JBL 4343's - Woo Hoo!!!

[VinylGroove]

Do you have the lens diffusers on the horns?

Yes, I do.

[SEAWOLF97]

Your 044Ti's (in the 250's) most likely need service by now.

[VinylGroove]

Your 044Ti's (in the 250's) most likely need service by now.

They sound very good with no harsh or transient sounds from them that I can hear, I've had a lot of JBLs with TI tweeters and these were the best by far. One of these days I'm going to go through the 250TIs and replace the crossovers and will probably service the tweeters at that time. I was about to do that when I found these 43's.

I have a pair of NOS 044TIs still in the box as backups, but they'd also have hardened foam under the TI domes due to age.

[HCSGuy]

I'd love to hear XPL200's and came close to buying a set locally but at the time I was in gear purge mode so I passed them up.

I owned KEF Reference, B&W Nautilus and others in the past and though I liked their detail (especially KEFs), they always had something missing that I experienced in a pair of L100T3's I regrettably sold. Both the 250TI's and the 4343's sufficiently do what I loved in both the KEFs and the L100T3's.

Next step is figuring out what to do with the attenuators on the front of these things which are all at noon and they're still too bright for extended listening.

Every now and then, nostalgia kicks in. The first pair of speakers I ever bought were L100t3’s, while in college, which I had to sell a while later to make rent. Always missed them, so when I found a really good pair about 12yrs ago, in the boxes, I snapped them up. They’ve been in the boxes ever since, but about a month ago I pulled them out, took the woofers with me to SLC and had them re-foamed, re-foamed the tweeters, and put some Mahoney’s on the cabinets, and voila, they play great. Not as good as my memory, but still pretty good. The midrange is a little harsh, but everything else is as expected - they’re lots of fun.

[VinylGroove]

Every now and then, nostalgia kicks in. The first pair of speakers I ever bought were L100t3’s, while in college, which I had to sell a while later to make rent. Always missed them, so when I found a really good pair about 12yrs ago, in the boxes, I snapped them up. They’ve been in the boxes ever since, but about a month ago I pulled them out, took the woofers with me to SLC and had them re-foamed, re-foamed the tweeters, and put some Mahoney’s on the cabinets, and voila, they play great. Not as good as my memory, but still pretty good. The midrange is a little harsh, but everything else is as expected - they’re lots of fun.

That's a fantastic set of L100T3's (not to mention the subs and Arrays! Wow.)
If I stumble upon another clean pair for the right price I'll snag them even though I already have 2 speakers too many.

I should probably follow Seawolf's advice and your lead and get some foam to replace under my my TI tweeters.

I've searched for 15 minutes on this forum and 10 elsewhere and can't find details on specific foam I should use. It would be nice to use foam that has a longer lifespan than what was originally used.

These are on ebay for 035's which I assume will work for 044's.
JBL 035Tia, 035Ti Tweeter dampining foam pads (Pair will do 2) L3,L5, L7, Others | eBay

[SEAWOLF97]

Your 044Ti's (in the 250's) most likely need service by now.

I have a pair of NOS 044TIs still in the box as backups, but they'd also have hardened foam under the TI domes due to age.

I should probably follow Seawolf's advice and your lead and get some foam to replace under my my TI tweeters.

I've searched for 15 minutes on this forum and 10 elsewhere and can't find details on specific foam I should use. It would be nice to use foam that has a longer lifespan than what was originally used.

The foam does not get hard, it crumbles and leaves dust & bits in the gap.

this thread may be helpful and does have photos of bad foam.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...ght=044ti+help

[VinylGroove]

The foam does not get hard, it crumbles and leaves dust & bits in the gap. this thread may be helpful and does have photos of bad foam.

Thank you. I actually read that thread but apparently I missed your post #32 which had the exact info I needed.
044Ti questions/Help needed (audioheritage.org)


For the 4343's, I'm seriously considering some of these steel stands from Deercreek and inquiring whether they can make a set taller with no speaker angle.
The ones they list on their site for 4343's are only 5" high and have a 2 degree speaker tilt. I'd want something 8-14" high with no tilt.
Custom Steel Stands | Deer Creek Audio Classic Audio Components Accessories
Photo shows their stands for other speakers, but same design.

