(2) 604b or sell one pair for L300

[SaturationPt]

2234s are probably a great idea. Filling out the bottom end with a sub is easy enough. In fact, I have a couple of baskets floating around here somewhere....

Or use 2235H and leave the mass rings out?

I’ve never found the 2235H to be “muddy”, might not have the speed of the M2 woofer but there are few woofers of their era that could come even close to the effortless LF and not ring like a bell. I have other speakers that I would use for Deadmau5 or other electronic fun, and I also wouldn’t use low power tubes for that music. The Summits are very pleasant and much like the vintage Altecs the OP has, are amazing speakers for the right music.

 

[SaturationPt]

This is exactly what I was looking for and a great post. I would have to agree with you on having both. I will be setting a time to go to Toddalin's to do a sit down. I will also share my impressions. If Toddalin will have it, I would like to bring my tube set up and my 604b for an A/B. He is an all SS guy and he has some incredibly nice SS at that. I can't imagine having a better example of SS finest vs my 'preferred" tube set up. I would like to hear both the L300 on SS/Tube and the 604b on SS/Tube as well. This would really hone it in for me. My tube set up is a Fisher 400CX2 with an SA-100 or 300 (depending on mood) set up and all of them to spec and with total resto's. Well, that is all if Toddalin is even good with all that. But man, would be fun

The smallest tube amp I’ve had on my Summits (so far) is the McIntosh MC240, which is known to be around 52wpc (according to David’s test data from the last clinic) at .5%THD (factory THD spec). I would like to try it on my Model 500 (EL34 amp converted to 6L6GC) when my BIL (if?) decides to send it home (doing Klipschorn duty at his house).

What I can say is that they have adequate dynamics and bass performance on the MC240 for my listening level on classical and jazz that I like, as well as some of the alternative that I like to play. They will not blow the doors out of my somewhat large listening room, but will play well above comfortable with decent headroom (IMO, not measured).

To talk pairing, I was planning to let my MC240 go, it is between a couple of other amps that I like very much and just deserves to be enjoyed. I hooked it up to the L300s to run it a while before deciding where it should go and my wife heard it, she was hooked. I have tried tricking her into other amps so that I can say that I don’t need it, but she can tell from the sound without even sitting down, makes me swap it back. It is a very nice pairing I will admit. I look forward to your response after the @toddalin audition.

 

[tarior]

I too have NOS C8R2235H kits here, feel that they compare well to aftermarket kits that I have used. That said, my BIL has been a JBL Pro dealer in his business for decades, and when he has a customer who for some reason needs a cone etc., they replace the driver, from their measurements (sending in a driver for a re-cone vs new driver) the factory new driver is far more consistent and likely to meet original performance dead-center than a re-cone. However, if you are a band that has frequent replacements the re-cone might be good enough (his customers are typically large commercial installations so damage is not as common). If I can replace drivers, I’ll go that route and if not then cones, if not then foam/surrounds, in that order. Doped surrounds is another challenge entirely. Also for most people the JBL cone kits have the coil/former, spider, cone, and surround already assembled properly on a jig so it eliminates a lot of opportunity for the installer to mess something up.

Back to your point however. I don’t question your experience with OE vs aftermarket, from your posts and writings it appears that you have a well-experienced point of view. My comment then is not whether you can find aftermarket that is better made, but whether it is the exact stiffness, mass, etc. that the speaker was designed/tested/validated/built with. You might have the experience to be able to accurately measure and assess, but it is likely that most re-coners (especially hobbyists and other pseudo-professional speaker service people) are not and for them, buying OE JBL is almost sure to meet specs and has been tested to perform as new, everything else is just a paper plate with a hole in it.

Good point about consistency of product with factory kits. It can be said that they are the same, and any two from a given production run will match each other, and things like coil height and overall weight will within a certain tolerance.
In my experience, you are spot on that not all reconers care enough to really put the extra effort into making the best parts choices. They buy the "kit" from the supplier, slap it together and call it good. I've never really been happy with the aftermarket kits. Teh quality of the parts isn't the issue, but the parts that were chosen often is. For just about any woofer, JBL, or other, I call the supplier and specify which coil, cone, and spider that I want. That way, I can it close to original as possible. Especially when for many nice drivers, factory kits simply aren't available. The aftermarket suppliers buy their cones and spiders from the same vendors that JBL buys from, or at least the ones that JBL used to buy from at any rate. AFAIK, there are only two or three (Hawley, RDM, and one other whose name I forget) cone plants left in the US.

BTW, if you order a 2235 "kit" from an aftermarket supplier, you will actually receive their version of a 2234 kit. Don't lose your mass rings!