MusicLover69 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 SOLD Item: Kenrick Sound JBL4345 Speakers Location: Melbourne, Australia Price: $29,000 Item Condition: Immaculate, brand new Reason for selling: About to start renovation, change of plans Payment Method: EFT, Cash, Paypal, COD Only Extra Info: Treat yourself to the ultimate new year's gift! I am offering for sale my brand new Kenrick Sound JBL4345 speakers. JBL4345 The JBL4345 professional monitor series was manufactured in the early 1980's in very small volumes (I believe that only 200-300 pairs were ever manufactured). It is considered to this day one of the best speaker systems ever made and has developed a cult following, especially in the USA, Japan and South Korea. There is a buoyant market for replicas & clones around the world but original speakers are extremely valuable and rarely come up for sale. If you do manage to find an original, it is often in poor condition. Here's some data on the speaker: https://audio-database.com/JBL/speaker/4345-e.html KENRICK SOUND Kenrick Sound in Japan are JBL fanatics who buy original speakers from around the world, then painstakingly restore them to new condition. Every aspect of the speaker is restored or re-built, including careful attention to detail on the cabinet, drivers, driver surrounds & crossovers. As rare as the originals are, the Kenrick Sound versions are even rarer. Company: http://kenricksound.com These exact speakers: http://jbl43.com/?pid=143272370 SOUND QUALITY Even compared to modern expensive high end speakers, these have a tone and effortlessness about them that is still amazing to hear. For example, one member of the Audiophile Club of Athens, Akis Michalopoulos has a pair of Kenrick Sound 4351 speakers http://www.aca.gr/index/members/greece?row=9 In 2014, the club met at his home and heard his system and to this day the members say that they have not heard a better sound. Report: http://www.aca.gr/index/meetings?row=2691 The speakers on offer here are even rarer than his JBL4351's and in ordering these, I spoke extensively with Akis and Kenrick Sound. After they were finished, Kenrick Sound sent me the following videos of the speakers being tested. You will not be able to tell much from the resolution of a Youtube video, but it will give you an idea about their tone. And in these videos, they are being driven by single amplifiers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8xNxXZOgdE > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Txck6CAow > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIVFiWaDc-I > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucd5ZgudrUs > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypHHmvKoBzE > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn_FHrrmmWo > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8v75ioCbiE > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdX09lYlm2A > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgMOLfDn2to > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSLkZM50AXM > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGcvSp7lOtM > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pacZhNVVBaE BACKGROUND AND REASON FOR SELLING I had been on a waiting list for a long time and finally I had an opportunity to order them in December 2018. The build was estimated to be around 2-3 months however I asked Kenrick Sound to build me an upgraded crossover network with pure silver teflon sheathed wiring and high quality components and due to my lack of availability (overseas travel), the speakers did not actually arrive here till late November 2019 (11 months later). I have only run them for 20-30 hours so far and they are notorious for needing hundreds of hours to run in so your are essentially getting a brand new speaker that needs to be run in. Due to their rarity, my intention was to keep these long term however in the ensuing year, we've had some changes to our situation and we are now about to move out of our house for 6-12 months and undergo a significant renovation project. I have had bad experiences with storing rare & valuable items so I prefer to sell them rather than risk damaging them in storage. HOW MUCH DID THEY COST ME? The speakers with the upgraded silver crossover networks plus the wooden stands & freight cost me 2,260,000 YEN which is $30,081. This includes brand new dark blue JBL grill cloths and black horn diffusion lenses. They are in absolutely brand new condition. No marks, scratches or scuffs. Kenrick Sound have a waiting list for these speakers and have offered to connect me to a new buyer overseas. I have also received strong interest from South Korea. However, before I consider those options, I thought to offer them for sale in Australia first in case it can save me the effort and cost of shipping overseas. FURTHER OPTIONS The 4345's can be run with one amplifier through the upgraded crossover network. However, most people believe that to optimise their potential, bi-amping with an external active crossover is preferable. While I was waiting for them, I purchased a Yamaha P7000S pro-audio power amp based on people's recommendations. This is a superb choice to drive those 18 inch woofers and provides the ideal power and damping factor for that role. I had the amplifier modified so that the noisy fans were replaced with ultra-quiet fans and the binding posts were upgraded. The total cost of this amplifier ($2K), the mods ($600) and the speaker cables ($400) was $3K. I also asked Ian Mackenzie (Ian Mackenzie Audio) to build me a Fx1 active crossover unit for the speaker system. Ian is an internationally renowned JBL4345 expert and a consummate professional at optimising the performance of these speaker systems and I recommend the future buyer to engage Ian to optimise the set up, should you choose to bi-amp and use the external active crossover unit. This cost me $1,500. The amplifier and active crossover unit can be negotiated separately if the buyer is interested in going with that strategy. STEREONET RED CROSS BUSHFIRE RELEIF Upon the sale, I will be making a donation to Stereonet. IN CONCLUSION... This is a truly rare opportunity to purchase a highly sought after, rare and appreciating speaker system. You may enjoy the superb craftsmanship of a perfectly restored legendary speaker, you may simply love the uber-retro looks, you may love the idea of being a custodian of audio history or you may be an investor who knows what these speakers can fetch overseas and into the future when they will literally never come up for sale. Or you may simply want to enjoy their superb sound which embarrasses most modern speakers that are multiples of this cost. Whatever your reason, this is a wonderful opportunity. Enjoy! 9 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Soap Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 There are very few listings that pop up on these forums that have me seriously considering whether I should part ways with my beloved TAD CR-1's. This is one of those listings. Through gritted teeth - GLWTS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myskylab Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aasza Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 @kelossus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungbean66 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 GLWTS. I’ve always been in awe of what they do there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Be Quiet...Listen Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 39 minutes ago, Galactic Soap said: There are very few listings that pop up on these forums that have me seriously considering whether I should part ways with my beloved TAD CR-1's. This is one of those listings. Through gritted teeth - GLWTS I’d be hanging onto those TAD’s Galatic! @Lansche plasma guy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Poort Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Bloody awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dacman Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 omg theyre stunning pieces of art never thought id see these in australia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggmeister Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 I am happy to store them for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewp Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 A very nice back story and history which Im sure will give a buyer confidence with consideration to purchasing. Also nice for you knowing you have strong interest from other areas for a sale. All the best with your reno going forward. Kind regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudioGeek Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 4 hours ago, Galactic Soap said: There are very few listings that pop up on these forums that have me seriously considering whether I should part ways with my beloved TAD CR-1's. This is one of those listings. Through gritted teeth - GLWTS If your considering you should go to Melbourne and have a listen. Looks like something truly special! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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