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Earl K
04-15-2007, 01:44 PM
Hi,

From time to time in Altecs' history they toyed with the idea of broadly marketing a large format driver with a 4" diaphragm . ( It looks like the pictured prototype never saw the light of day ) .

With a little conjecture added to existing statements made from around the net / the 594b would have been about a 25 lb driver / while this 594-8C would appear to be in the 30 lb range ( based on the weight of a 288-8G ) .

Here are pics from their last ( I believe ) iteration of those efforts ( the 594-8C ) . I think this used a suspenson system that had been initially developed by Jonas Renkus . See This Thread (http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=140570) for some more insights into Jonas Renkus and his work .



Cheers ;)

Earl K
04-15-2007, 03:26 PM
Hi

- And here are some jpgs which show the older Altec 594b. ( these pics were lifted from a 2001 pdf file )

- I've included the ( ebay sellers" ) description of this driver .

:)

moldyoldy
04-15-2007, 03:49 PM
Cool, Earl, Thanks!

Can't tell from the pix, is the pole bore a constant diameter?

What I'd really like to know...what bolted to the big end...?

Earl K
04-15-2007, 03:53 PM
You're Welcome !

Can't tell from the pix, is the pole bore a constant diameter?

What I'd really like to know...what bolted to the big end...?

Sorry ( I guess I'm just dense ) but are the questions about the horn in the last pic ?

:p

Earl K
04-15-2007, 04:35 PM
What I'd really like to know...what bolted to the big end...?

Assuming this question is about the pictured horn / here is my guess at an answer .

- Given Altecs' close historical ties to Western Elelctric ( and W.E.s' military contacts ) , I'd say the horn was meant for a military application. It might have been part of a scaled-up post-war Beachmaster ( which was WWII vintage and driven by much smaller drivers ) . See my BeachMaster pics to give you an idea where my conjecture is coming from .
- Since the drivers in the "Beachmaster" had phenolic diaphragms / it would be nice to know what sort of diaphragm the Altec 594b was loaded with .

:)

moldyoldy
04-15-2007, 04:46 PM
Too cool. I tried to figure the app., but couldn't get beyond some type of narrow band warning device till I saw them arrayed. :idea:
250W portable tube amp...mil spec...:hmm:

Steve Schell
04-18-2007, 05:24 PM
Hi Earl,

Don't know if you've seen the thread, but we've been kicking these 4" diaphragm Altec drivers around lately on the Altec User's Board:

http://www.hostboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/3729/t/2844

I may be headed out to Cal Poly on Saturday morning for a swap meet. If I do, I'll look to see if I can spot those Beachmasters on the roof.

Earl K
04-19-2007, 01:26 PM
Hi Steve.


Don't know if you've seen the thread, but we've been kicking these 4" diaphragm Altec drivers around lately on the Altec User's Board:

- Yes, I had seen that thread.
- It was petering out when I came across it.
- I believe you & I have the same pictures of the old 594b . Yes / No ?
- I started this thread ( about the Altec 4 inchers ) so that this sites image hosting capabilities might be harnessed be anyone wanting to post a link to a picture ( at Todds' place ).
- Just open any pic within a separate window / copy the resulting URL of this new window / & then paste that URL into the reply editor at Todds site .



:)