Final upgrade

[Hari Iyer]

Hari, Tang Band drivers may be worth checking. They are around 10k for a mid bass /bass driver. It uses paper as cone material. I don’t know if Eminence is cheaper. They too are good drivers

I have a 6" Tangband polycone driver with me, but I am looking for a 12" driver. Any particular TB driver you are referring to? Also under my radar are Beyma 12" drivers if importing is not a hassel.

 

[prem]

No Hari. I don’t have model particulars. But in general from what I have read they sound good. And they work very well with vintage drivers. Beyma is a more modern sound. Don’t know how well it will synergise with your vintage fieldcoil.

 

[k-pad]

When I said final upgrade, I didn’t mean it’s the best sound possible. There are enough systems that sound better than mine. But they also cost a lot more. I don’t have a room to justify those spends. It will be like buying a Ferrari and trying to drive on the Mumbai roads

Chief, chances of enjoying a Ferrari on Mumbai roads would actually be higher than finding auditory satisfaction

 

[Hari Iyer]

No Hari. I don’t have model particulars. But in general from what I have read they sound good. And they work very well with vintage drivers. Beyma is a more modern sound. Don’t know how well it will synergise with your vintage fieldcoil.

Checked Altec 12" Alnico wooders but unfortunately outside my purchase budget. Looking for some vintage stuff salvaged from instruments like organ.

 

[prem]

Maybe you should wait till you have the budget for a Tang Band or preferably an Altec. I think that’s the right way to go. No point rushing in and buying inferior stuff.

 

[prem]

The Thoress has been ordered. Should come by Feb.

 

[Rajiv]

Hi Prem,

I know you said final upgrade but Nelson Pass is making an active crossover for the JBL 4343 speakers. He says that it is an improvement. Something you can maybe consider.

He talks about the JBL's from around the 30 minute portion of the interview.

Regards
Rajiv

 

[prem]

Thanks for sharing Rajiv. Will look it up. It was nice to hear him say the L 300 which is the 4333 model responds very well to low amplification power. It’s the same I am experiencing with the 4343 also which is the one that came after the 4333.

At this point I am just trying to see if I can bypass the internal/external crossover switch. Can’t figure how to do it. I believe it does improve the sound a wee bit.

And yes an active crossover would definitely be an interesting option. But that’s one more amp too

 

[Naturelover]

Right near the start of that section, he says that he just got a pair of 4343s

 

[prem]

He seemed to discuss the L 300 model. So got a bit confused. His crossover design for L300/4333 is well documented. There is no info however on his active crossover for the 4343. Don’t know if it’s the readily available Pass XVR1

 

[Dev.R]

Hi Prem, there is nice thread in audio heritage forum by warpig, explaining step by step about how to bypass the switch.

sharing the link , in case you have not gone through it.

4343B rotary switch bypass single amp mode. - Page 2

First off I do not mind criticism so if anyone sees something that may be wrong please lets get it corrected. Hope this helps some. This is for the 4343B. Not sure if it is the same for other models. Goal is to bypass the rotary switch in single amp mode not biamp mode and to install new...

www.audioheritage.org

 

[prem]

Thanks Dev R. I have seen this link. Jls001 came over and we tried to bypass. But couldn’t figure. So we put everything back as is.

If any member knows how to do it, would be glad to have him home to do it

 

[Dev.R]

The best upgrade for 4343 according to Greg Timbers is the Charged Coupled network and fixed resistors instead of the potentiometers ( Mids, HF & UHF)
I am sure that will be your final upgrade

 

[prem]

I read about that

 

[prem]

The phono is finally here. With no break in of tonearm cable and the phono, it sounds like a more alive EMT in built phono.

 

[prem]

I played the phono today at 250, 300 and 400 ohms loading. At 400 ohms it’s absolutely brilliant. Clearly a notch above the inbuilt EMT phono. After break in I don’t know if I will be required to change the loading again.

 

[prem]

With a few hours of play, the highs have begun to open up. And this has necessitated that the cartridge loading be decreased to 300 ohms from 400 ohms. In my earlier inbuilt phono of the EMT 950, the loading was 250 ohms.

 

[prem]

Stupidity on my part. When I was connecting the new cable directly to the tonearm, the tracking weight slider shifted a bit to around 2.8 g. The recommended wt is 2.5 g. This slight increase in wt caused the highs to be damped a bit and hence the 300 ohm load setting seemed to work better.

Now that it’s back to 2.5 g, the 250 ohm load setting works better

 

[arj]

The weight/angle and overhang of a cartridge is so critical for sound..but again for a 50Ohms difference to show up so clearly, your system has too be extremely revealing and the ear able to catch it

 

[jls001]

Stupidity on my part. When I was connecting the new cable directly to the tonearm, the tracking weight slider shifted a bit to around 2.8 g. The recommended wt is 2.5 g. This slight increase in wt caused the highs to be damped a bit and hence the 300 ohm load setting seemed to work better.

Now that it’s back to 2.5 g, the 250 ohm load setting works better

Tracking weight definitely matters! I've found by experiment that there is an ideal/optimal within the manufacturer recommended range.