Kendrick Sound JBL 4350 for music Bar

I know these speakers and most 43xx very well, by PA system do you mean a music system or an actual PA to make announcements?
david

Chakster, given quality sources the 4350 is capable of exceptional playback quality at both high and low levels 2nd to none but it's not suited for sound reinforcement purposes. You need a different system for your live venues.
david

Chakster, exceptional quality reproduction requires exceptional electronics and front end. You have to get the entire chain right and not just the amps. We had Levinson, AR, CJ and many other brands but for the past 17 years we've sold only Lamm electronics. I believe that they still make the best and most musical equipment today, bar none. I'm not trying to sell you anything here, they have their own representation in Russia, it's what I believe and know from direct experience. JBL 4350s are incredible speakers and in combination with Lamm electronics will give you a phenomenal sound.
david

Chakster, I use low power Lamm SETs for my personal use too but they're not suited to the 4350, nor would you want them in a commercial setting. 4350 likes some current to come to life. Lamm M1.2 is a natural match for this speaker.

We've done several installations for so called music bars in the past and I've been to a few in Japan where they originated from. In these settings where music is front and center of the ambience the choice of music and electronics will affect the kind of clientele you'll end up with. You can use a vintage Mac with the JBLs but you'll end up with a darker sound suited to certain types of Jazz and mellower atmosphere appealing mostly to a more mature patron. The Lamms will really make these speakers sing with every type of music and depending on your volume setting and choice of music you can control the ambience in you bar. I highly recommend a Lamm preamp if you decide on the Lamm amp.

I saw that you were asking about cartridges in another thread, my recommendation is to stay under $1000, Ortofon, Denon and AT all make fantastic cartridges in that price range.

david

Chakster, I never dealt with Kendrick Sound nor do I know what they change/modify as part of their refurbishing process, I only buy and sell speakers in original condition. I'm not sure if any of the setups I heard in Japan were original or from Kendrick Sound. In general I avoid buying anything moded, specially if its the wires or some of the crap sounding audiophile branded caps are involved. You should ask Kendrick what has been done to the speaker before purchasing.

The 4550 is only a bass cabinet for sound reinforcement or theater applications, not a speaker. You have to find out the condition and the horn/driver compliment before knowing what it is. In any case you should know that it only goes down to around 50hz, great if its enough for you otherwise you're going to need a subwoofer for it.
david

david

This is the part I like in that article and feel the same when it comes to high end,

"People talk about "musical system" these days. Well, for me, there are two kinds of "musical system". One that connects you to the music so strongly that you forget about the gear and bath in the glory of music. The other that's totally boring as an audio system, so you just try to concentrate on whatever the music it's playing. Despite their shortcomings by today's standard, those systems at Jazz/Classical Cafe definitely belonged to the former. They weren't an all-around performer, like many of today's mainstream systems try to be. Mainstreamers are like an all "A" student for me. They do academic things well, but whether you want to become friends with them is a different story. Your best friend may not do so well at school and you may have to help him with homework sometimes, but he can be fun, joyous and thrilling to be with.

The sound of Jazz Cafe lives in my memory and it must be very much beautified by time. If I could visit one of them today, the impression might be a bit different. But it gives me a slightly different perspective when I listen to a system and when I think about audio. Audio is so closely tied to music, and music to life. I don't want it to be micro-managed just in the context of the current highend. Audio can be wider, deeper, richer, and more imaginative, than that."

david