputnam, is that he has on previous occasion, been the owner of many different ALTEC Multiplex speakers, (I think just about every different variety of the 604 ever made), and has also been the proud owner of a beautiful pair of Barcelonas prior to the Ushers.
There's also been a few JBL's along the way also.
... yes, and THAT's why he's 'nutz

Cheers.

[Woofer]

..... as you know I'm only 5'2" and 150lbs dripping wet.

Funny!!! You sound much BIGGER in ya emails!

[boputnam]

Boy, they are beautiful.

Thanks Bo, just tried inverting the lens and a definite improvement !

I didn't see the lense in any pictures - good to know you have them. I see you have the grilles, too - wow. Are they in good condition?
[/quote]

Hey Bo ,The woofs would of had to have been reconed at least once if they are the original 2230A woofers. All the first year 4350's had the white woofers in them.

Yer right, John - but there was a slightly later variant of the 4350 (see image) which had the 2231A woofs, which is what 'nutz's look like, to me. However, the bracket holding 'nutz's 2405 looks like from the first variant - maybe these are a mid-evolution copy!

Anxious to know the work Jands' did - there is some missing bits around the frames of the 2202A's and 2231A's suggesting they might not have got to everything...

[John]

Yer right, John - but there was a slightly later variant of the 4350 (see image) which had the 2231A woofs, which is what 'nutz's look like, to me. However, the bracket holding 'nutz's 2405 looks like from the first variant - maybe these are a mid-evolution copy!

The ones nutz has are from the first year of production. All of them had the 2230A woofers. By the way his have the black baffles so they are from the first batch of the first year. Very rare.

I have a pair of 4350's from the first year as well but with blue baffles that they switched to later in the year and they also have the 2230A woofers.

[Audionutz]

Boy, they are beautiful.

I didn't see the lense in any pictures - good to know you have them. I see you have the grilles, too - wow. Are they in good condition?

Yer right, John - but there was a slightly later variant of the 4350 (see image) which had the 2231A woofs, which is what 'nutz's look like, to me. However, the bracket holding 'nutz's 2405 looks like from the first variant - maybe these are a mid-evolution copy!

Anxious to know the work Jands' did - there is some missing bits around the frames of the 2202A's and 2231A's suggesting they might not have got to everything...

Grills are absolutely spotless Bo, as are the badges on them. Even got the "Grill Care" cards telling me how to treat them !

Defintely 2231a's in 'em too. One was pulled to inpsect by the first potential buyer. Which bits precisely are missing ?

[boputnam]

The ones nutz has are from the first year of production. All of them had the 2230A woofers. By the way his have the black baffles so they are from the first batch of the first year. Very rare.

Agreed, but (pretty...) clearly those are 2231A's. Someone has done some swapping of elements along the way. Not uncommon with vintage cabinets.

If you're sure they are 2231A's then I would suggest that somewhere in the 40 year life the owner installed new woofers

That there is what I'm wondering. Serial numbers will tell all...

Which bits precisely are missing ?

It's only a purely visual appraisal, but it seems some chunks of the (largely) cosmetic foam from atop the frames has been broken away. It is a non-issue.

[saeman]

Hi Audionutz: I saw your post some days ago but was not able to add my two cents into your questions about your 4350's. You might post the serial numbers from the baffle foil cals. This will confirm their age with a high degree of accuracy. Like John already said, the early black baffle 4350's came EXCLUSIVELY with the white aquaplas coated 2230A woofers.

The first version of the 4350, introduced in mid to late 1973, came with the white woofers 2230A and the foil cal says 4350 with a 5 digit serial number and no suffix. The very first models had black baffles on walnut veneer. This is easy to understand as at that time they were producing a couple other models that were also black baffled - 4320, 4330 I believe. Shortly into production they introduced the blue painted baffles that everyone knows. There's no way of telling how many pairs were produced with black baffles but cabinet serial numbers are helping me narrow it down. I have seen several blue baffle pairs with serials in the 10100 range - all with white woofs and early cabinet features. That would suggest that maybe no more than 50 pairs with black baffles were offered.

The serial numbers of my pair are 10027 and 10029. What are yours?

The second variation, referred to as the 4350A, had the same 4350 grille badges but the foil cal serial number had an A suffix. This model is most often what you see. The woofer was changed from the 2230A to the 2231A, which had a mass ring installed to replace the cone mass afforded by the aquaplas coating. All other components were the same. I believe also that the 3107 network was continued with little to no modification. The 2405 mount was changed from the split ring to the new 4 bolt square mounting flange. This change came about in mid to late 1974, same time as the 2231A.

Your cabinets are definately first few months of production with all early features - white grille pegs, square exterior covers over the unused mounting holes, screw heads visible on the baffle for bracing location and mid base box mounting and the split ring mount for the 2405.

For the 2231A's to be original these cabinets would have to have gone out the door with the 2231A's months later than the cabs were produced, i.e. already into 4350A production, and if so the serial numbers would most likely have the A suffix. The foil cals were serialized and placed on the cabinet as likely the last thing done since the l-Pad could not be mounted with a foil cal already installed.

If you're sure they are 2231A's then I would suggest that somewhere in the 40 year life the owner installed new woofers - or - this was a pair of cabinets that sat around for a period of time before being turned into a finished produce. In manufacturing this is a very common occurance. Again, let's see the serial numbers.

Before you posted your find the pair I have is the only pair I had ever seen or knew of. I bought them maybe 4 years ago and have since restored them to original. They came with a quad set of ratty JBL automotive 15" woofers installed but the owner had stored away the original white cone 2230A's, less their decaying lansaloy surrounds. I was lucky and was able to get them all serviced and put back into the cabinets.

Here is a couple pics of mine for your comparison. They are currently sitting unused along the back wall of my family room but I will eventually move them into playing position again.

Regards - Rick

[boputnam]

As well, Rick - 'nutz's have the darker framed 2202(A or H...?) woofer. Not the original, natural cork color. Does that tell us anything?

Either these are transitional, as you say, or updated along the way.

[saeman]

The C8R2202 kit now comes with surround gaskets that are black foam. To me this indicates that his 2202A's were reconed in the last few years. Years back the kit came with cork surround gaskets. I'm not sure when they dropped the cork and added the black foam. Nowadays if you want the original appearance of the cork, you need to order them separately from JBL. They (cork) are still standard with the E120 kit and a few others.

From my research the 2230A came with cork surround gaskets. This was a very short lived woofer and EVERYONE I have ever seen has a cone that was pulled from 135A production and used in JBL's new PRO basket. I have never seen an original untouched 2231A with cork gaskets, only black foam.

Some of you long time (old time) reconers might be able to add to these comments.