I spent over a decade looking for a pair of 4343's since I don't live on a coast they are not common near me. Finally I found some in Northridge, CA from a seller willing to work with me on shipping arrangements. I posted details to Uship and got a bid from TravelUnderWater that was very reasonable for door to door delivery, blanket wrapped and hauled in a covered trailer.
When they arrived they exceeded all expectations for condition and do not appear to have ever had the baffles or back removed. I had to open at least one to check the drivers and everything is in order. I actually didn't remove the 10" driver because it was stuck and I didn't want to chip the blue baffle, but validated all others.
Serials 10076, 10092
2231A - 15" Sub Woofer
2121 - 10" Mid Woofer
2420 - Compression Horn
2405 - Horn Tweeter
2308 - Acoustic Lenses
Original grilles are flawless (not in photos)
Pot codes on mid frequency pot - ALPS 7611 8ohm 50dB Q Japan
I think the ALPS pot code 7611 means it was made in the 11th week of 1976, so the speakers are at least from that date. My serials seem to be earlier than most 4343s - maybe from the first 100?
Can you date them by serial?
The jury is still out on whether I prefer them over my 250TI's but I seriously love these speakers! I was surprised that I had to turn my bass up on my preamp which I don't have to do with my 250's, but it sounded much better that way. Listening fatigue from the 43's definitely set in but this is without tweaking the crossover and I was listening at fairly high volume.
I may be looking into building or buying some new crossover networks, but may use them as they are for a while first.
I don't know why my photos are sideways, they aren't on my computer. Sorry.
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