Altec 15 12" replacement woofers?

[lumberjackjack]

Any suggestions for replacements for the 12" drivers in Altec 15's. The originals were blown and replaced with something else before I bought them 30 years ago. I'm not looking for the original RCA 33785's but an upgrade.

[Earl K]

- If those were mine / I'd be looking to see if I could retrofit a pair of JBL le14a ( from eBay ) into them ( they'll most likely need refoamin ) .
- Use of this woofer will maintain @ a 92 db / 1 watt sensitivety .
- Virtually any HiFi 12 you find is going to drop that figure down to 90 db or lower .

- The box size ( internally ) needs to be 2.5 to 3.5 cu ft for this woofer to work well .
- Tune to 32 hz .
- Download WinISD Pro to figure out the tuning ( port size & length )


<> cheers

ps 1 ; Altec compression drivers combined with JBL woofers sound very nice ( I use 288-8Ks ) .

ps 2 ; Gone for a week , bye

[gkinnell]

- If those were mine / I'd be looking to see if I could retrofit a pair of JBL le14a ( from eBay ) into them ( they'll most likely need refoamin ) .
- Use of this woofer will maintain @ a 92 db / 1 watt sensitivety .
- Virtually any HiFi 12 you find is going to drop that figure down to 90 db or lower .

- The box size ( internally ) needs to be 2.5 to 3.5 cu ft for this woofer to work well .
- Tune to 32 hz .
- Download WinISD Pro to figure out the tuning ( port size & length )


<> cheers

ps 1 ; Altec compression drivers combined with JBL woofers sound very nice ( I use 288-8Ks ) .

ps 2 ; Gone for a week , bye

Have you actually installed these JBL drivers in Altec 15s? Is the retrofit easy (the JBLs are 14 inch and the original RCA's 12 inch)? Do they improve the sound substantially?

[Earl K]

Have you actually installed these JBL drivers in Altec 15s? Is the retrofit easy (the JBLs are 14 inch and the original RCA's 12 inch)? Do they improve the sound substantially?

I don't have any Altec 15s, so no, I haven't done this retrofit .

My post was a reply to the OP who was looking for suggestions .

I do use JBL woofers with Altec horn drivers and like the combination .


<> EarlK

[spkrman57]

My post was a reply to the OP who was looking for suggestions.
I do use JBL woofers with Altec horn drivers and like the combination.
<> EarlK

I too like using JBL LF drivers with Altec HF drivers/horns.

The LE-14 would be a very nice upgrade compared to the original Altec woofer!

Regards, Ron

[mjcmt]

Any suggestions for replacements for the 12" drivers in Altec 15's. The originals were blown and replaced with something else before I bought them 30 years ago. I'm not looking for the original RCA 33785's but an upgrade.

Send them off to Great Plains Audio. They are 'THE' Altec/JBL guys to rebuild your 12" drivers. My Altec Model 15's 12" bass drivers have been re-coned and re-foamed by them and they are factory perfect.

http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/

[hmolwitz]

If you wanted to stay Altec you could try the 414 or the 3124, but nothing will be a perfect dropin replacement.
That RCA driver was custom made for Altec by RCA to Altec spec, they must have been a bit cheaper than a 414, or just tuned differently, it appears to be an Altec style frame.
Harry