Altec 211 - Did it have Stuffing Inside?

[ryansupak]

Hi, I helped build an Altec 211 (pics attached).Did the Altec 211 originally have foam/stuffing/anything else similar inside the box?Thanks,rs

[NickH]

Sweet you built that here in Houston? What drivers are you going to put in it?

I think altec just stapled some fiberglass bat to the back cover behind the speakers. I'm sure there's more but I don't know for certain.

Cool project though.

[ryansupak]

Thanks....yes it was built right here in Houston. Going in the "dance bar" I'm opening next year in East Downtown. Going to finish it with an "ebonizing" stain that I mix myself, and some VOTT decals. It's going in with some vintage Altec 511 horns and JBL 4560 midbass horns that I got from the Astrodome.

The jury is still out on Drivers. I must confess that I'm leaning towards something modern and "in print" given the application. I have gathered that the original super-efficient ones sound better but at some point attainability triumphs...

Interesting about the Fiberglass. I get the general impression that these early designs were a bit "more art than science". It seems like a lot of it was approximations based on what I have read (though of course I would be open to hearing otherwise).

rs

[Cyclotronguy]

Years ago...... no decades ago I hauled some of those out of an old theater...... I believe they were original.

They had about 1-1/2" of what we would call Corning 704 duct board on the back panel only. Maybe not quite as dense as 704.... but way more dense than house insulation, for sure.

I stapled dacron batting over the back side of the horn flares and that seemed to be an improvement. But lets keep this in perspective, they were in a domestic game room / theater..... not a club.

As always with these things....... stuff to taste!

Cyclotronguy