A7 Dilemma

[eb140]

Hello everybody,

I am fast approaching the end of my Altec A7 build (have a look at my progress at THIS PAGE) and am having trouble deciding on what color to paint them in.

I know they were offered in black and gray commonly as well as a blue-ish / teal color on the infrequent side. While I'm looking to recognize the past and heritage of these speakers I also want to do something unique. To make things complicated they need to look good with a giant black JBL 2360a on top!

As of right now, I'm leaning towards a sea-foam green color as seen here


So my question to you - what color are your A7s and can you post a picture to help me decide?

Thank you in advance!

[NickH]

Wow, that's a unique design. What are the drivers?
Looks pretty killer though.
Nick

[eb140]

The correct and most widely used 15" is the Altec 416 I believe. As far as the lower 18" I have no idea... These aren't my speakers I only like the color! Due to my in-college-hardly-any-fun-money budget, I am using a Celestion unit, the TE-BS-15300 8ohm.

Mine are traditional and ported on the lower face.

[eb140]

OK,

I found the paint in a can!

I'm leaning towards 'Greenery' from Utrecht Art supply.
http://www.utrechtart.com/Montana-Go...001033.utrecht

[stephane RAME]

http://kiirojbl.exblog.jp/i30/
http://kiirojbl.web.fc2.com/audio/audio100.htm

Stéphane

[Lee in Montreal]

Black 2360 on top.
Tangerine/orange A7 underneath ? The A7 would be easy to veneer, dye and satin clear.



BTW I checked your page. Nice work. Adding rigiity to the original floppy box is indeed paramount. May I suggest that the bass reflex port be "tuneable". Bascially, you may want to tune it to 30Hz, 50Hz, or even 60Hs depending on your drivers. And the medium is so much forward that tuning low might not be as ideal as expected. Which is why, many are increasing the volume of the cabinet. But you could also help the bottom octave with a quality sub for the 20-60Hz region.

[eb140]

Thanks for replying Lee.

I'd always considered an orange color, and tangerine sounds perfect.

I would probably veneer them but they are going to be in my house on campus and will be in a college environment for at least another three semesters. So as might be able to tell I'm not really wanting to invest a significant amount of time on the exterior! From the start of this project I always planned on a restoration after I graduate and get my own place hahaha.

[Lee in Montreal]

Had the outer panels been plywood instead of MDF, you could have easily sanded the surface and dyed it directly, without using venneer. You wouldn't have seen the difference. Finish off with clear. The process is not longer than painting.

[eb140]

Ok, painting is over with.

I couldn't make them orange due to a local shortage of decent orange spray paint. Instead I chose a pure cyan blue.

Pictures to follow once I have them all assembled!

[Lee in Montreal]

A7 + 2360

Seems that somebody has done just that

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-2446J-wi...-/261267087823

[eb140]

Aha! So I'm not the only one!

I have to say it is a great combo, although I haven't experienced an original A7 system to benchmark it to.

Right now I'm listening to only one sadly, my HF amplifier decided to not output a left channel for some reason.

[Lee in Montreal]

Been a few days. Paint has most likely dried and hardened. Time to post pictures and impressions.

[sean19]

Hello everybody,

I am fast approaching the end of my Altec A7 build (have a look at my progress at THIS PAGE) and am having trouble deciding on what color to paint them in.

I know they were offered in black and gray commonly as well as a blue-ish / teal color on the infrequent side. While I'm looking to recognize the past and heritage of these speakers I also want to do something unique. To make things complicated they need to look good with a giant black JBL 2360a on top!

As of right now, I'm leaning towards a sea-foam green color as seen here


So my question to you - what color are your A7s and can you post a picture to help me decide?

Thank you in advance!

go to youtube and type in faux woodgrain and check it out i am going to do some cabinets soon will post my pics it's awsome what you can do with a little paint and some clear coat by the way awesome looking design

[eb140]

Been a few days. Paint has most likely dried and hardened. Time to post pictures and impressions.

Yes, how rude of me to keep you waiting!



Well, what do you think guys?

Impressions are plentiful. I've never done critical listening with a fully loaded horn system before so my brain is quite scattered. I'm going to start keeping a legal pad on the coffee table so I can scribble down listening notes.

While I have made great progress and can see light at the end of the tunnel, I still have a problem. My HF amp (yes, I'm driving them actively ) has decided to not give me a left channel. So at the moment it is not a good time to make remarks about the sound as I only have on e tweeter tweeting.

Although there is a problem with my amp, I have noticed a horrendous resonance. It sounds about like 1kz or so, but I haven't verified with measurements yet. Once I sort the HF amp problem I will be doing an array of tests to see (hear) what problems/attributes they have and where I can optimize. The engineer inside me won't let this project die and just let me listen to music!!!

[hjames]

Wow - that color has some POP!
Hope when you get them fine tuned that they sound as good as they look!

Yes, how rude of me to keep you waiting!



Well, what do you think guys?

Impressions are plentiful. I've never done critical listening with a fully loaded horn system before so my brain is quite scattered. I'm going to start keeping a legal pad on the coffee table so I can scribble down listening notes.

While I have made great progress and can see light at the end of the tunnel, I still have a problem. My HF amp (yes, I'm driving them actively ) has decided to not give me a left channel. So at the moment it is not a good time to make remarks about the sound as I only have on e tweeter tweeting.

Although there is a problem with my amp, I have noticed a horrendous resonance. It sounds about like 1kz or so, but I haven't verified with measurements yet. Once I sort the HF amp problem I will be doing an array of tests to see (hear) what problems/attributes they have and where I can optimize. The engineer inside me won't let this project die and just let me listen to music!!!