Originally Posted by
markustubesnow
Gentlemen - I feel like the ideas I've written below are scattered and unfocused. Please accept my apologies in advance. I don't mean to be frustrating and will try to be more systematic in my future replies.
Thanks for everyone's comments, questions and advice. They are all appreciated very much. As I mentioned, the more I "learn" (not sure I'm learning yet, but I do appreciate the ideas and topics which I'll have to research and from that research and the ongoing advice of this august form, surely I will absorb and get something through my thick skull, right?) So please forgive any questions I ask to which your natural response would be "why are you considering this option when you've already been advised of a better way to do this?"
By way of explanation let me say I'm wary of how far to increase the scope of this project. For instance, looking at the internal, stock wiring, I'm struck by how thin it is. Surely, nowadays anyone refurbishing these speakers would be sure to replace the thin, stock wiring with something newer, thicker and better, right? Well, probably. Like I said, my inclination is not to try to perfect it to state of the art, but to get them together so they work. Improvements can come later. But, just like it makes sense to do some things "while I've got the car up on the rack" your collective advise will help me get more comfortable with more ambitious and advanced tweaks and upgrades.
As to the question "why" am I doing this? I thought Mr. Widget and MarkD51 framed this question very well. It's simply a matter that this project fell right into my lap. I've had to do some fancy explaining to convince my wife that it's a good idea (I'm still not sure she's convinced) but I've always lusted after 43XX series JBL monitors, though I've had limited exposure to them. I'm thinking of these as an experiment. At the price I don't think I'll lose money if it turns out I need to move them along.
These speakers are coming with the 3155 network. Does that help? I'm still fuzzy one why I'll need an external crossover, but I'm not resistant to the idea. Just still scratching my head about it a little bit.
Yes, budget will be a factor in selecting whatever amps and crossover I go with. For some reason when I have tried to use my Quad 909 with my 4430s it's "motor boated" - that is, I've heard a loud, deep hum. Took the 909 into the shop and spent $100 to find out there's nothing wrong with it. It works perfectly with my 2805 electrostatics. I plan to look around on Craigslist and pick up an external crossover and a couple of amps, like the Crowns mentioned on this thread, to get these up and running. I'd love to put higher-pedigree amps on these things but need to be a little conservative about the $$.
I'll be researching the charge coupled crossover. I'm guessing if it's a good idea for the 4355s then it might be a good choice for the 4430s, right?
Should I plan on having the 3155 network refurbished to replace aging components? I don't think the crossover in my 4430 has ever been serviced and it seems to function ok. There's a local guy who advertises repair and construction of crossovers, so there's a potential resource. Any advice about what to pay attention to before I go shopping for the crossover will be appreciated. I'm crossing my fingers that whatever I buy will be adjustable, for where to set the crossover point and slope rate.
Any advice about the kind of wire I should use if I upgrade the internal wiring?