JBL 4343B advice

[andnar]

Hello. I'm new to the community and am seeking advise. I have a pair of JBL 4343B. At the moment they are hooked up to NAD C375B for the Low End and Onkyo M 504 for the High end running through Ashley 1001 crossover. So in simple terms --in your best opinion what is the best way to hook these speakers up do i need a Bi-Amp? Something that is reasonable not total garbage but not something that will break the bank. (maybe a entry level, mid grade, and high end solution). Anyone familiar with the JBL 4343B any advise would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Andrey

[fast_mick]

Andrey

I cant help per se with the 4343B and biamping.


At one stage I had 4425's and used a Ashley 1001 to split the signal to 2 x power amps. One to power the 4425's and the other to power a 2 x Passive Subwoofers.

It sounded good but you lose some detail/resolution through the Ashley, i think this could be overcome with a better crossover. I also tried a JBL M552 its about the same quality as the Ashley.

Crossover wise there is a debate of Electronic vs Analogue.

I see on hifido you could get a suitable Accuphase F5 for around $500 plus shipping. They have some with various cards at a fixed crossover point. In the US you can buy Marchand these would be better than the Ashley also.

regards
Michael

[hjames]

Hello. I'm new to the community and am seeking advise. I have a pair of JBL 4343B. At the moment they are hooked up to NAD C375B for the Low End and Onkyo M 504 for the High end running through Ashley 1001 crossover. So in simple terms --in your best opinion what is the best way to hook these speakers up do i need a Bi-Amp? Something that is reasonable not total garbage but not something that will break the bank. (maybe a entry level, mid grade, and high end solution). Anyone familiar with the JBL 4343B any advise would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Andrey

Many folks here have dabbled with the big JBL 434x studio Monitors in biamp configuration.

I had a pair of 4341s and ran them with an Ashly crossover as you did.
First with a pair of JBL/UREI power amps (6230 & a 6260 for the woofers)
and later with a pair of Adcom GFA555 amps (200w/ch).

I've since sold the 4341s and then sold the Adcoms -
but instead of adcoms I'm currently using a B&K ST202+ amp (200w/ch)
to run my current speakers and it is a very fine sounding vintage amp.

Another member here is running a pair of 4345 clones with an Ashly crossover and I believe he is a fan of the Crown amps.

Your best solution is to wait for folks to reply to this thread instead of continually reposting
the same question over and over in multiple places on the site. That is considered bad manners.
People will reply but please be patient and wait ... some of us have other things going on in our lives.

[HCSGuy]

I can't claim to be the last word on the subject, but I do have 4343A's, and have owned an Onkyo M-504, though I never put the two together. The M504 looks great, but the sound was dark on the highs, didn't have control in the bass, and ran out of steam much too soon for its rated power. I would dump it and get a new amp for the highs first. I like Heather's B&K amplifier - they're very open sounding, and are cheap 2nd hand. You may also try an old Adcom GFA-535, though I like the B&K's better. Either way, it's a really cheap upgrade that will pay off in spades. You may also try a big B&K on the bass, or an Adcom GFA-555. I use Bryston and Parasound and have been happy, but I also haven't had time to do much comparing - or even listening for that matter...

[BMWCCA]

Another member here is running a pair of 4345 clones with an Ashly crossover and I believe he is a fan of the Crown amps.

That description fits me.

I'm using Soundcraftsmen Pro-Control-Four pre-amp and Pro-EQ-44 equalizer, Ashly XR1001, Crown PS200, and Crown PS400 with my 4345s which have custom crossovers built from the bi-amp-only charge-coupled design published here in DIY.

I'm very satisfied with the result and everyone who hears the system seems to have the same jaw-dropping reaction. I can't imagine I'm using even a quarter of the available power and even as loud as I can stand it I never see the IOC lamps even flicker on either amp. I have the Crown input attenuators at about 50% and still never go over half-way on the pre-amp volume control. The efficiency of the big JBL 4-ways is rated at 98dB on the high-frequency section and it's pretty amazing. The 4343B seems to be rated about 4dB less, for whatever reason. The Crowns are rated 100-wpc and 190-wpc which match the max-continuous output listed by JBL for bi-amped 4345s. JBL's recommendation for amplifier power for the 4343B is 150-wpc.

