tillmbil Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 I am assuming the locked wording means the post was closed. I did not even get to through my opinion in the ringer...bummer. Anyway, in reading there is a Duke Spinner with JBL 4430 speakers.. I have been following JBL100, JBL4311 and the like speakers on E-Bay. Can anyone give me some feedback on their sound? I am leaning towards buying a pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfellini Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Visit the forum at http://audioheritage.org. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrop Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 All the home audio forums have the locked icon on the forum home site but I am posting this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 I refurbished a couple pair of these speakers last winter and I got a chance to listen to them in my shop for a while. I was very disappointed. I thought they would sound much better than they did. Still now I find it hard to believe that I can't muster a few good things to say about them. I would like to. I know the history of these speakers and I can see the obvious quality of construction in the components. But there was very little there to like about the sound. I had a great time working on them and I made a handsome profit. There's quite a following out there for JBL speakers. I guess once you've gotten hooked on big 'ol horns, there just no going back to a little box speaker. I wouldn't try to sway you not to get them, but just don't let your expectations be too high. Try em and see how you like em. You can always get your money back out. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 WRT, I have some 4311s, the 'Pro' version of the L100 Century models. Classic JBL is wonderful gear. The 4311s didn't come in stereo pairs, meaning they aren't mirrored. Still can't tell the difference though. They make great compression drivers and woofers. They are also very pricey. L100s would be about the same size as a pair of Heresys. They are three ways, and the sound is comparable (I'll get hit for that). Considering the L100s are all direct radiators, that is saying something. The midrange tends to break up a bit (5 inch DR) if driven heard. Lots of albums mixed on the 4311s. Have a pair of L46 models in the house as well. They are two ways with an 8 inch woofer. Great little speakers. Had some L56 models here for a while, but gave them back to the owner who hadn't been using them (I repaired the surrounds on them for him). They are owned by Harman now. Makers of everything. Still, the good JBL stuff is very good. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted August 29, 2005 Author Share Posted August 29, 2005 Those look like JBL100's, are they? The darn things are going for around $450.00 and up. I would really like to hear them before I make the plunge. I keep looking at my speaker collection - Klipsch, Klipsch and more Klipsch. There has to be something else for a low price. I might have to spring for B&W's. Having Heresys, Forte;s CW's, KG3.5's, KHorns, RF-5's, SB1.1's, 2.1's...and the list goes on. I need to try/own something else. Oh yeah, I do have Blose 901 originals. Man do they sound like crap until you turn them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted August 29, 2005 Author Share Posted August 29, 2005 Yeah, I have read a lot about the L100 consumer version. The 4311 was the studio version. I could appreciate a sound like the Heresys, that was not a Klipsch. One must not be biased. I almost bought Paradigm for the home theater, but the RF-5's just killed the Studio 100's for the same price. I really tried to like Paradigms's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 They won't sound like Cornwalls or KHorns, but they are nice speakers. Just depends on your use for them. My 4311s were $329 each in '72. Can't believe the wife let me get them. We didn't make dirt back then. Styxx borrowed them to use for reference at the studio I bought them through. All the studio had was some big EV models and they weren't familiar with them. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfandbark Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Do they have to be JBL's? I bought a pair of Infinity SM 112's a couple months ago for $37.50. Shipping was $75.00 BUT they are very good speakers for the dollar spent. If mine are that good I wonder what the SM 150, 152 and 155's would sound like.... Effiency ratings are very high for those models. Even my cheapos sound very good to me.... WOOF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfandbark Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Beautiful work, Gregs!!!!!!! Beautiful! WOOF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 saaay, Bite' n Bark .... i have 2 pair of SM 152/ 155 .... they are 104 dB/watt/meter...... rightup there with Klipsch ... great bass, the top end isn't as bright due to the direct radiator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 JBL ....TillMbil remember, these are MONITORS.......... there purpose was not home stereo what you will get from them is a somewhat forward sound, the JBL trademark, "west coast" sound they are going to want a decent sized amp compared to Klipsch if "you want cheap speakers" .. buy some Infinity SM's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I have a pair of 4312s with the white cone woofer. You pay extra for that white paper on the woofer let me tell you! I picked up the pair I have at a yard sale for $50. They were in