Altec 612C Utility Cabs w/604C Duplex Speakers

[jonarobb]

Hey Folks...

Longtime lurker and general Lansing, Altec & JBL freak!

I have ended up the owner of 2 pairs of vintage Altec Speakers. One is a pair of 604-8G studio monitors...

And the other pair is purported to be Altec 612 Utility cabs...

My question is if these are reproductions 612's or if they have been modified, etc...

The pedigree on them is by way of Dan Healy of Grateful Dead notoriety. He either built them or owned them as well as the pair of 604's, which are all original and verified....

These 612's are beautiful and look amazing. They sound absolutely incredible!!!! Tested both pairs with a McIntosh MC2120 power amplifier. Source audio was my old Technics turntable(AC/DC Back in Black was the first track)

I have included pics of the ins and outs of the 612's. If any of you kind gents(or ladies) who have the expertise can let me know what I have here, I would be grateful!

Thanks!

-jonas

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[jonarobb]

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[hsosdrum]

Congratulations on your find, jonarobb! I don't recall ever seeing or reading about a pair of stock 612 cabs in a wood-grain finish — they're always listed as utility gray. Also, the crossover inductor looks to be custom-wound (not necessarily a bad thing, BTW) and the rest of the network looks to be custom-made (again, not necessarily bad). And lastly, the vent opening looks like it may be too small, but someone more familiar with the 604C will need to weigh-in on that with more authority.

Having said all that, from the photos your cabs appear to be exceedingly well-made. I'm not at all surprised that they sound as incredible as you describe.

Count me as being in the "envious" column! :bouncy:

[gdmoore28]

I agree with hsosdrum completely - they look like custom-built cabs. But who cares? It's obvious from the construction details and the crossovers that whoever constructed them knew what they were doing. And, if they sound as nice as you say, all the better. You made quite a nice purchase with these, my friend. Hope you enjoy them!

GeeDeeEmm

[jonarobb]

Thanks so much for the replies... After a rather exhaustive online search and the comments here, I will conclude that these are repros. They came to me via a larger Hi-Fi bulk purchase where I ended up with quite a hodgepodge of gear. Beautiful Phase Linear, Uni-Sync and Bisound power amplifiers...Misc tuners, integrated amps and preamps...

These 612C clones have been in heavy use the last week. I admittedly have no experience with Altec cabs before. I have them set up roughly 2ft off the floor on another pair of older Altecs that came with the lot. The range and response is startling. It's a flat pass for sure and different recordings from different eras, and on different formats, all have a very unique and individual playback character.

I appreciate the analysis of the cab and crossover construction. I am waiting on a letter of pedigree from the owner/builder that may shed more light on their history.

Thanks again and stay tuned!

-J

[Goldjazz]

Congrats, they look nice. Hope you get lots of use out of them, I'm a 604 fan.

[Steve Schell]

Jonarobb, I think what you have there are home constructed versions of the Altec 614 cabinet, a smaller volume cab than the 612 which was frequently fitted with the 604 Duplex. You can check this catalog page to see if the dimensions match:

http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1947/page3.jpg

[gdmoore28]

Thanks so much for the replies... After a rather exhaustive online search and the comments here, I will conclude that these are repros. They came to me via a larger Hi-Fi bulk purchase where I ended up with quite a hodgepodge of gear. Beautiful Phase Linear, Uni-Sync and Bisound power amplifiers...Misc tuners, integrated amps and preamps...

These 612C clones have been in heavy use the last week. I admittedly have no experience with Altec cabs before. I have them set up roughly 2ft off the floor on another pair of older Altecs that came with the lot. The range and response is startling. It's a flat pass for sure and different recordings from different eras, and on different formats, all have a very unique and individual playback character.

I appreciate the analysis of the cab and crossover construction. I am waiting on a letter of pedigree from the owner/builder that may shed more light on their history.

Thanks again and stay tuned!

-J

You have the curiosity quotient pegging the meter now - what other gear did you buy (besides that already listed)? Pics of the haul would be quite nice.

GeeDeeEmm