Whats Altecs Most Musical Vintage Xover Driver Woofer Combination? Appreciate Ur Help

[vinny]

Im trying to build the most musical and most efficient voice of the theatre system possible. I now have the cabinets so now i need to find all the xovers drivers and horns together. I wont be using modern solid state equipment..mostly tubes..ive been looking for 515 with original 20ohms cones but next to impossible to find originals and the replacement 15ohm cones change the impedance and sensitivity and maybe the sound and makes them sound like a 515b? What horn driver would you recommend? 288 20ohm 802/806 a/b or 290 16ohm?. What horn would sound most musical? the 8 cell 1005 or 15 cell horn? And lastly the crossovers which is the most confusing to decide on and at what crossover connections points would give me the full spectrum maximum musicality his lows excellent mids 3dimensional sound. There are so many altec crossovers out there i dont know where to start. Hope someone very familiar with the early 16/20 ohm drivers horns woofers xovers and their sonic abilities can give me some actual experienced advice on everything..thanks so much.

[Ed Kreamer]

What kind of boxes do you have?

[Earl K]

Vinny,

It would be very much worth your time to read ( & digest ) all the threads started by Hostboard User "alancohen" (http://www.hostboard.com/forums/search.php?search_type=1)

He's had a pretty interesting ( & in-depth ) journey looking for Audio-Altec Satisfaction ( which he found ).

He started with Valencias ( Heathkit 101's ) > ultimately ending up with DIY ( you'll need to read the threads for the final pay-off ).


:)

[vinny]

Vinny,

It would be very much worth your time to read ( & digest ) all the threads started by Hostboard User "alancohen" (http://www.hostboard.com/forums/search.php?search_type=1)

He's had a pretty interesting ( & in-depth ) journey looking for Audio-Altec Satisfaction ( which he found ).

He started with Valencias ( Heathkit 101's ) > ultimately ending up with DIY ( you'll need to read the threads for the final pay-off ).


:)

do you have the direct link to his thread? Thanks

[Earl K]

I've posted some direct links in this thread (http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?39670-beginner-questions-for-a-vott-system-build).

:)

Ps; Currently, the web-site hosting those threads is down for maintenance.

[gdmoore28]

Vinny - Any particular reason that you want to go with the 20 ohm components? Seems to me you'd have a much easier time going with either 16 or 8 ohm gear. That would also make your choice of crossovers much easier.

Important question, too, as Ed asked: which cabinets do you have? It's vital to know this in order for the Altec gurus to make recommendations.

Also, what size is your listening room? (May help to narrow your choice of horns.)

Do you have a budget limitation?

Which tube amps will you be using?

Do you have any crossover-building experience? Until you get into the realm of Model 19/14-style crossovers, the older Altec crossovers are fairly easy to duplicate. Schematics abound.

The link that Earl gave you should provide a lot of help, too. I'm waiting for the Altec Users Group host board to be fixed so that I can read it myself.

Keep us updated. This looks interesting.

GeeDeeEmm

[vinny]

Vinny - Any particular reason that you want to go with the 20 ohm components? Seems to me you'd have a much easier time going with either 16 or 8 ohm gear. That would also make your choice of crossovers much easier.

Important question, too, as Ed asked: which cabinets do you have? It's vital to know this in order for the Altec gurus to make recommendations.

Also, what size is your listening room? (May help to narrow your choice of horns.)

Do you have a budget limitation?

Which tube amps will you be using?


GeeDeeEmm

Id like to get the 515 20ohm versions to give me the high efficiency. Cant tell you the room size at the moment until i get my new place. The cabinets Are about 5 feet tall about 27inches deep custom made for altec vott with horn that can be slotted into the cabinet not to sit on top..the woofer fittted below is horn loaded design.

[gdmoore28]

Hi Vinny,

OK. Cabinet is 5' X 27" X ???????. We're missing the width.

Is there any way you can post a picture of what you have?

The Gurus can correct me on this, but I don't think the impedance rating is going to be the deciding factor in efficiency.

GeeDeeEmm

[Ed Kreamer]

So ok Vinny, Did you build the boxes? Did someone else custom build the boxes? From your description, it sounds like the standard 825/828 VOTT box. GDM is right in asking how big the room is, as this box does not match well with the room unless it is of at least small theater size. In any case if you use this box I'd go for the 416-8B LF 802-8 driver and 511 horn. Or better, a bass reflex box of about 6 to 7 ft3 in size for much better low bass.
As far as a "MUSICAL" speaker I've always wondered just what that means. If the reproducer is accurate, it should sound as musical as the program material played through it.
Do as Earl suggested and read the Altec service board.

Keep us posted please, and good luck.

Ed

[edgewound]

I recently did some work for a member here that had Onken cabinets built for a pair of 416-8A. They were mated to a pair of 802B drivers on Emilar EH800 bowtie horns. I recharged and reconed the 416s, recharged the 802s and installed Radian diaphragms, tweaked his German sourced custom oil and paper cap/autoformer crossovers, and physically time-aligned the low and high frequency voice coils, retuned the cabs from 20 up to 30 hz.

Short summary from him..." I can't stop listening to them. They do sound like huge studio monitors, very detailed and revealing yet extremely musical."

All this from 50 year old drivers renewed and repurposed. These guys knew what they were doing when they engineered this stuff with slide rules, spread sheets, calipers, lathes and milling machines.

...and it did not cost $100,000.00 to put together a very impressive home listening system.