Well, first I have to say that I regret my good luck in getting these speakers was built in part on outdrawing andresohc. Sorry about that. May the gods smile on your BIN finger for the next one.

I didn't want to say anything the other night because I didn't have the speakers yet. Call me superstitious. The seller said local pick up only, which was fine with me, but I had been limping around town for a week with my fuel tank selector switch hanging out of the dashboard and only working on one side. That was not the way I wanted to head out into the central valley on a hot day. I had to phone all over the county for one and by the time a found one it was Friday afternoon, which meant I ran into traffic in a lot of places on the way.

I got back from Fresno with the speakers about 2 a m. The spouse and I discussed the situation at some length this morning, and at one point she wondered out loud if stamps or coins might work as a substitute hobby. But I went into a long monologue about the history of audio and Jim Lansing amd Altec Lansing and JBL and why these speakers were historically important and why I in particular wanted them despite the fact that I probably already owned a more advanced set of speakers. When I took her out to the truck to show her the speakers she was actually pleasantly surprised. Thank God for walnut veneer and grille cloth.

The seller was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet. The speakers had been his father's, and when he moved into a smaller place he offered them to his son. Whenever he tried to play them the voice coils began to knock, and the foam dust was collecting in the bottom of the grille frame, so he looked into what it would take to fix them and just never could bring himself to spend the money. Besides he had his Polk Audio speakers and they were fine. Not long ago his wife said, "Well, they ARE big, and the rooms in this house are not really very large," and that was that.

The foam on the 2231A's is gone of course, but I couldn't wait to get some idea of what they sound like. Recently I bought a pair of speakers someone built for home audio that had 2225H's in 8' infinite baffles, an 8" Pyle driver and a dome tweeter for playing classical music with a 35 watt amp. The woofers are like brand new, so I popped them in, checking to be sure that both the 2231 and the 2225 used the same JBL reversed polarity convention. Of course the bass is not properly tuned, but if anything they run up into the midrange better than the stock speakers.

In general the speakers are most impressive. They have a big wonderful, rich, relaxed, enjoyable sound. Even though I could identify shortcomings I still wanted to keep listening to the music coming out of the speakers.

I'm not set up to A/B speakers, but I tried to do a comparison of the two sets. I'm using a Phillips SA1000 through Cardas interconnects straight into a McIntosh solid state 200wpc amp. I made selections in music which did not rely particularly on the quality of the bass reproduction. At first I played a Karen Casey CD, because I am familiar with the CD and the quality of her voice, having heard her live. I have to say, I don't think the 4333a does a very good job of that. Francis A and Edward K is another story, however. Sinatra's voice cannot be heard, in my opinion, without a big relaxed speaker. Then I put on a Direct Stream Digital SACD of Murray Perahia playing Mozart Concertos. I listened to it all through on the 4333a's. Then I wheeled out the big speakers and put the LSR32's back in their place and am listening to it again. The differences are pronounced. The piano lacks presence with the 4333a. I will have to reserve judgement on this because this could easily result from misalignment of woofer and crossover. One thing I have never been quite satisfied with in the LSR32's is orchestral strings. In that regard the 4333a's work for me. They just make strings sound much more like what I remember them sounding like at Davies Hall, but the LSR's very nearly put the piano in the room.

I think what this means is that I like the treble of the large monitors with the 2405 and the compression driver/horn upper midrange. And I'm guessing that a four way with with the added cone midbass is going to give me the piano and the strings in one speaker. I have long thought that there is something about horn loading in the midrange and treble that communicates spatial information in a way that domes and cones cannot do it, and this experience confirms that again for me.

I'm looking forward to hearing the speakers with the stock woofers. What tweaks I attempt after that I can't say right now.

I want to express my appreciation for the many ways in which this forum has maintained the idea that the JBL large format monitors are a part of the audio legacy which should be preserved. I understand now Bo's notion of custodial responsibility. These speakers will be preserved as long as I have them and when it is time to send them along I will do my best to find them a good home.

Thanks,

David