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Help with JBL 4343 WX Studio Monitors.........

KnoxVegas

KnoxVegas

New Member
Hello, This is my first post. I have been collecting Vintage Audio Gear for only a few months now so please forgive my Ignorance about some things. I am looking to buy a pair of JBL 4343's WX (Alnico Model) from the second owner. The Seller is a really Nice Guy but we have a bit of a language barrier as he Sounds to be Asian. He has sent me plenty of pics and they seem to be in almost Mint or I'll say 8 out of 10 condition and have sequential serial numbers. He told me he sent them to "Simply Speakers" to have the Woofers ReFoamed with their JBL ReCone Kit and remagnetized......My question is, Does this affect the value of the these speakers from a collectors standpoint? I'm not sure if he is telling me the woofers were reconed as well or if they only used the recone kit to refoam them only. If they have been Re-coned with the JBL Kit, does that affect value as well? Also from what I've read...They should have the 2121 Mid Bass Drivers and 2231 Woofers. He told me they do have all original speakers, Tweeters parts etc.......Is there Anything else I should ask? Any help is much appreciated.
 
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Welcome to Audiokarma!!

The 4343's are very nice and special JBL Studio Monitors. Their value is highest when everything is pretty much stock OEM in parts and specifications.

Ask if the woofers were refoamed with the "refoam kit" which would be ok assuming the foams were the correct types and size and placed on the back of the cones like OEM JBL's are. Confirm whether he meant refoam kit or reconed with the recone kit - huge difference. I do not see any factory JBL recone kits or factory service like that on the Simply Speakers website. I do not know if in the past they were a JBL Authorized Service Center. As far as I can see, they do sell aftermarket recone kits which are not fully assembled, so if reconed, they are not using Factory JBL parts - many shops do not because you have to be a JBL Authorized Service Center to get the Factory parts and install them, and as you might know, the Factory parts are not inexpensive. Aftermarket parts such as recone kits and diaphragms generally do not perform like OEM Factory JBL parts unless carefully chosen and assembled by very experienced techs like GordonW or Edgewound (Upland Loudspeaker Service here in Los Angeles) and their use in repairing a speaker could and can reduce the value.

You'll need to ask the seller to confirm, or get a copy of the service receipt to see when and how the work was done - As of today, Simply Speakers website indicates they are not taking any service work for now, don't know how long that has been going on though.

Instead of talking with him, might be easier on the translation if he can write to you via email, and include copies of any relevant paperwork. Good luck and share some of the pics if you can. How are you going to pick them up or ship them if you get them, are they close by to you?
 
Thanks so much for the info mech986!! They are not too far. They are around 8 hours away so If we can work something out, I'll be driving up to get them. In the pics he sent me, upon close examination the woofers look exactly like pics I am pulling up of original untouched 4343's on google images. The cones themselves look exact in color and construction. Pics is Probably not the way to judge these though.............
 
Knox. I have used The Speaker Exchange for replacement JBL drivers in the past. The owner is a certified JBL service tech. You might shoot her an E-Mail about your concerns, as the 4343 is a pretty serious investment for anyone.
 
KnoxVegas said:
Thanks so much for the info mech986!! They are not too far. They are around 8 hours away so If we can work something out, I'll be driving up to get them. In the pics he sent me, upon close examination the woofers look exactly like pics I am pulling up of original untouched 4343's on google images. The cones themselves look exact in color and construction. Pics is Probably not the way to judge these though.............
Click to expand...

Pics of the cones is not always a reliable way to tell if the cones are original. The best way is to have the owner pull the 4 drivers (2231 and 2121) and look for any numbers or markings on the back of the cones. OEM JBL cones and recones have 5 digit part numbers stamped on them from the factory - newer (last 10-15 years) might have a 3-3 number digital (letters and numbers) part number on a sticker. Also, recones that have been done typically have the shop or tech name with a date scribbled or written in grease pencil on the back of the cone to ID and date the work. Again, hopefully the seller has the original invoice detailing what was done and by whom. Any other numbers which don't match above would indicate an aftermarket part was used. Has the owner indicated that the compression midrange driver, HF tweeter and horn lenses are also ok?

If you can, try to upload the pics of the speakers and / or parts so we can assist (and vicariously enjoy your potential purchase).

Oh, 8 hours is quite a distance. Be sure to bring a large enough vehicle with a dolly or furniture movers (Home Depot Milwaukee brand work well) to make moving these easier, plus some heavy blankets, comforters or moving blankets to pad the speakers while in transit. I have a minivan with removable middle seats and rear seats which fold down which make it pretty easy.