[Mr. Widget]

Have you mocked this up with blocks of wood, cinder blocks, or even a stack of old Sterophile magazines? I would want to verify the exact height and know what I should expect before paying for expensive stands that may not give me the results I am looking for.


Widget

[VinylGroove]

Have you mocked this up with blocks of wood, cinder blocks, or even a stack of old Sterophile magazines? I would want to verify the exact height and know what I should expect before paying for expensive stands that may not give me the results I am looking for.


Widget

I haven't, but would definitely "measure twice" before ordering custom stands. I'm currently thinking that I'd like to make them the same height as the 250TI's or slightly taller.

[DerekTheGreat]

I'd love to hear XPL200's and came close to buying a set locally but at the time I was in gear purge mode so I passed them up.

These speakers do look kind of dumb side by side in the corner and the 250's definitely don't belong against a wall like that, choked on the low end big time. I'll likely end up with the 43's alone in the corner, angled slightly inward and up on 8-12" stands.

The only other large speakers I think I'd consider at this point if they were available for the right price are 4350's, 4345's, Klipschorns or maybe the right set of big vintage Tannoys. I considered some Tektons but can't get past their aesthetics and I can't see myself crossing over into Everest territory due to cost.

I owned KEF Reference, B&W Nautilus and others in the past and though I liked their detail (especially KEFs), they always had something missing that I experienced in a pair of L100T3's I regrettably sold. Both the 250TI's and the 4343's sufficiently do what I loved in both the KEFs and the L100T3's.

Next step is figuring out what to do with the attenuators on the front of these things which are all at noon and they're still too bright for extended listening.

Last year I went through a Klipsch phase, auditioned Cornwalls I's (1977ish), Forte I & II's against JBL L150A's. Cornwall I's are hard to beat and the Forte II is so far the best Klipsch I've listened to, the tweeter and mid are really nice. Wanted to get my hands on the Chorus line-up, but no dice yet. Also, back in those days I was using a crummy Marantz 3600 pre and 510M amp. Both of which were bested by a landslide margin with an Adcom GFP 555 and GFA 555 II. What I really like about Klipsch is how easy they are to drive, 200 watts goes a really long way with either the Forte II or Cornwall. It was only adequate with the L150A's, discovered those need at least 600 in order to jam out appropriately. I preferred the bass, tonal quality and detail of the L150A's to the Klipsch's though. Sold all of my Klipsch stuff except the beat Cornwalls, which now reside in the garage. Only when I got the XPL200's were the L150A's dethroned. I still might even prefer their bass to the XPL's. Need to do a side by side again but they're currently apart for new crossovers and stuff.

The XPL200 is really sweet, not fatiguing at all. The mids have warmth to them, strings and brass instruments sound more vibrant and life-like through the 200's.. When I had the Marantz amp & pre, I had to use an equalizer to calm the harsh mids and lower highs with every speaker hooked to them. When I put that stuff on the shelf in favor of Adcom, the equalizer could also go on the shelf and it's been there ever since. What are you using to drive your JBL's? I'm currently running the Adcom GFP 555 feeding an Ashly XR1000 which divides the signal highs to a Crown K2 and the lows to a Crown K1. Even when driving the system hard and stupid loud, it isn't fatiguing. This is where the 250ti comes into my field of view. Those are also supposed to be great, so I'd love to try one against an XPL200 to see which I prefer. Hard to imagine it getting any better than the XPL200 though, and you can't beat the price XPL200's are going for considering what they provide in return. If you get a chance, try a set!

[VinylGroove]

Last year I went through a Klipsch phase, auditioned Cornwalls I's (1977ish), Forte I & II's against JBL L150A's. Cornwall I's are hard to beat and the Forte II is so far the best Klipsch I've listened to, the tweeter and mid are really nice. Wanted to get my hands on the Chorus line-up, but no dice yet. Also, back in those days I was using a crummy Marantz 3600 pre and 510M amp. Both of which were bested by a landslide margin with an Adcom GFP 555 and GFA 555 II. What I really like about Klipsch is how easy they are to drive, 200 watts goes a really long way with either the Forte II or Cornwall. It was only adequate with the L150A's, discovered those need at least 600 in order to jam out appropriately. I preferred the bass, tonal quality and detail of the L150A's to the Klipsch's though. Sold all of my Klipsch stuff except the beat Cornwalls, which now reside in the garage. Only when I got the XPL200's were the L150A's dethroned. I still might even prefer their bass to the XPL's. Need to do a side by side again but they're currently apart for new crossovers and stuff.