[Dave_72]

Go with Bryston, Rotel, Parasound, that kind of stuff. Middle of the road stuff. Not real high end, but good bang for the buck.

[andnar]

Thank you so much for all the advice. I am going go and do some research on all your suggestions. Also I apologize for the bad manners (posting the same question in different places) -- I did not know the best place to post the question and also my first experience using a forum.

Much obliged,

Andrey

[Dave_72]

Thank you so much for all the advice. I am going go and do some research on all your suggestions. Also I apologize for the bad manners (posting the same question in different places) -- I did not know the best place to post the question and also my first experience using a forum.

Much obliged,

Andrey

You're welcome. Sounds good. Good luck with your search.

[Aaron]

Yamaha has made some good amps in the past, some of them are truly four channel as well.
I currently own and am thrilled with an MX1000 and an M80.

[ngccglp]

Agree with the comments on the ONKYO 504. In the meantime, until you get a better amp, I think you will get better results just playing passive and carefully adjusting the LPADS to taste using the NAD.

[57BELAIRE]

I am currently biamping my 4350A's top end with a B&K ST-140 and am very pleased with the results. These
"wallet-friendly" Mosfet designs are very smooth sounding and good alternative to an expensive tube amp.
Definitely worth checking out.

[hjames]

I am currently biamping my 4350A's top end with a B&K ST-140 and am very pleased with the results. These
"wallet-friendly" Mosfet designs are very smooth sounding and good alternative to an expensive tube amp.
Definitely worth checking out.

Yes, have my whole downstairs HT room running on B&K amps now -
the mains are Vandy 2CEs on B&K ST202+ (200w/ch) and a bit later I found a
B&K AV5000 Series II 5 Channel Amplifier (125x5ch) that runs the Vandy center,
Vandy 2CIs on the sides, and (occasional) rear surrounds (DCM TF600) ...
The amps sound great and are a VERY nice match

And that HK Citation 22 runs in Bridged mode for the JBL 4641 sub - tons of fun!

[Dave_72]

B&K? I haven't heard about that equipment since the 80s. If he buys those, wouldn't they need to be recapped amongst other things?

[hjames]

B&K? I haven't heard about that equipment since the 80s.
If he buys those, wouldn't they need to be recapped amongst other things?

I know some folks feel inclined to recap everything they buy,
no matter how recently it was made, but all B&K gear is not as old as you seem to think ...
Anyway, the ST-140 and the ST-202+ are from 88-93, the AV5000 is from 95-98,
the newer AV5000 series II was in production from 98-99.
There are other models that were in production even more recently ...

I found this on the web Nov 2012 after I bought my AV5000 series II:

Amplifier Technologies Incorporated (ATI), has acquired the assets of B&K Components effective October 18, 2010. It is our mission to
continue the B&K brand, and we are moving production to our factory in Los Angeles, Ca. We expect to have production of the most popular B&K
products by Q1, 2011. In the meantime, you can e-mail: [email protected] for immediate inquires. If you’ve been a B&K dealer,
we’d like to renew B&K’s relationship with you. We know many of you have questions, so we’ve prepared a FAQ sheet for you . B&K Components
joins Amplifier Technologies’ roster of prestigious brands: ATI, AudioAccess, BGW, and Theta Digital.

[57BELAIRE]

Yes, have my whole downstairs HT room running on B&K amps now -
the mains are Vandy 2CEs on B&K ST202+ (200w/ch) and a bit later I found a
B&K AV5000 Series II 5 Channel Amplifier (125x5ch) that runs the Vandy center,
Vandy 2CIs on the sides, and (occasional) rear surrounds (DCM TF600) ...
The amps sound great and are a VERY nice match

And that HK Citation 22 runs in Bridged mode for the JBL 4641 sub - tons of fun!

Sweet!

I remember reading an article on a blindfold A/B comparison between a high-end Threshold and a B&K. The reviewer actually preferred the cheaper B&K...comparing it to a tube amp.