great shape except for a little dry wood. I had them in the listening room and had them cranked up to about 100 db for about an hour and one of them started sounding a little fuzzy. I turned things off and checked it out. It turned out that one of the woofers started to tear due to the paper being dry (like the cabinets) I checked with Orange county speaker on the cost of a recone and the white paper woofers (I forget the model number) were about $250 each to have done! Well, a little foam suround glue and some paper glued to both sided of the woofer cone and the tear was fixed. It probably changed the sound the speaker delivers a tad but they are doing great service in the shop as background music. I also coated the rest of the woofer cones with glue to keep a new tear from hapening and for the last year it has worked just fine. Again, these are monitors, not stereo speakers but the sound they give off is very good, perhaps a bit heavy in the mids (at least the way mine are set with the tone adjustment knobs) but they are clear and clean. Again, they don't get much serious listening as they are the shop speakers but they do a good job of filling 47,200 cubic feet of shop space with music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 They can be adjusted to have a flatter eq, and the pads for the mid and tweeter should NOT bet set to the middle. I can't remember the exact positions, but the guys on the Lansing Heritage forum would know. It's true they aren't stereo speakers (whatever that means). They are accurate speakers. Are you saying your stereo speakers aren't accurate? Maybe the forward mids is why my wife always liked them (still likes them). She even turned the mids up a little more, but I tended to find them a little harder to take that way. Cal, I didn't think those had foam surrounds. My 4311s do not. They have a black rubbery material over the accordian surrounds. Still very pliable after 33+ years. But they have always been inside. The white coating is called aquaplas. Great drivers with huge magnets on them. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 No the surrounds are not foam, they are the same as yours. I just used foam glue to fix the rip in the cone, some people use rubber cement, others white glue I used the foam glue because it was there and at a cheep price. The recone would have been over $500 for the pair and the bottlle of glue was less than $4. The tear went nearly from the voice coil (about an inch short of hitting it) to the edge of the suspension folds. The paper fix stoped the rip in it's tracks. The cones are made from a white paper, you say it is called "aquaplas" ? Cool, now I know. You are right about the huge magnets and that the pads are set to the center position, you must have guessed the position of the pads from the "enhanced" mids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I grew up listening to 4311s, my father still uses them in his main system. I really like the sound. I would buy them again in a second, but not for my main system, I prefer the horn sound of k-horns. HOWEVER, I can say that I (and my family) prefer the sound of 4311s to heresey, that is why my heresey II stay in the closet at home and the 4311s stay in my father´s main system. the JBL have good bass output, very even sound and nice detail, hard to fault really. there are plenty of other JBL speakers I have coveted; 4435, 4430, Everest, the new K series. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzo Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I have a pair of 4311B's that are a very nice sounding speaker. I also have a pair of Heresy's from 1983. The sound between the two was very comparable, was until I had Bob Crites rebuild the crossovers in the Heresy's. Wow, what a difference! Everything was tightened and cleaned up. Much better imaging, tighter bass, and those glorious mids. I did use a car audio damping material on the mid-horns, big improvement! I had them side by side in my living room and did an A/B comparison. The Heresy's were much more articulate and accurate. There was better separation between the instruments and vocals, especially on live recordings. To be fair, the crossovers and L-pads, pots, in the 4311B's are stock from about 1980 or so. I have been toying with the idea of having them rebuilt also to see if there is as big of an improvement. For now, at least with my equipment and room, the Heresy's are "clearly" better IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted August 30, 2005 Author Share Posted August 30, 2005 So if I already have Heresys I will not realize a better sound, just a different one. Or, I might like the mids better. Looks like I should not spend to much for a pair in case I do not like them. Thanks for the replies. I have lots of SS high powered amps sitting idle as well as a pair of Nosvalves rebuilt MK IV's that I have a fortune in. When I get my Merlin I will need some speakers to listen to the system with. This will be the set up: MK IV's rebuilt w/ Mullard EL34 XF2's Merlin Toshiba 3950 ?? speakers Other than the Infinity, any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 my mkIVs sounded great with my k-horns...what is your proposed speaker budget, that should determine what you can buy...perhaps cornwalls, forte or chorus? regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 a word of caution ..... the JBL's want a lot more watts than K, not a good match w/ old tube stuff .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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