Please some advice on my onken cabinet build with altec 416b woofers

[Mrmonster11]

John,
That's the conclusion I came to. I set the B's up with the horns and the xovers with a blanket around the woofer, and it sounds great like this, can't wait to get the boxes built.
I just need to find a good price on 10mm wool felt. for the insulation.
Thanks,
Donald bowman

[Altec Best]

John,
That's the conclusion I came to. I set the B's up with the horns and the xovers with a blanket around the woofer, and it sounds great like this, can't wait to get the boxes built.
I just need to find a good price on 10mm wool felt. for the insulation.
Thanks,
Donald bowman

Good Deal, I'm looking forward to your impression of them when complete.Post some pics too,would like to see your project.

[Mika K]

Greetings from Finland.

I'm newcomer at the forum here but at the moment considering to build Onken cabinets by Hiragas plans to replace the cabinets of my Altec Valencia Iconics. Love the way they represent the music but as the cabinets are pretty much original and bit worn here and there, they would need some work to be done. My room is big and as Valencias do not deliver all the goods at the lower registers have thought to go for Onken as could really use that better defined bass that this design can deliver.

Have also eyeballed that french project, so will definately follow this with great interest. So please do share your experiences!

[Mrmonster11]

Hello Lads,
For you still watching this thread, I wanted to update you.
The cabinets are almost done, and wanted to share some photos and some thoughts.

I elected to have a cabinet maker build these due to the precision cuts and assembly needed. That and there is no way you can cut a 4'x8' sheet of one inch plywood on a $200.00 craftsman table saw.
My builder has a high precision table saw that cuts to within a 1/128 of an inch, and all the cuts are laser straight with no splitting or chipping of some very expensive plywood.
I could not find Baltic Birch anywhere here on the West coast, so we used one inch Apple Ply, that has 17 plys to the sheet.

Here are a few photos of the Ginormous table saw, and some of the cabinets near finished
The fellow in the shot is my builder.
The front panel is removable, but there is zero tolerance on the fit. It has to be tapped in place, and I don't have a feeler gauge thin enough to measure the gap.

They are going to finished in Osmo clear, a German water based finish that is very scratch resistant and seals the wood deeply.
We used the original Hiagra plans to build these using his dimension exactly, even down to the number of screws and their placement in the wood and every joint was heavily glued with a high grade wood glue that becomes stronger under pressure.

I was lucky to contact Alex and Manuel who posted their build on the French site Ispra.net Audio, and he was gracious enough to help with a number of questions on my project.

They should be ready on Friday, and I am going to do the finish myself to save a few bucks, as this was a very expensive project due to the plywood and all the precision work that needed to be done. Then I still need to install the wool felt insulation. If you are still interested I will keep this up to the final testing for sound

Thanks for all you input on this project.

Donald Bowman

[Altec Best]

Looking Good Don ! If that Apple ply is anything like 1" Baltic i know it is very expensive.We can get it here easily on the east coast.But it is $190 for a 4x8 sheet.the 3/4 comes in 5x5 sheets and is $48 Wait till you have to move/carry those. But they are looking great can't wait to see the drivers mounted. What are you using for the HF ?

[Mrmonster11]

Hello,
Thanks for the praise.
I would have had to ship Baltic Birch in from the East, and that would have put it over $375.00 a sheet. as it is the Apple ply was $175.00 here.

The HF are Altec 288C drivers with the German Jabo conical horns, which work great in normal size listening rooms

Thanks,
Donald Bowman

[Altec Best]

The HF are Altec 288C drivers with the German Jabo conical horns, which work great in normal size listening rooms

Those Jabo Conicals are huge aren't they.I'm using a set of 288C's with Altec tar-filled 1005"s at the moment, they are big too.I'm doing a build myself at the moment (Custom) I'm going with dual 416B's with 511E's / 288's in 20 cu.ft cabs.


Regards ~ John

[Mrmonster11]

Hello,
I am using the type 50 Jabo horn which is smaller than the type 55. my horns are 21 inches in diameter.
They were a tad small on my old Altec VOT speakers, but are perfect in these Onkens
The big Altec multicell horns are great horns, but I found them to sound "tinny" in a smaller room. I found another member here that was using the Jabo horns, and he was very happy with them.
I am also using the Jabo crossovers on this setup. They worked great on testing the components without a cabinet, and I am sure they will be super fine once everything is finished.

That German Jabo guy makes some great stuff, but he is an Ass to work with on shipping and getting follow up information, like user guides and setup questions.
But I still have no problem in recommending his products.

Donald Bowman

[Mika K]

Looking good!

I have also contacted the local builder for the Onken cabinets and they are assigned on his queue. Most likely they will be manufactured next years jan-feb etc. Depends of the finish of the current projects he is having.

I have planned to fit atleast for a beginning the original Altec Valencia Iconic drivers and horns and was asking something related the xo in other thread, but no love for newcomer atleast so far. So please keep this page updated or atleast share your thoughts after the cabinet is ready, drivers and xo's in place and in action

[Progneta]

I wish I had some one in Ohio that could make me cabs like that...I am looking for a stonehenge type cabinet for 2 Altec 601c's. I could make the cabs, but they wouldnt look as pro as yours! Very nice!

[Altec Best]

The big Altec multicell horns are great horns, but I found them to sound "tinny" in a smaller room.

That's why you need the Tar-filled's heavy as heck.Wrap on those(Dull as a Post) and you bruise your fingers. No tinny sound there.The newer Aquaplas ones aren't as damped IMO.But I think they still sound good.But how small is your room.The Multicells really need some room to breath and weren't designed for Hi-Fi/HT apps.They were designed to project sound out into a big audience(Movie Theater).

I have planned to fit atleast for a beginning the original Altec Valencia Iconic drivers and horns and was asking something related the xo in other thread, but no love for newcomer atleast so far.

Although this is Lansing Heritage in which we are here to honor Mr.James B. Lansing in his endeavors Lansing Manufacturing,Altec Lansing,JBL this forum is mostly JBL enthusiast's and has nothing to do with being a newcomer.May I suggest trying the Altec User Board for Altec questions.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/altec-users-board/

[Mrmonster11]

Hello Lads,
well this long journey is almost at an end. I need to install some more of the wool felt insulation and finish mounting the 416B's to the front panel

Which brings up the question of how tight do I drive the mounting bolts to the face? any suggestions or torque measurement in foot pounds? as these have cast frames, and a very thick gasket on the face of the rim, and I don't want to crack the frames after all this work and money.
These are new old stock woofers, and were never mounted before, so that gasket is thick and firm.

Hope to be playing music on New Years Eve through them.
Thanks,
Donald Bowman

[jf65]

Greetings from Finland.

I'm newcomer at the forum here but at the moment considering to build Onken cabinets by Hiragas plans to replace the cabinets of my Altec Valencia Iconics.

hello, the original wood used by Hiraga (and me) was Nantex made of Finland birch, you are at the right place .

[Salectric]

Donald,

So how do the speakers sound in the new Onken cabinets?

Dave

[norelco]

Hi,

Since this thread are inactive for almost 5 years,i would like to chime in with some few questions regarding to well regarded Onken Builds,

1. Is it ok to use 11/8 thick Marine Plywood (over/excess of 1/8" to the 1 inch of the original design)
2. same with Mr. Donald, i have the Altec 416 8B (compare to 416 A of the original design)

Hoping for your help, since this an old thread and i assume that many people here have a lot of experience owning this legendary speaker.


Thanks & regards,

From Philippines,

Norelco