The XPL200 is really sweet, not fatiguing at all. The mids have warmth to them, strings and brass instruments sound more vibrant and life-like through the 200's.. When I had the Marantz amp & pre, I had to use an equalizer to calm the harsh mids and lower highs with every speaker hooked to them. When I put that stuff on the shelf in favor of Adcom, the equalizer could also go on the shelf and it's been there ever since. What are you using to drive your JBL's? I'm currently running the Adcom GFP 555 feeding an Ashly XR1000 which divides the signal highs to a Crown K2 and the lows to a Crown K1. Even when driving the system hard and stupid loud, it isn't fatiguing. This is where the 250ti comes into my field of view. Those are also supposed to be great, so I'd love to try one against an XPL200 to see which I prefer. Hard to imagine it getting any better than the XPL200 though, and you can't beat the price XPL200's are going for considering what they provide in return. If you get a chance, try a set!

I'm driving my gear with a Parasound A21 and P7 Preamp that I'm in love with (Thanks HCSGuy!) The A21 is Class A down low so at my listening levels with the 43's I'm surely in Class A. With the 250TI's I still might be, not sure but they take more juice to run and the A21 has plenty of it. I tried a Crown XLS2502 Drivecore 2 class D amp out of curiosity but things just weren't right in my setup so I let it go. I actually got better sound out of some old Audiosource 5.3A monoblocks than out of that Crown XLS, but again, in my setup and my ears. YMMV. I know many people are happy with those amps, especially with hard to drive speakers.

I came very close to some XPL200's that were a bargain locally, but at the time I had L250's, 250TI's and was focusing on a JBL Pro setup in a theater so taking on another speaker wasn't what I was after at the time.

Now that I know I can get things via Uship.com it's tempting to widen my search for other wishlist items.

[DerekTheGreat]

I'm driving my gear with a Parasound A21 and P7 Preamp that I'm in love with (Thanks HCSGuy!) The A21 is Class A down low so at my listening levels with the 43's I'm surely in Class A. With the 250TI's I still might be, not sure but they take more juice to run and the A21 has plenty of it. I tried a Crown XLS2502 Drivecore 2 class D amp out of curiosity but things just weren't right in my setup so I let it go. I actually got better sound out of some old Audiosource 5.3A monoblocks than out of that Crown XLS, but again, in my setup and my ears. YMMV. I know many people are happy with those amps, especially with hard to drive speakers.

I came very close to some XPL200's that were a bargain locally, but at the time I had L250's, 250TI's and was focusing on a JBL Pro setup in a theater so taking on another speaker wasn't what I was after at the time.

Now that I know I can get things via Uship.com it's tempting to widen my search for other wishlist items.

How do you like Parasound gear? What didn't you like about the Audiosource gear compared to the Parasound stuff? I'm trying to find gear to replace my Adcoms that have more juice. Been eyeing the A21+ amps, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Not sure I'd dig the XLS stuff. Seems the K series was the last bastion of true Elkhart made goodness. Meant to update my budget vintage gear thread but I got a hold of Macro Tech 2402's, K1 and K2 Crown amps. Contrary to what the internets say, I prefer the K2 for mid/highs and K1 on bass duties- if one needs the power. The Macro Tech 2402's are just a bit fuzzy by comparison- harder on the ears. But none of them are garbage like the Marantz stuff I had. Fans are too loud on the Macro Techs too- even in the garage I'm not ok with them.

I've heard of them, prices seem very reasonable. Actually sold a set of seats for an old truck and the buyer is having them picked up that way.

