ALTEC vintage cabinets grille cloth

[Guglielmo]

Hello,

I am planning to build an Open Baffle with 604E and 416A as helper woofer with Mastering Lab Crossovers. The baffle shall be an enclosure without the rear panel so I need a cloth for front grille and I would be oriented to vintage look like the fabric used in Capistrano or Malibu whose color was light cream ivory with quite rough typical weaving. Where do you suggest to find this cloth? The baffle will be around 36" X 19".

Thank you for help ;)

Guglielmo

[Horn Fanatic]

Hello,

I am planning to build an Open Baffle with 604E and 416A as helper woofer with Mastering Lab Crossovers. The baffle shall be an enclosure without the rear panel so I need a cloth for front grille and I would be oriented to vintage look like the fabric used in Capistrano or Malibu whose color was light cream ivory with quite rough typical weaving. Where do you suggest to find this cloth? The baffle will be around 36" X 19".

Thank you for help ;)

Guglielmo

Greetings, Gugliemo -

Unless there is someone around who has been hording the grille fabric that was used on the 830 Laguna, 831 Capistrano, 832 Corona, and the 833 Verde, the material is unobtainable. I have conducted extensive research regarding that material, including having a local weaver who belongs to a guild in Ireland contact her sources. The material has silk woven into it, and as of four years ago I could find no one who wanted to take on the task of dying silk. It's unknown to me if ALTEC had the material custom woven, or if it was off the shelf drapery material. I wish I could find some, I have an 833 Verde that can use a bit of TLC.

It would cost a small fortune to tool up for it. The first test bolt run for approval to proceed to go into production was going to cost me $500. Through Bill Hanuschak I was able to get in touch with a retired chap who worked at ALTEC when I worked there to see if he had any leads finding the source of the material, and he was of no help either. The closest match I have found to the material that I used on the Capistrano's I built, was offered by an outfit called Pindler & Pindler. It was part of their Amalfi collection, although several of the colors they had have been taken out of production. I would need to look through my records to see what weave color I purchased. There were several that looks similar.


Good luck,

H.F.

[Guglielmo]

Thank you H.F. for detailed survey and for that information.

Actually I searched and I found this

https://www.onlinefabricstore.net/pindler-and-amp;-pindler-darby-lichen-fabric-.htm

which seems quite close to the original ones. But how is it possible to know whether this fabric has acoustic transparency?

If you have some time to surf in this web-place may be you will find something closer to original and for our purpose...

Thank you for help!

Guglielmo

[Horn Fanatic]

Thank you H.F. for detailed survey and for that information.

Actually I searched and I found this

https://www.onlinefabricstore.net/pindler-and-amp;-pindler-darby-lichen-fabric-.htm

which seems quite close to the original ones. But how is it possible to know whether this fabric has acoustic transparency?

If you have some time to surf in this web-place may be you will find something closer to original and for our purpose...

Thank you for help!

Guglielmo

The weave of Amalfi fabric has the similar rough uneven texture as the old ALTEC fabric, and is better suited for use as grille cloth. Not only that, but it has an iridescent quality as it reflects light. The fabric I bough has a glow to it like the old ALTEC fabric. It's the reason I bought it.

The samples in the photographs show the nap as having waves in it. That is caused by someone grabbing the material from one corner and slightly stretching it. The nap in the material is actually much straighter.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yzMbZBqVL._SY355_.jpg

http://www.insidefabric.com/images/product/large/9949-amalfi-in-cornflower-by-pindler-693168.jpg

[Guglielmo]

Thank you H.F., your suggestion leads me to search for that kind of fabric and finally I found this

64378

which is the Pindler & Pindler AMALFI - FLAX

or this

64379

whic is the Pindler & Pindler AMALFI - MARBLE

Which do you prefer? Do you guarantee that these are suitable for acoustic purpose? If you confirm I will easily order my required cloth size.

Thank for assistance!

Guglielmo

[Horn Fanatic]

Thank you H.F., your suggestion leads me to search for that kind of fabric and finally I found this

64378

which is the Pindler & Pindler AMALFI - FLAX

or this

64379

whic is the Pindler & Pindler AMALFI - MARBLE

Which do you prefer? Do you guarantee that these are suitable for acoustic purpose? If you confirm I will easily order my required cloth size.

Thank for assistance!

Guglielmo

In life, there is no guarantees. LoL! The material is virtually sheer. In fact, if you shine a flashlight through it you can see the driver. I don't believe it would pose a threat to the sound quality, as I haven't detected a difference whether or not the grille is in place.

The Flax is a bit dark if you're trying to reproduce the ALTEC look, and the Marble looks a bit flushed. I have a memo book for that product line, and determined what I purchased was the Cashew color. I haven't figured out how to post a photograph yet. If I could I would post one of the Capistrano's I built so you could see what they look like with that fabric.

H.F.

[script56]

Does anyone know best cloth replacment for altec corona corner speaker?

[Horn Fanatic]

"Does anyone know best cloth replacement for altec corona corner speaker?"

Forget Joanne or Hancock Fabrics, hit some high end fabric stores. Ones that cater to home decorators. The only fabric I have found that came close to the 800 series Danish cabinet fabric was in the Pindler & Pindler Amalfi collection. Unfortunately, I learned last week the whole line was taken out of production.