I mean, what does Kenrick sound know about restoring high end vintage JBL's? Obvious amateurs.
That would assume that Kenrick knows more about JBLs than . . . JBL. To change surround material and make a claim of "better bass" is easy. Proving it would be simple by measured parameters of the new configuration. To assume (or claim) that Kenji et al know more about JBLs than JBL, or Greg Timbers, late of JBL and the designer of many of the systems we're talking about here, is borderline silly. Just as it is silly to parrot the sales pitch that JBL's expertise in network design peaked in the '80s and went downhill ever since.
And I'm a fan of Kenrick, and own a pair of 4345s with cabinets built by the Rick of KenRick, populated with new and original JBL components with custom-built charge-couple crossovers from a circuitry designed by Greg Timbers as an improvement over the technology available at the time the originals were designed—also by Greg Timbers! So, I'm not opposed to improving on the original, where it can be done. I'd just like to know a bit more about the improvements and how they compare to the original design, and measurements of the modified driver versus the original would be easy for someone in the business. Many with 4333s have improved the bass response by substituting the original 15-inch drivers with the later 2235.
I'm not jealous of the OP. I'm happy he's happy, and I understand how proud he is of his new acquisitions. It's just a bit disingenuous to make claims of superiority, to sanctimoniously claim that only this system is worthy of respect, and that snake-oil surrounds are "better" without even comparing them to the originals.
I love my JBL KenRick 4345 "clones". They're not "original" either, since they only made some 200 pair of my style monitor. But, like Lioh, I love mine, I'm transfixed by their audio performance, and I simply love looking at them and knowing they'll be with me forever. They've also been with me for eight-years, next month, so I'm not one to claim I've reached audio Nirvana every few months!