Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Altec 418b's + Karlson 15's = big fun

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Central MA, USA
    Posts
    7

    Altec 418b's + Karlson 15's = big fun

    So a friend of mine gave me a pair of slightly ailing Karlson 15 cabinets a while back . . . they needed the wings rebuilt, and DEFINITELY benefitted from some internal bracing. I had a reconed Altec Biflex woofer which sounded surprisingly good in the Karlson - I only had the one, so I stuffed the other with a random console woofer. . . I was using them for < 100 Hz
    duty, as I have a pair of homemade open baffle line arrays which use KLH fullrange drivers.....

    The franken - reconed Altec sounded very promising, but I never thought I'd score a PAIR of Altec's to stuff in them. . fast forward to this year's Kutztown PA radio swap . . . I traded an all original Heathkit AA-32 for a pair of Altec 418b's I'm no Altec expert, and didn't know until later that they are 'musical instrument' speakers. Some of the guys razzed me for what they thought was a silly trade . . .

    o contraire mon frere !

    I looked up the spec's upon returning home:

    100 db @ 1W/1m
    55 Hz res. freq.
    100 watt power rating

    YEE HAW !

    Because I'm only running the Karlson's for the sub-100 Hz duty, by way of a pro audio active xover, I wasn't worried about their original application . . . this combination thumps like crazy ! very accurate bass to my ears . . .

    I used them for bass bins at my wife's 10 year college reunion, and have also used them to relieve my JBL C38's of bass duty . . . these Altec's just eat up power like nothing else I've heard . . at the 'DJ gig' I had 200 Watts going to them, and they just sounded amazing . . .

    anyone else using Altec guitar speakers for 'non-standard' applications ?

  2. #2
    Senior Member diamondsouled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Yukon Territory
    Posts
    112
    "anyone else using Altec guitar speakers for 'non-standard' applications ?"

    Just me in my home made Valencia cabinets, 418B Altecs as well. Tuned the ports though. Used to be able to turn my Quad 405/33 full throttle with no clipping whatsoever. Too loud to take for long though, lol.

    Lar

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    GTA, Ont.
    Posts
    5,109
    Quote Originally Posted by markus8119
    YEE HAW !

    Because I'm only running the Karlson's for the sub-100 Hz duty, by way of a pro audio active xover, I wasn't worried about their original application . . . this combination thumps like crazy ! very accurate bass to my ears . . .

    I used them for bass bins at my wife's 10 year college reunion, and have also used them to relieve my JBL C38's of bass duty . . . these Altec's just eat up power like nothing else I've heard . . at the 'DJ gig' I had 200 Watts going to them, and they just sounded amazing . . .

    anyone else using Altec guitar speakers for 'non-standard' applications ?
    Thanks for the insight / it's nice when someone posts something around here that's completely foreign to the usual status quo .

    FYI, I'm sure Bill Woods ( aka, RCA Man ) would love to hear & measure those ( too bad he's typically up here in Ontario ) . He & Freddyi ( the Karlson Coupler evangelist ) can usually be found over at the H.E. forum of A.A. .

    - Interestingly, someone is using something like this combo below their "Exemplars" . This ( fairly ) recent thread , Click Here ! talks a bit about this arrangement .


  4. #4
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Central MA, USA
    Posts
    7
    Quote Originally Posted by Earl K View Post
    Thanks for the insight / it's nice when someone posts something around here that's completely foreign to the usual status quo .

    FYI, I'm sure Bill Woods ( aka, RCA Man ) would love to hear & measure those ( too bad he's typically up here in Ontario ) . He & Freddyi ( the Karlson Coupler evangelist ) can usually be found over at the H.E. forum of A.A. .

    - Interestingly, someone is using something like this combo below their "Exemplars" . This ( fairly ) recent thread , Click Here ! talks a bit about this arrangement .

    I'd love to measure them too, but I dont have the proper gear I like to think I have a good ear . . .

    I did see that Exemplar thread on AA, and have heard in the past Karlsons integrate really well with horns . . . . I have followed Freddy's exploits for YEARS and was very happy to finally snag a pair to play with.

    diamondsouled - I hear ya on the 'volume' thing . . they just don't break up no matter how high I crank 'em . . I swear they WANT to be spanked by 100 + watts

    here's a shot of them 'under test' with my DIY open baffle line arrays:
    Attached Images Attached Images  

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Altec Big Red Monitors
    By Claus K in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 02-20-2024, 07:38 AM
  2. Lansing discovery- WHOA!
    By Steve Schell in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 37
    Last Post: 09-03-2007, 07:48 PM
  3. Plantronics to Acquire Altec Lansing
    By watchman in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 08-31-2006, 09:04 AM
  4. Big fun in the backyard
    By Steve Schell in forum General Audio Discussion
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-08-2005, 07:55 AM
  5. Altec Lansing Monitor 15's!
    By bhamvett in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-17-2003, 08:02 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •