Replacement tweeter on model 6-II

[Drisco z71]

A friend of mine sold me a pair of Altec Lansing model 6-II's, I know they aren't the best thing to ever come out from Altec Lansing but for $20 I am happy with my purchase. The only issue is that I believe that the tweeter on one of them needs replacing because it is much quieter than the other. I have no idea where to start looking, I'm not a super serious audiophile so anything close would work for me.

Thanks for helping out the new guy:)

[grumpy]

Probably anything from this line, at least Model 4/6/8, possibly through the Model 1012:

http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1982-home/page2.jpg

Check Goodwill or Craigslist for entire cabinets you can scrounge parts from.

or if you have the $ and are willing to modify the cabinets and probably the crossover
something here might fit:

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=452

Maybe the APT-150... (replace in pairs)

[Earl K]

Those are all good suggestions from Grumpy .

Another ( based on something I've heard over the years ) is to also suspect that the protection circuitry has gone "Kaflooey" from overpowering & needs either repair ( or bypassing ) .

Therefore :

- Swap the tweeters between the two boxes and identify where the sonic difference is now located.
- ie ; if it follows the tweeter to the new location / that confirms that the tweeter will need changing.
- This will be a cheap & cheerful way of testing for either " bad tweeter or bad crossover " .

<> cheers

[grumpy]

More fun reading:
http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/home-speakers/model-4-6-8.htm
(if you look closely at the crossover, you can see the bulb that -might- have smoked)

Looks like the "LZT" driver is a piezoelectric...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_zirconate_titanate

These might "drop" in (if the one tweeter really is the problem), and the price might make
more sense re the $20 investment so far:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=272-100

Ah, and you might find more help/parts over here:
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/altec-users-board/
toward actually restoring the pair.

[rdgrimes]

Are Piezo tweets all pretty much the same acoustically and electrically?

[Earl K]

Are Piezo tweets all pretty much the same acoustically and electrically?

I don't think they are all created equal .

- According to scuttlebutt on other forums, the day Motorolla stop making certain piezos was the day the music died ( so to speak ) or was it relevant research into furthering the technology? ( I can't remember )
- Anyways, "djk" might of been the source for this dim memory / but since I don't like Audio Asylums search engine very much , I won't be the one digging around for a reference ( at least, anytime soon ) ;) .

<> cheers EarlK

[grumpy]

yeah... it will take finding/scavenging an original/NLA part or it will be a band-aid patch,
but ...$20. Shoot, a $0.75 Goldwood part, would at least go tss tss.

[Drisco z71]

Thanks for all the replies:D

I already swapped them and the problem is definitely the tweeter. I like the price of those pyle horns, but how will they sound compared to the original horns? The original ones look kind of cool and I would like to keep them if at all possible, especially since I have 1 perfectly functional one that I think sounds quite nice. I Think I may actually use them as my mains in my budget home theater setup.

[grumpy]

no way of knowing... maybe get some cheaper piezos and see if you can graft one onto where
the motorola-sourced Altec part went (rear of the horn, behind the "tangerine phase plug")
... if it even comes off without a sawzall :eek:

or try the Pyles, making an adapter plate, so you don't have to mod the cabinets, then
keep an eye out for an original cabinet/driver to replace the dead one you have.