What is the condition of the grilles, as they are NLA. Any damage to the cloth can be repaired with new grille cloth and we can point you to a good supplier.
 
mech986, Thanks so much for helping out as I don't want a costly mistake. I will upload pics first thing in the AM so keep your eyes peeled as I have limited time to purchase these.........Thanks Again
 
OK.......I spoke at length with the Asian Gentleman yesterday and Iv'e finally got some things straight. He told me that he purchased the 4343's from the original owner out of Arizona several years back. He had them shipped to him and when he received them he noticed that one of the 2121 Mid Bass Drivers wasn't right and the Foam on the 2231A Woofers needed replaced due to deterioration. He told me he found a set of NOS (New Old Stock) 2121's on eBay several years back and switched them out, placing the Original 2121 drivers in the NOS JBL Boxes and stored them away. He didn't have any luck finding the 2231A Woofers in NOS so he pulled them and sent them to "Simply Speaker" for professional ReCone (apparently there was some sort of problem with one of the woofer cones as well/ but I couldn't understand what he was explaining to me he said "burned") they also did the re-Foam using JBL Kit. I emailed "Simply Speakers" yesterday and here is what I got back.

"HI Darrell,

We are and have been a JBL Factory Authorized Service Center since the early 90's. If they were reconed and a factory kit was available I'm sure we would have used one. Refoaming service is always aftermarket but the plus side is you are just replacing the foam so the original cone and voice coil remain.

If you can get the seller to provide you the receipt send us a copy and we'll let you know.

Sincerely,"

The Asian Gentleman told me he doesn't have the paperwork from "Simply Speakers" He took pics of the Mid Bass Drivers and and pulled a Woofer to get me more pics yesterday and to prove they were the correct model numbers. He also said the 4343's have the Original Grilles and they have sequential serial #'s and that he guarantees that all drivers, HF Tweeters, Horn Lenses and Crossovers are 100% original components and that he doesn't buy JBL unless its genuine because he is "JBL Purist" Lol..........
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Here are some pics of the JBL NOS 2121's he bought on eBay and some of backs of original Mid Bass drivers, Woofer and of the crossover when he removed the woofer..........


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I'd like to see better picks of the backs of the cones of the mounted 2231A woofers - what makes me leary of them a bit is the fact that there are only 9 ribs and a very wide flat cone space from the outer most rib to the surround - this is in contrast to the normal OEM JBL 2231/2235 cone 12 ribs and a much smaller area out beyond the outermost rib. That makes me think an aftermarket recone was done before or after on the original frames. The issue is did he do the work with "Simply Speakers" or some other outfit with a similar name. Seems to me a "JBL Purist" with meticulous/OCD habits should have the original documentation of the work that he had done, or at the very least, could dig into his credit card records and find the transaction with the name and date of the work, which could help "simply speakers" to possibly find it in their records, if they exist still.

You can also see on the pics of the removed 2121's that the cones are a little different in color (assuming the lighting isn't playing tricks with us). The lower lighter woofer looks a little odd in the surround mounting area, looks a little like the surround or cone is mismatched for some reason.

Is the seller going to include the additional spare 2121's with the sale? Otherwise, the rest of the speaker looks pretty good, assuming the cabinets are in very good to excellent condition.

If the price is good, and you feel confident about the rest, you can always find 2231s with correct or recent 2235H JBL factory recones and new surrounds for about $500-800, and there are various sources for them, including AK and LH members, moi included.
 
KnoxVegas said:
OK.......I spoke at length with the Asian Gentleman yesterday and Iv'e finally got some things straight. He told me that he purchased the 4343's from the original owner out of Arizona several years back.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing these out of AZ on C/L several years back. There was even discussion of it on the JBL forum.
 
As I recall, someone from Canada was looking for some and they came up at the time. May have been 4345s. Wouldn't have helped you as it was just a reference to the CL ad at the time, which would be deleted long ago. Just seems like there can't have beem too many of those in AZ.
 
Nice thing about living in Southern California is that you do still see this stuff listed for sale. These 4343s are for sale right near me with an $8,800 asking price.

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Welcome to AK! I'm your neighbor here in Knoxville. There are a couple folks in the area who are very knowledgeable about JBL in general, and may be able to provide some answers to any questions you might have.

Those things are gorgeous!
 
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