Friend of my is going to see a pair of 4343 in NoCal. Cabs are in decent shape. He was told the drivers were original but were reformed but no indication of where. Any thoughts on the reformed drivers? I assume the 2121 kits are no longer available? Thanks.
They look good very clean and well done, though the dust cap is incorrect on the 2121, which should be inverted. As long as they have enough adhesive that the cone is secure to the surround, I wouldn't change them further or worry about it.
Just as an FYI and a plug for a great guy to deal with - I've done my own refoaming on all previeous JBL speakers that needed it, but for my 4343's I sent the 2121's and 2231a's to Matt at Utah Reconing for his refoam work. Mostly because I didn't want to mess up the rare 2121. He has connections to get anything you need for servicing speakers including full recones, whether it's currently made or not. I know other members of this forum have used him as well.
https://www.facebook.com/utahreconing/
(801) 419-3099
Thanks, he was mainly concerned about the 2121. I assume the inverted dust cap is no longer available. May have to ask matt or others. In addition to the normal glue, there's seems to be some translucent glue as well.
EJ
The foam surrounds degrade over time in part due to exposure to UV light and to air pollution but unless stressed the voice coil, spider and cone should be fine and not need a full recone. The surround job looks to be well executed. If you want to check unknown LF drivers do what JBL trained reconers to do, get a phone app with a sine wave generator ( Studio Six Digital makes a good one but there are free ones ) and sweep a tone from 100 hz down to 20 hz. At a comfortable listening level about three feet from the speakers you should hear a clear tone without over tones. If you do hear overtones sweep back and forth around the frequency where the distortion is most prominent and see if you can localize the distortion. This is normally done with the speaker out of the enclosure but it's a good test for many potential issues with speakers. If testing drivers other than woofers choose an appropriate tone range, above 800hz for compression drivers, 100 - 1000 hz for mid drivers etc.
He will go have a listen. What are prices these days for a 4343?
EJ
EDIT: I thought Skyfi Audio sold theirs but they still have 2 listed on their site, they just took their Ebay listings down.Originally Posted by club900fe
It appears they had 3 pairs, sold 1 and still have 2. They've also lowered the price on the more expensive pair, which used to be $20k (Kenrick Sound territory) The Skyfi restored pair are currently $14,999 and the original pair are $16,990 asking.
https://skyfiaudio.com/search?q=jbl+4343&type=product
I got mine in 2021 for just under $4k on Ebay, from Northridge, CA. I had to convince the seller I would not hold them responsible if any issues arose once they left their hands and were picked up by a 3rd party transporter.
If you live on the West Coast, you can find better deals than those of us who live inland as no one wants to ship something so huge, even if you tell them you'll handle the logistics. I looked for several years to find a good pair that was under $5k from someone who was willing to ship and they're the only ones I've ever personally found at that price that were complete.
To anyone considering buying and moving speakers from out of state - look for people who move pinball machines or pianos on Uship.com and have feedback history. To them, a big pair of speakers is a walk in the park.
I'm sure people can list what they want but the real numbers are what people pay. The fact that SkyFi's two 4343 are still for sale (even after their big sale) says a lot about price.
EJ
There’s always the balance of price versus how long they take to sell - I think a mint pair, in the US, picked up cash in hand, would probably sell for $6k or so, based on the two pairs I have sold in the last 18mos. Sellers can dream of $10k and up, but those pairs almost never sell - at least not in the U.S.
That the internet contains a blog documenting your life does not constitute proof that your existence is valid. Sorry.
Oops you're right. I updated my post above.
Ouch, those prices!
Now I don't profess to know all that much about many of the brands they feature but when they delve into my life-long specialty in their Sports Car section, I know they're attempting to shoot the moon!
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
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