[VinylGroove]

How do you like Parasound gear? What didn't you like about the Audiosource gear compared to the Parasound stuff? I'm trying to find gear to replace my Adcoms that have more juice. Been eyeing the A21+ amps, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Not sure I'd dig the XLS stuff. Seems the K series was the last bastion of true Elkhart made goodness. Meant to update my budget vintage gear thread but I got a hold of Macro Tech 2402's, K1 and K2 Crown amps. Contrary to what the internets say, I prefer the K2 for mid/highs and K1 on bass duties- if one needs the power. The Macro Tech 2402's are just a bit fuzzy by comparison- harder on the ears. But none of them are garbage like the Marantz stuff I had. Fans are too loud on the Macro Techs too- even in the garage I'm not ok with them.

I've heard of them, prices seem very reasonable. Actually sold a set of seats for an old truck and the buyer is having them picked up that way.

For Parasound, I really like the company, the people, their history, work with John Curl and his interesting history with the Grateful Dead and other Audio industry pioneers/icons and their strategy of leveraging international capabilities while retaining the benefits of USA design, quality control and warranty. They really stand behind their products as good as any company I know of. Huge peace of mind with electronics. Music just sounds good and non-fatiquing while still being accurate. I can't tell you what color shoes Diana Krall was wearing by listening through their gear, but I can tell you I really like it.

Now I need a Silver Parasound CD/SACD player to go with my amp and preamp.

[markd51]

Thank you. I actually read that thread but apparently I missed your post #32 which had the exact info I needed.
044Ti questions/Help needed (audioheritage.org)


For the 4343's, I'm seriously considering some of these steel stands from Deercreek and inquiring whether they can make a set taller with no speaker angle.
The ones they list on their site for 4343's are only 5" high and have a 2 degree speaker tilt. I'd want something 8-14" high with no tilt.
Custom Steel Stands | Deer Creek Audio Classic Audio Components Accessories
Photo shows their stands for other speakers, but same design.

Sound Anchors might be another company who can provide stands for your needs, and have such plans in their database. That you might not be the first to have stands made for your particular speaker.

The thing is, you won't find any such listed at their Website, but they might be listed in the Dealer provided Catalog, so it would mean contacting a Sound Anchor Dealer. I know of one, and could inquire with him if there were any listings for the 4343 Monitors. I suspect they won't be cheap.

And then there's Kenrick in Japan, very nice, but again not going to be cheap.

I am in the process to try to acquire a custom made set for my 4430 monitors, but am not having much hope at this point.

But I will try to post some pics, and maybe you might see this as another alternative in making a pair of stands that might be easier and less expensive to fabricate.

I think they could also look nice even if not veneered, just in a flat black paint which would look like the skirt on many of the JBL Speakers.

[VinylGroove]

Sound Anchors might be another company who can provide stands for your needs, and have such plans in their database. That you might not be the first to have stands made for your particular speaker.
The thing is, you won't find any such listed at their Website, but they might be listed in the Dealer provided Catalog, so it would mean contacting a Sound Anchor Dealer. I know of one, and could inquire with him if there were any listings for the 4343 Monitors. I suspect they won't be cheap.
And then there's Kenrick in Japan, very nice, but again not going to be cheap.
I am in the process to try to acquire a custom made set for my 4430 monitors, but am not having much hope at this point.
But I will try to post some pics, and maybe you might see this as another alternative in making a pair of stands that might be easier and less expensive to fabricate.
I think they could also look nice even if not veneered, just in a flat black paint which would look like the skirt on many of the JBL Speakers.

Sound Anchors looks like an interesting design that could be fairly easily done DIY, if you weren't after the veneer to match your set. Matching that would be very difficult if they didn't have the speakers with them, especialy when you consider aging/fade and variations in oil or wood treatment over the years.

Kenrick does amazing work that I admire often, but you could easily have a woodworking shop create walnut stands like those they make for a fraction of the cost.

I did get a quote from Deer Creek Audio for those steel stands and discovered how well they're made and they are injection filled with some kind of sand/polymer which I didn't realize. For 4343 stands with no tilt and 8.5" high they quoted me $835. I was hoping for less, but didn't realize the quality of thick steel, welding, filling and powder coating. These are exceptionally well made.