Any fix on this 4343?

[pyonc]

Hi,

My audio gear is 4343, with Mcintosh C29 preamp and Marantz power amp.
Initially I didn't notice this, but as time went by, I suspected some sort of
difference in loudness of the right and left speakers. And only today I concluded that
the sound from the left speaker was a bit louder and clearer than the right one.
I heard the same difference when I played LPs from the 60s and 70s, or CD reissues from that era, and even modern CDs where stereo recording is almost perfect.
I reversed the speaker mode selector (left to right, right to left), and the result was the same.
The right speaker was a bit weaker in loudness and clarity than the right one. What do you believe is the problem here?
Do I need to bring the pair to a JBL technician for thorough check? Or is there anyting I can do some check by myself?
Thanks a lot for your advice.

[rusty jefferson]

Try reversing the speaker wire connections on the amplifier. See if the condition stays or moves to the other side.

[pyonc]

Try reversing the speaker wire connections on the amplifier. See if the condition stays or moves to the other side.

Thanks, Jim. I tried this, and the condition stayed the same. Maybe I'm gong to use play the audio test CD.

[Audiobeer]

Theres all kinds of things you can try first to see if it's an easy fix. I know you checked the reverse stereo mode on th C-29 but did you check the cable itself and the connections? The next thing I would try is rapidly rotating the L-pads on the weak speaker back and forth to see if that is the issue. If it's still weak then you may want to set your balance at the 12 o'clock on the preamp and use the tone controls on your C-29 to see if you can Isolate which driver is having the problem, start with de-emphasizing everything but the Low frequency band, then try the mids and then the high frequency. This should help you isolate which driver is the culprit if in fact it is a driver.

[pyonc]

Theres all kinds of things you can try first to see if it's an easy fix. I know you checked the reverse stereo mode on th C-29 but did you check the cable itself and the connections? The next thing I would try is rapidly rotating the L-pads on the weak speaker back and forth to see if that is the issue. If it's still weak then you may want to set your balance at the 12 o'clock on the preamp and use the tone controls on your C-29 to see if you can Isolate which driver is having the problem, start with de-emphasizing everything but the Low frequency band, then try the mids and then the high frequency. This should help you isolate which driver is the culprit if in fact it is a driver.

Thanks for your advice. 'Rotating the L-pads'? That seems too technical to me, though.
C29 doesn't have the 'tone' controls to isolate the driver, though.
Looks like the problem comes from mids and highs, not the lows
because that's where I feel the difference when I played an instrumental jazz CD or LP with saxophone or trumpet player.

[Krunchy]

'Rotating the L-pads'? That seems too technical to me, though.

Its not really, just just rotate them back and forth (clockwise & counter clock wise) a few times & see if that impacts the sound emanating from the drivers.

[Robh3606]

Try turning the biamp switch on and off a couple of times. The contacts tend to oxidize just like the l-pads do. It is located on the back of the speaker where the terminals are.

Rob

[pyonc]

Its not really, just just rotate them back and forth (clockwise & counter clock wise) a few times & see if that impacts the sound emanating from the drivers.

Thanks. I've never done this before, though I assume my previous owner did so.
Do you have to take out the front lower baffle to do this?

[JeffW]

Thanks. I've never done this before, though I assume my previous owner did so.
Do you have to take out the front lower baffle to do this?

They're not talking about physically rotating the L-Pad in the cabinet, they are talking about adjusting the L-pad a few times through its adjustment limits. Like turning the volume knob up and down on a receiver a few times.

Does your 4343 have three little adjustments on the front of the baffle like in this pic? That's the adjustments.