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JBL 4311 Value

JameWades

JameWades

New Member
I might have an opportunity to pick these up from a friend of a friend, and I wanted to get some thoughts from the well-versed folks around here. We haven't discussed prices yet.

I know pricing on JBL has gone bananas over the last couple decades, but it almost seems like it's hit a weird plateau, where no one really knows what to ask for anymore. I've seen prices online that are all over the map.

If you came across these in a "for sale" post, what would your thoughts be? Maybe a price range of "good deal for buyer," "good deal for us both," and "good deal for seller?"

Thanks for your help in advance!

(BTW: seller says he got them from first owner. first owner had the woofer patched and seller says he can't tell a difference between the two. seller also says he cleaned up the cabinet on the right but hasn't touched the one on the left since he came into possession.)
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faber12 said:
Is that wall repair spackling on that one woofer?
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Mine were the same way, except that the genius who had mine tried rubber cement. It had remained sticky and was a black mess, catching dust since whenever he did the "repair". It couldn't be smoothed in any way. I wish they had used spackling. You can work with that. I masked everything off and gave a light spray paint over the cones to reduce the ugliness.

Of course I paid $20 for mine. Also mine are the B with the titanium tweeter.

It wasn't uncommon for that sprayed on surface to crack and the cone underneath was generally fine. That's why they moved the spray to the back of the cone later. Lots of them are likely cracked and the owners have no idea.
 
faber12 said:
Is that wall repair spackling on that one woofer?
Click to expand...

I'm right there with you. "You know anybody who can fix a busted woofer? No, but my cousin does drywall on the weekends."

That said, I've never performed/heard that kind of fix on a woofer (regardless of glue distribution). What effect is it likely to have on the sound?
 
I love the 4311's and now have my second set. Cracks in the woofers are (unfortunately) common as the coating becomes brittle with age. One woofer I repaired with high quality wood glue - for a much smaller crack. It was worked out well. I cannot hear a difference between the repaired woofer and the intact woofer. I sold this set for $450 localy and the new owner is very happy (and the deal was fair). My second set cabinets are in better condition with no woofer fractures. Localy someone is asking for a similar set $850 - very optimistic in my opinion. Based on your pictures I believe the best course is to offer no more than $350 and assume you will need to find a replacement for the woofer. Occasionally I will see a donor woofer for around $125. These are wonderful speakers - but as all studio monitors a bit bright to my taste. Bottom line for $350 I would be a buyer and at $450 would pass. Factoring in a replacement woofer and the cabinets seem in great shape I could probably net $300 for around a $500 investment.
 
faber12 said:
Is that wall repair spackling on that one woofer?
Click to expand...
It looks like it could be the classic "tissue paper repair" that's been recommended many times here on AK. Due to the high cost of JBL replacement parts (plus increasing labor costs) it's not surprising that many will attempt a DIY repair. I had one of these once with a larger crack that appeared to have been professionally repaired with some sort of thick glue or cement. It held up well and the woofer worked fine (although I didn't take measurements to see if the presumably increased mass had a significant effect on its parameters).
 
My money would be on spackling or caulk. If it is latex caulk you may be able to smooth the repair and paint it to match the rest. Spackling is pretty brittle for that use but acrylic caulk may not bee that bad.
 
swechsler said:
It looks like it could be the classic "tissue paper repair" that's been recommended many times here on AK. Due to the high cost of JBL replacement parts (plus increasing labor costs) it's not surprising that many will attempt a DIY repair. I had one of these once with a larger crack that appeared to have been professionally repaired with some sort of thick glue or cement. It held up well and the woofer worked fine (although I didn't take measurements to see if the presumably increased mass had a significant effect on its parameters).
Click to expand...
No, not at all. The cone underneath is fine, it's just the coating that cracked. No actual repair is necessary, but people sometimes made bad attempts as outlined above.
 
SaturationPt said:
Value is value, whether you’re keeping or flipping the value on the buying end is the same and with a damaged woofer the value is what the speakers are worth finished minus the repair/reconditioning cost.
Click to expand...
You said that it didn't matter what the effect was on the sound.
 
markshan said:
You said that it didn't matter what the effect was on the sound.
Click to expand...

Got it, you’re right. I meant regarding purchase price / value. And even though the L100/L100A/L100A (late) was a very high production speaker in its time, nice used ones don’t exactly grow on trees these days so I can certainly understand if someone really wants them and has to take what he can get locally, the seller can have a bit of an advantage and get over “market” price.

As many people will agree however, this series of speakers is more collectible than absolute SQ, so I always look at it more like a piece of collectible MCM furniture that has to be in collectible condition than a speaker.
 
markshan said:
Mine were the same way, except that the genius who had mine tried rubber cement. It had remained sticky and was a black mess, catching dust since whenever he did the "repair". It couldn't be smoothed in any way. I wish they had used spackling. You can work with that. I masked everything off and gave a light spray paint over the cones to reduce the ugliness.

Of course I paid $20 for mine. Also mine are the B with the titanium tweeter.

It wasn't uncommon for that sprayed on surface to crack and the cone underneath was generally fine. That's why they moved the spray to the back of the cone later. Lots of them are likely cracked and the owners have no idea.
Click to expand...

Spackling is worthless as a speaker repair product, unless used on the cabinet. And even then there are better products to use.
Spackle is useful for some wall repairs.
 
faber12 said:
My money would be on spackling or caulk. If it is latex caulk you may be able to smooth the repair and paint it to match the rest. Spackling is pretty brittle for that use but acrylic caulk may not bee that bad.
Click to expand...

I agree, caulk can sometimes be used, and being flexible it may last quite a while. And for those who might want to paint their repaired cones, latex or paintable caulk is paintable. 100% silicone caulk will not accept paint consistently. It tends to spider web or disperse paint. Spackle will crack, and using it on a surface that is constantly moving will just hasten the cracking.
 
I call my 4311s “poor man’s L00s”, because they usually can be bought for less than than what’s basically the same speaker (I’d rather have the 4311s, anyway.) Both models seem to be sitting for longer periods of time in the marketplace lately, so maybe the demand has run its course.
Also, if the woofers are as close to the floor as they appear to be in the pics, the cabinets should be flipped to get them on the bottom.
 
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