Reproduction JBL 4350's is there a market?

[HemiRick]

Original pairs of JBL 4350's when they come for sale, in nice condition, sell for almost $20K these days ! Do you think there is any market for as accurate as possible reproductions? There is a thread on Parts Express where someone has made 1 pair. link to this thread
I'm thinking I could make and sell a pair of these for $3500

 

[amirm]

In Asia probably. I don't know if there is a big market in US.

 

[mhardy6647]

Oh, there are folks who covet stuff like that/those.

DSC_7248 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(not JBL horns, though )

On topic -- I woudl think that a decently constructed cabinet would cost a pretty good fraction of $3500 (each) -- given what my Billfort cabinets (Baltic birch) cost to have built.
http://www.wardsweb.org/Billfort/

Current production JBL drivers and horns are... not inexpensive, either, and I doubt there'd be any market for a loudspeaker like the 4350 with generic drivers.

E.g., current production JBL 2446H lists for $849:
https://www.parts-express.com/jbl-2446h-2-titanium-horn-driver-8-ohm-4-bolt--294-415

 

[direstraitsfan98]

Original pairs of JBL 4350's when they come for sale, in nice condition, sell for almost $20K these days ! Do you think there is any market for as accurate as possible reproductions? There is a thread on Parts Express where someone has made 1 pair. link to this thread
I'm thinking I could make and sell a pair of these for $3500
View attachment 48004

if you have the skills you certainly could make some money as a side business given the right take off with good marketing and word of mouth. but you'd be better off making something smaller, jbl is such a niche market of audiophile communiy to begin with, most audiophiles actively shun jbl, and the space issue is also a thing. as for any major manufacture taking up manufacture of these, defintely not, not ever. logitstically it wouldnt be possible to make and ship pallets of speakers with this size any more, not in 2020 or even the last 30 years honestly.

 

[mhardy6647]

Loudspeakers that size (and of that ilk) are being crated up and sent to (e.g.) Southeast Asia via container ships all of the time. I say this without any rancor -- there's tremendous demand for hardware like this, and it goes to the highest bidders, who (in 2020) are generally not in North America.

EDIT: in fairness, that market would have zero interest in reproductions.

It's also probably worth mentioning that the current JBL "Summit Series" are pretty good loudspeakers albeit not inexpensive. A little prettier than the classic vintage JBL studio monitors, though.

https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/speakers/?category=Speakers&brand=Jbl&sort=sitePrice|DESC&page=1&pagesize=24&c1=tab-products&c2=grid
(arranged in high to low price order )

 

[HemiRick]

Yes I thought of the fact that the sheer size would deter a lot of people, and the people paying the big bucks would want originals, hence a price for reproductions that is considerably less. I also understand that using currently available JBL drivers would greatly increase the cost, but it would also make them nearly indestructible, as the $503 JBL 15 inch woofers handle a continuous 600 watts, 1200 peak ! With 2 per speaker compleat overkill.

No I'm wondering if I could even sell maybe 10 pairs. Reading threads on these speakers, they seem to be many peoples dream speaker. With non JBL drivers that handle a more realistic amount of power for a home user. {400 watts peak times 2} I guess the only real way to find out is to make some and try to sell them.....cabinets would be made from 3/4 inch MDF bonded/screwed to 3/4 inch plywood, and externally would have an industrial appearance like most of the originals. They would be very heavy, probably heavier than the originals, due to the thicker cabinets. They obviously could be veneered, but this would be added cost.

 

[oldsysop]

Original pairs of JBL 4350's when they come for sale, in nice condition, sell for almost $20K these days ! Do you think there is any market for as accurate as possible reproductions? There is a thread on Parts Express where someone has made 1 pair. link to this thread
I'm thinking I could make and sell a pair of these for $3500
View attachment 48004

This type of speakers are the only ones that I am interested in having and that are measured by Amir.

 

[Neddy]

Having just built my own rack cloned off the L200 design, I can say that unless you have a near-pro wood shop, and access to good supplies of wood(s), it'd be a tough slog, just for the cabinetry.
And, those hoary old 4350/55s are not state of the art soundwise by any means.
I spent most of my 20s in the presence of a pair of them, and much time comparing them to my 3-way L200s and showroom L300s.
I have no way to compare them today, but I think my now-4367 woofered 3-way L200s would give them a real run for the money.
Louder? Yes. More impact? Yes. Cleaner/better sound? No.
So that pretty much leaves visual impact/aesthetics and Plays Really Loud - for really big vintage tech I think that would be a very small market, plus the whole 'not-original' issue mentioned above.
DIY M2s or even 4367s would be less expensive to build and sound better.
They sure are pretty though, and was just talking yesterday with a friend about them - for the right price I'd take a pair for rear surround use any day!

(The one on the right is the rack)

 

[martin900]

Short answer? No, not at all.

I doubt there is any market for these, maybe if you'd make a copy of the smaller 4340/4341 style cabinet.
In Europe there is an original 4350 pair for sale after full restoration for around $15k and it still can't sell.
The issue is the insane space requirement, then you're stuck with a bi-amp system that also requires a very expensive active crossover to work best.

Making a reproduction 4350/4355 that doesn't have original JBL units in it would be pointless, to say the least. They are a cult icon and so even the material choice must be perfect as well as matching the blue color for the front baffle.
Just slapping a few random drivers in to a big cab and make it resemble a JBL 4350 doesn't make it a 4350.

Asian market is saturated by Kenrick Sound who make immaculate clones and refurbished originals: http://jbl43.com/?mode=f3

I've had a 4343 that was heavily modified with "2 driver, 2123H midbass and 3155 9V CC'ed crossovers and only Bryston 10B let it sing the way it should, haven't heard the Krell KRX / Marchand / DEQX though.
That said, with a modified Croft OTL amp on the mid/high section this was the best midrange I've heard of any speaker so far.

 

[Alobar]

I agree with those who say no, but with this caveat. If you had access to CNC equipment, and could have them precut as a kit, maybe, just maybe you could sell them for a profit to the far east markets. Kit form, packed flat without the volume should get you over the hurdle of shipping cost restrictions. Innovative assembly procedure would be a must, and high quality materials throuought.

Drivers then become the problem, but if I were doing them I would at least attempt to break away from the past and use modern JBL drivers throuought, with active crossovers and dsp. I bet with modern low distortion equipment these could be made to sound good if not great. Maybe Everest great? Something to shoot for!

 

[discus96]

Yes there is a market for those but you need original components, not easy to find and very expensive. Plus a well designed xover for the highs and a very expensive cabinets.

 

[discus96]

I would never ever change those to any other speaker and there are many crazy guys like me!
I’ve tested and listened so many expensive speakers but the SOUND of these and their Vintage look is SEXY to me!

 

[doodle6]

I have two pairs of them, one with enclosures made of 19-ply 3/4” Baltic birch, with EVERY interior construction detail followed 100% faithfully. Correct blue paint on baffles, beautiful walnut veneers and walnut hardwood nosings, correct JBL components, including 3107 crossovers (hardest of all to find). The other pair is factory originals in 10 condition. I can’t hear a difference between them. I also own Everest DD67000 speakers as well as 4343s, 4333s, L-300s, Salon 2 speakers and several other nice speakers. IMO, 4350s are unchallenged in clear, accurate dynamics. They handle enormous amounts of power with NO strain, ever. They don’t image very well, but that’s their most prominent weakness. I have no use for them, but have refused my wife’s entreaties to sell them. They’re like the 1967 HO 400 GTO we had for the first few years of our marriage. Still kicking myself for selling the GTO…. Can’t persuade myself to divest myself of the 4350s. Health may finally force it…