The JBL 4430's are very smooth and dynamic loudspeakers. I am using a vintage but refurbished Yamaha M-80 power amplifier and a Denon AVR-4310ci as a pre-pro. I consider myself more of a music enthusiast than anything else and these studio monitors fit the bill nicely whenever I decide to rock out or just play some background music while doing things around the house. I stream music via Spotify, YouTube and PC, however, the JBL's do not fail to deliver a satisfying music expierence no matter the volume level. The music just sounds "right". Highly recommend.

Vintage, horn-loaded, JBL's may not be everyone's cup of tea but this is more of a personal preference than a weakness. Also, I am using a SVS pb2-isd subwoofer to help augment the bass as the speakers are only rated down to 35hz.

Sound great LOUD. Look kinda cool. They have tunable crossovers. Cabinets are furniture grade. Spec.’s are awesome up to 16K Hz. Really good dispersion; both horizontally and vertically. Can handle power and sound great LOUD. Virtually distortion free. Acoustically aligned. I bought mine new in 1982. I have replaced the foam on the woofers twice- once around 1999 and again in 2018. They still sound great.

They sound anemic at low to moderate listening levels. You have to turn them UP to appreciate them, which requires a lot of (clean) power. I first tried to run them with 90W/channel stereo amp. That was not nearly enough power. So, I bought a second amp (both Crown PS 200). The Crowns are easily bridged mono, which yields 280W into 8 Ohms. That is enough power. They have a pretty flat frequency response curve at factory neutral setting. You will want an equalizer.

Wanted some full-range speakers of quality that can move some air! JBL came to mind. I auditioned a new professional-grade JBL monitor and was not overly impressed. By chance, the next day, a pristine pair of 4430's came up on the local hifi buy& sell site. Price was a bit high, but compared to the new JBL's, a third of the price.
Hooked them up to a 70w amp until my Macintosh MC2105 was back from repair.
The outputs on the 70w amp were 8ohm even though the speakers are 6ohm.
There was a bit of a honk at around 2kHz that was a bit annoying, and bottom end was lighter than I hoped for a 15" woofer.
When I got my McIntosh back, I hooked the 4430's up to the 4ohm tap on the MC2105 and what a difference! The bottom end had the Slam I was yearning for since the 80's and the honk in the upper mids was gone. The speakers go up to 16kHz, but as I listen more, I don't feel like I'm missing much in the top end. I did order some stand-alone diy super tweeters to experiment with for above 16kHz, just to see.
The soundstage and image accuracy is scary good! These speakers are so far beyond my expectations -they are addictive. Talk about AUTHORITY! It's hard to stop grinning and gawking in disbelief!
I don't need to run them as loud as my previous speakers to hear the details and feel the music, but with the lack of distortion, they don't seem so loud, but when my wife says something to me, I can't hear what she's saying! (maybe psychological!) So I guess they are louder than I realize, but don't seem to be.
To sum up, I am enthralled and very impressed with these 4430's. The guy in another review who said to drop them in the middle of a lake surely must not have had them set up properly.
I bet there are "better" speakers out there, but to paraphrase another fan of these, I would be happy if these were the last speakers I ever owned.

Sorry but this is really a question. I am looking at buying a pair of these used. I have a pair of JBL century 100s that I really love - and they are great. But the question I have for the 4430s is what do I look for in a pair of used ones, and how do I set them up with a simple amp?

Thanks much

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JBLmonitors.com is where the action is. And JBL reference monitors are the face behind the action. Sixty years of research and development paved the way for innovative technology and patented component design. The cumulative experience at JBL has helped boost product performance further and to create masterpieces every time. When some of the models were launched nearly four decades ago, they were much ahead of the times. JBL recognized early on that for exceptional mix down and mastering, the monitors should diffuse the effects of the room. The focus of development soon shifted to linear spatial reference technology that made JBL Pro the first choice of studio monitors for home and project studios. Even today JBL is the first choice for live sound reinforcements and installations. A quick stroll through the website will convince you that JBL offerings cut across all echelons of the music world.

JBLmonitors.com is not only about studio monitors. The web site features an exhaustive article on how to create a good mix. The article explores the means of transforming a finished song into the final output at the end of which you’ll be able to use an analog mixer to create a uniform stereo mix from a multi-track recording.

