Hopefully I'll get the chance tomorrow to listen to the 4343:s spotted by Figge! Since my experience with JBL monitors is limited to the 4311:s we have at work (which IMHO still are fine as "party speakers", but nothing I would like to use for critical listening), I'm not sure what to expect. Thus any and all advice on what to look/listen for is highly appreciated!
Needless to say, I'll visually inspect the drivers for foam rot, check for buzz 'n rub (I'll bring a tone generator), turn the attenuators, etc, etc.
What are the factory recommendations for positioning and dialing in the pads? I figure a "pretty large" listening triangle is required (reflecting the 4-way design), and some toe-in, slots in ear level, and pots at "0 dB" (or center detention) is a good starting point - right?
What if (God forbid!) I think they sound like crap?Shall I just blame it on (disregarding my own reality distortion field
) worn-out diaphragms and dried-out capacitors (and/or other parts of the signal chain), and still drop well above 3 grand, being confident that if only those issues are addressed, I'll reach Nirvana? Or maybe, after all, loudspeaker technology has advanced during the past 25 years to the extent that even a 100% up-to-spec pair really requires "neural nostalgia inverse filtering"... Stated another way: Will the old heroes give a recent pair of speakers at this price level a match?