Need help with the best altec 15"

[rbrandt73]

I am getting a pair of A-7 Voice of the Theater bass bins, I was wondering what the best driver is to use between the 416-8c, 416-8a, or the 515, also was going to put a 311-90 horn with a 290 or 291 driver. any help would be greatly appreciated. My current set up is custom made K-Horn bottoms loaded with a EV Force 15, expon. wood horn dimm. 30"x15"x28. with JBL 2445j drivers, and JBL 2404 baby cheeks HF,JBL 2245H sub, Mac. MC-28, MC250, adcom 555II and MC225, with active crossover Ashley 3way. thanks I'm new to the forum. Ryan

[scott fitlin]

Depends on what your taste is.

The 515 has greater sensitivity, but this is in the midband, so watt for watt, the 515 will play louder with the same power as a 416, but its in the midrange, the 515 IMO, lacks the low end oomph of the 416. 515,s are very lively sounding through the lower midband vocal and instrument range.

The 416 will have slightly less midrange, but offer a fuller sounding low end, and I like this. 416,s will give you a ton of low end, and I think in a home hi fi application, if thats what your doing, the 416 is the one to use. I would look for the 416-8A or 416-8B. You can always have the alnico magnets recharged by Great Plains Audio, and the guys I know that use the 416 love the 8B, they call it the Big Block woofer.

The 416-8C is ferrite, and sonically ferrite is good too, but some say the 416-8C uses a smaller sized magnet than its predecessors.

[Tom Brennan]

Scott nailed it IMO. I think the 515 does the upper bass and midrange better but the 416 gives better low bass and a more robust tonal balance while still making excellent upper bass and mids.

Both are excellent.

[moldyoldy]

Before buying some 15s, you might want to see which frame size 15" your A7 cabs are made for. The older 825 cabs mostly used small-frame (15") drivers with a 14-9/16" bolt pattern, and later 828s were mostly for large-frame (16") drivers with a 15" bolt pattern. Either cab can be modified to go the other way, but it isn't a trivial task.