L300 listning against my Altecs

[quindecima]

O.K. I finally got the L300's and have been listening to them. Do they have more bass than the speakers I made with the 515B and 902-8B HF drivers as one member inferred? Not on your life! I had a lot better bass with the Altecs, but more mids and presence w/L300's but don't have the warm kick back feeling. More harsh it seems. Am I happy? I guess. I didn't have original cabs so no matter how nice of a job I did on them nobody wanted them as opposed to the L300's that I can probably sell if things get that way. The bottom line is I don't think they are as bitchin as everybody seems to think. Not to say they are bad, not so just not as good as I expected. I need one JBL insignia for a grill face and a peg and a method for removal of the old one for the same grill. I also need to know how to get to the speaker terminals, the plastic is broken off on one of them and I need to replace the connection in the rear. Do I remove the Woofer or go in thru the back? I am seriously thinking about sending the check back and keeping my Altec stuff. :eek:

[Fred Sanford]

O.K. I finally got the L300's and have been listening to them. Do they have more bass than the speakers I made with the 515B and 902-8B HF drivers as one member inferred? Not on your life! I had a lot better bass with the Altecs, but more mids and presence w/L300's but don't have the warm kick back feeling. More harsh it seems. Am I happy? I guess. I didn't have original cabs so no matter how nice of a job I did on them nobody wanted them as opposed to the L300's that I can probably sell if things get that way. The bottom line is I don't think they are as bitchin as everybody seems to think. Not to say they are bad, not so just not as good as I expected. I need one JBL insignia for a grill face and a peg and a method for removal of the old one for the same grill. I also need to know how to get to the speaker terminals, the plastic is broken off on one of them and I need to replace the connection in the rear. Do I remove the Woofer or go in thru the back? I am seriously thinking about sending the check back and keeping my Altec stuff. :eek:

Are you sure that everything is up to spec with your L300s? Have the woofers been re-foamed or re-coned incorrectly, or are they wired out of phase? Where do you have them placed within the room in relation to where your Altecs were?

I have 4333As & not L300s, but I'd guess that access to the terminals is the same- remove the woofers & you should see the back plate.

Good luck- hopefully there's a simple explanation & you'll grow to love them.

je

[quindecima]

Thanks for the reply, I didn't know if I should remove the back plate which I assume holds the Cross or the Woofer. The Woofs have been refoamed properly and they are in phase. They just don't have the Kick on the bottom that the 515B's have and the total sound isn't as warm it's more, how shall I say, Digital than analog is the best way I can express it. I actually wanted the 4333's but couldn't find any close by. I am going to check everything before I slash my wrists. :crying:

[Mr. Widget]

Thanks for the reply, I didn't know if I should remove the back plate which I assume holds the Cross or the Woofer. The Woofs have been refoamed properly and they are in phase. They just don't have the Kick on the bottom that the 515B's have and the total sound isn't as warm it's more, how shall I say, Digital than analog is the best way I can express it. I actually wanted the 4333's but couldn't find any close by. I am going to check everything before I slash my wrists. :crying:I'd suggest one of two scenarios.

First, perhaps your L300s are not working properly or something in the system isn't quite right.

Second and most likely, you simply prefer the vintage Altec sound. Some people prefer a sweet white wine and others big bold dry reds. Neither of these systems are as neutral or extended in range as many of the top flight systems of today, the L300 is closer to a modern system but there is no wrong answer.


Widget

[quindecima]

I think more than likely that this is the answer. I have listened to the Altecs for so long that I have grown acclimated to their sound. I'll just have to fiddle with them for a while.

[quindecima]

It's me again. The L300's are definately a clear sounding speaker. Everything seems precise, that seems to be the best choice of words. I'm running a pair of tube mono's into them about 70 watts ea. I built the Altec cabs to duplicate the M19 cabinet size. I just used the 515B instead of the 416B.

[BMWCCA]

I'm running a pair of tube mono's into them about 70 watts ea. That might get you started but, regardless of what else you find needs attending to, the Summits could use some more horsepower!

Assuming these are L300 and not the L300A, 200WPC might be adequate and 400 would not be too much. :dont-know:

[quindecima]

Darn, a 200wpc pair of tube monos could hurt my bank account rather severely.

[richluvsound]

70 watts tube is more than enough power . If you have good output transformers you should have no problem driving that little 15" headphone woofer :D

hugeMac runs his summits with valves and they sound stunning .... I had a 30 watt pch running a 4345
and they sounded awsome , by far the best sound I had with the 45's .

Sure , you aint gonna get clarity at high spl , but that may not be what your looking for anyway .

They are a different sound to get use to . Give them a while . I had they same experience recently when I got the K2 clone . I though I'd wasted my money at first ,but now :applaud:

BTW, I'd be thinking seriously about building new networks or at least changing out tired old caps - Just my opinion .

Rich

[quindecima]

If i'm going to get new networks where do I get them at?

[richluvsound]

You have 2 choices , build them yourself ,there schematics here on the forum, or Post a "WLTB" in the market place.

I'm sure someone here will build you a pair for a reasonable price .....

Rich

[jcrobso]

If i'm going to get new networks where do I get them at?
Parts express caries several brands of audio grade caps.
This is not a difficulty thing to do!

[Progneta]

Build the xo's your self! Should make the project a lot funner and I think you would enjoy the sound since you made it :) Let caps break in! Many think cap burn in is a fib, but I think it smooths the hell out of the sound!

[rgwalker]

If i'm going to get new networks where do I get them at?

I've built two pairs of modified Model 19 crossovers using upgraded caps and big air coils. The first was a mod of an existing M19 crossover and the second was put together from scratch. Both improved the sound significantly and the cost of the parts was about the same as buying a used pair of M19 crossovers on Ebay.

I took a 416-8B and put it into a 9 cu ft Altec 620A box with an Altec 311-60 horn with a 288 driver and a Heil tweeter sitting on the top in a 3 way system. The bottom end is stunning and t

[ivica]

[QUOTE=quindecima;298054]O.K. I finally got the L300's and have been listening to them. Do they have more bass than the speakers I made with the 515B and 902-8B HF drivers as one member inferred? Not on your life! I had a lot better bass with the Altecs, but more mids and presence w/L300's but don't have the warm kick back feeling. More harsh it seems....]

My suggestion (my experience) first check the resonance frequency of the bass driver , it has to be less then 20Hz (16Hz by factory), measuring out of the box, in say free air,
if it is higher the 20Hz, that means that the "foam" is to strong, and not so good in LF as expected.
If they are re-conned with C8R2235 JBL kit, mass ring of about 35~40 gr. had to be installed