When you are on the website, do not forget to bookmark it. Also, make a mental note to revisit the site often and be part of the audio revolution that has gripped the world.

Neutral Frequency Response. Quality Components and Cabinet. One of the Top 5 Monitors used accross the world for over 20 years. Emotional and Impact from Top to Bottom. Detail Detail and More Detail. Smooth, Transparent, Huge Soundstage with All the Impact you could ever want. Best of all....Emotion!!!!!!!!

These are not really weakness but more required for the Best Sound. Upstream Components need to be top notch. Need quality Class A Power!! Proper Placement is also very critical.

Best Speakers I have ever owned and probably ever will. I could not afford to upgrade from these speakers because I would have to spend thousands to do so.
My system included a Sony ES S9000 Universal Player, Parasound HCA-1500A, and a Carver CT-7 Preamp. I also have various headphones for comparison listening (Koss Electrostatic/Sennheiser HD-650/Sony CD-3000). The JBL 4430's are Neutral and Accurate as Headphones, but Musical at the same time. There is no higher praise....And...with impact from Top to Bottom. Any reviewer that does not like these speakers does not have them set up properly or have the right associated equpment. Of course we all hear different and have various types of listening rooms. These JBL's need a large room with a solid back wall. My back wall is 3ft thick concrete and my ceiling is 15 foot high. So I do have an advantage with space. Keep this in mind when you are looking for BIG speakers like these. They are 127lbs each and built to last a lifetime. And the rest of my lifetime I will be
listening to these!! If you have the space for them and an understanding wife and family and you want off the high end merry-go-round, go for these and no others.

Customer Service

THE BEST!

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Flat, true, good furniture....lol

Just a bit more glass would have done......and a few less bucks........but

While work'en at the MGM studios and hav'en fun sett'en up for the "scoring" stage, Dan the man (great mix'en dan)..........showed me the back up monitors at the rear of the mixing room. I liked the ole 4430's so much I just had ta get a set of em for the living room..............lol thanks dan! After a stunning expierence at the many bus board dan commanded (at that time) and with JBL's flawless instalation of all the crystal and lenses I was moved as we scored many flicks. If ya like color and distortion these aren't for ya.......you may want Missions.......lol 30's are flat true and you add the rest at the knobs...........I use david hafflers gear bi amped and bridged w 4 amps rnn'en these puppys the ole 4430's just plane kick ass. If your ear can handle davids tweaks (gear included with amps) pink noise the heck out of em........as a pipe organ voicer I find em NICE....to those who don't .............s_ _t who cares.......feels nice to hear the bow go across the ole violin........and the rubbers haven't worn out yet after 15. but then again I keep my S _ _ T clean......lol

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mission,bose,AR,voice of the theatre,

I love the way they look and sound.

Super-heavy and expensive.

I bought my 4430's new over 5 years ago for the front left and right speakers in my theater. They sounded spectacular then and they sound spectacular today! They are extremely robust and can literally dish out pain if you so desire.
The 4430's also have incredible imaging.

I cannot think of a better home theater speaker.

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The 4430 need to be set up correctly to demonstrate there abilities. A larger room, with heavy carpeting will help reduce the reflected sound. These speakers have very wide dispersion, causing the reflected sound to be the dominate effect. I have mine place in the corner of the room with the mid-range control set to –4db, the high freq. is set to 0db. In this situation they rock the room and image like a mini monitor.

When listening to classical, I found that the 4430’s needed to be cranked to perceive the impact of a large assembly, This observation was made when evaluating some DVD audio disk. It took research to understand theses speaker. But given good program material they can recreate a pop image as if they were in your living room. They just plane disappear.

For the price they "KILL any thing at circuit city", Theses are real "STUDIO MONITORS" not some facsimile

Spencer

Very well made drivers.

Lousy crossover, and cabinet designed incorrectly. Made to sell.

Big nasal sounding midrange no bass. Throw the crossover in the trash, and bi-amp it with electonic crossover, and you may stand a chance of getting a sembalance of some kind of sound. I would like to know how JBL couls sell this speaker with that lousy foam edge that you have to replace every 3-5 years. Could have used a nice cloth edge? I've done an extensive re-design of the crossover, and using monster cable instead of the string that JBL used. I have almost been able to achieve a decent sound. Still trying, and frustrated. Does anyone have any info, let me know..

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B&W 801