Altec 422-8z need help

[phsf98]

hello everybody

i am new to this forum and hope that to get some help on this model

Do you guys have any idea about this Altec 422-8z?
It is 15' with aluminium color dust cap.
What is its frequency range, dB rating etc specification. Was it a member of the VOT? I can not find any infor for it beside some website saying that it is the same as the 418-B. Is it a full range model?

thanks in advance:barf:
sf

[spkrman57]

The 421 is the closest model to yours I can think of. It was designed as a music producer, not reproducer, so more for sound reinforcement.

I have cabinets (1234 I think which had a ALtec 421 15" LF driver, 511B horn driven by a 808 compression driver. Mine came with the 421's missing and the 808's blown. (sent to great plains and aluminum diaphram installed/remagged and shimmed by Bill). cabinet is a shelf for old audio gear chassis's for now.

The specs would be closer to a 421 than a 418 I am guessing....Maybe Todd W. can help out here.

Ron

[Earl K]

Hi sf

- Actually, Altec did refer to the 422-8z as a 418 "type" speaker .

- They also referred to the 423-8z as a 421 "type" speaker .

- FullRange ? Altec always paired it up with a compression driver .

- Sensitivity ? I've never seen that mentioned .

- Both of these "types" were created by fitting up the appropriate magnetic assembly with the Altec # 21605 VoiceCoil/ConeKit assembly ( if the unit was the older 15" frame ) . The 16" frames received the # 23890 "conversion kit".

- This info is all obtainable from the Altec, 1975 Driver Reference (http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/reference/1975-driver.htm) . A lot of this info is from Page 10. (http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/reference/1975-drivers/page10.jpg)

- You can see the cabinets where these hybrid woofs were used. Look on Page 10 (http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1972-mi/page10.jpg) of the 1972, M.I. catalogue. (http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/catalogs/1972-mi.htm) . You can also see these systems ( evolved a bit ) on Page 8 (http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1975-mi/page08.jpg) from the Altec, 1975 M.I. catalogue . (http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/catalogs/1975-mi.htm)

- In response to your query about whether or not these speakers ( 422 & 423 ) were considered part of the VOTT family , I guess the answer is, yes Altec considered them to be part of the VOTT family .

- The 418 had a lighter cone for "lead quitar" usage while the 421 was for bass guitar . Exactly what made these "conversion kits" (the # 21605 & # 23890) different from the original speakers - I don't know ( maybe overhung voice coils - just guessing / that's what I would have done since the intended use was in bass reflex boxes and the 418/421 had essentially "0" Xmax before distortion components would start to add into the sound ). Someone like Bill at Great Plains ( or Todd White ) might know .

- By 1978, it appears Altec stopped using these hybrids . They went back to using bonafide 421-8 LF ( & the newly devolped 808-8B driver ) in the 1233 & 1234 enclosures that superceeded the older 1202/1204/1218 types .

My Editorial

- Just be aware; the 422/423 are from a time period when Altec virtually handed JBL the M.I. market by making all the wrong marketing decisions directed at musicians . Speaker Systems ( ie 1202/04/1218) were one of those "mistakes" ( IME ). Leveraging the VOTT marquee was not a great idea. Creating the wimpy 807 driver out of the larger 808 type was a mistake. Pairing that 807 with the 422 (or 423 ) was another mistake. I was a working musician for much of the 70s' - and saw/lived these market devolutions as Altec cheapened their product lines ( perhaps mistakenly thinking that was generally where musicians fit into "their" food-chain ). By 1977 I was buying JBL components that didn't give up the ghost after the first squeal of feedback . Yes, "Just Be Loud" meant a 4" diaphragmed driver - mated with twin 2402 bullets .

Oh , I do love 288 drivers .

To be fair to Altec, the 1215a & 1225a (http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1975-mi/page10.jpg) were a very good portable High Performance SR offering. The 292 driver was a phenolic diaphragmed version of the 290 type and was aimed squarely at the (loud) M.I. market. But again, since Altec didn't market a hi-power tweeter to accompany this combo - they sent their "users" over to the "JBL counter" to buy adhoc "bullet-packs" . Another marketing mistake for really, a good product . The 1215a was certainly able to generate a lot of clean LF "impact" .

:cheers: