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Thread: Altec Valencia Rehab

  1. #1
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    Altec Valencia Rehab

    Previously I posted about a basket case barn find of a pair of JBL L300's. I counted my chickens before I had possession of them and karma bit my arse and the deal never happened. After a brief mourning period I am now in possession of a pair of Altec Valencia 846A.

    These are in much better shape than the JBL's which will make the restoration much easier. First on the agenda will be removing the drivers and getting the cabinets back to original condition or better. One of the cabinet bases suffered some water damage and the plywood delaminated on one of the rear base pieces and pretty much fell off. I have the (walnut???) veneer piece so the repair should be easy. Other than that, they should only require a light sanding and refinish.

    As expected, the lattice grills are another story. They were intact before I loaded them in the truck and I managed to put my knee into one and it cracked. Once home I tried to remove it and made it worse, so I have one grill destroyed. These lattice grills were made of plastic and  were probably never removed. I had to pry the remaining plastic and cloth from the slots on each side of the cabinet. I have read that some Valencias had wood lattice. I briefly explored that option to have an exact pattern match custom made. $$$ Currently I am waiting for a quote for pvc replacements.

    I have confirmed that all drivers work but not sure about replacement parts for the crossovers. Any suggestions? ( I have searched and read through the Valencia crossover threads. Made my head hurt.)After I complete repairs I will decide whether or not to keep them. I will do a side by side comparison with my current setup,Pioneer SX1080 and Pioneer HPM150.

  2. #2
    Senior Member gsb001's Avatar
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    Share pictures

    Please share pictures and keep them coming as you work through the restoration.
    Thank you
    SB
    HuntleyAudio.com
    http://stores.ebay.com/huntleyaudio/

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    Slow go

    Made a preliminary inspection in the workshop. Removed back covers and found 2 LF drivers screws laying on the insulation that must have been loose and fell out on the way home. Hooked them up to a receiver and verified that all drivers work but was not impressed with the sound. Weather here is still pretty cold so not a whole lot will happen until spring. Curiosity will probably get the better of me and I will have to inspect the crossovers before then. Driver removal and cabinet repair/refinish to follow.


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  4. #4
    Senior Member gdmoore28's Avatar
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    Congratulations on snagging the Valencias! Before you begin the electronics restoration, be sure to read this and the noted links:

    http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.p...ssover.328530/

    Thanks to Zilch and associates, the research and experience is there to make the Valencias really sing and deliver the kind of sound they are capable of.

    Thanks for posting, and keep us informed.

    GeeDeeEmm

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    Quote Originally Posted by gdmoore28 View Post
    Congratulations on snagging the Valencias! Before you begin the electronics restoration, be sure to read this and the noted links:

    http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.p...ssover.328530/

    Thanks to Zilch and associates, the research and experience is there to make the Valencias really sing and deliver the kind of sound they are capable of.

    Thanks for posting, and keep us informed.

    GeeDeeEmm

    Unfortunately I am a retired industrial electrician that has a hard time understanding most of the technical information in the above mentioned thread. All I can do at this point, with any confidence , is make the cabinets look pretty ,use a DMM, and simple soldering.

    Will most likely be selling these and would like opinions about upgrading the crossover or just leaving it alone. Would collectors value them higher in as found condition?

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    Today I removed/destroyed the grill on the second speaker. Removed the drivers so now the cabinets are ready for some tlc.

    806A both at 8 Ohms
    416Z both at 10 ohms
    Wasn't expecting that. Normal?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by roblectric View Post
    Today I removed/destroyed the grill on the second speaker. Removed the drivers so now the cabinets are ready for some tlc.

    806A both at 8 Ohms
    416Z both at 10 ohms
    Wasn't expecting that. Normal?
    Those DCR values are pretty typical for components of that vintage.

    A lot of Altec stuff back in the 50's to mid-60's was actually ( or should have been labelled as ) 12 ohms .


  8. #8
    Senior Member gdmoore28's Avatar
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    Rob,
    What many people who decide to upgrade the crossover do is build another one from scratch and save the original for resale. The original is a fairly basic 12db/octave crossover, nothing very complicated at all. Most folks recommend at least replacing the capacitors in the original, especially if the sound is suffering ill effects, as you say your's is. (Can you give us a more detailed explanation of exactly what you are hearing?)

    One of the other Altec guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your crossover may be one of those whose components are sealed in a tar-like substance that makes capacitor replacement rather difficult. You will be able to confirm whether this is correct once you open it up. If the sealer is not there, then it's simply a matter of replacing the capacitors with ones of like value. The caps are available from many sources, such as Parts Express. It's also very important to clean the inside of the horn attenuator (L-pad, level control, whatever one wishes to call it) with DeOxit cleaner. Sometimes it's possible to restore proper order by simply moving the knob from one extreme to the other a dozen times or so. They have a tendency to corrode at the contacts inside.

    If the crossover is sealed, and you want to avoid the hassle of dealing with the sealer, it's a simple matter to duplicate the original with new components. You will need only to read the very simple schematic for that crossover, available on numerous sites, including this one and the Altec Users Board ( http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700...ers-board.html ). Speaking of which, you may want to add your post and pictures to that sight, too. Many, many excellent and very helpful Altec specialists on that site with much, much more knowledge than I. If you have trouble finding a link to your specific crossover schematic, let us know and we'll find it for you.

    You have some very nice speakers there, and they will be a fun and rewarding project. Once you have them dialed back in to proper specs, you will then be able to do some serious listening and determine if the "Altec sound" is for you. Some people love the Valencias, others not so much. One thing for certain, if it turns out that you don't care for them, there will be a ready market for resale.

    Keep us informed with your progress. And more pics, of course!!!

    GeeDeeEmm

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    Cool

    Quote Originally Posted by Earl K View Post
    Those DCR values are pretty typical for components of that vintage.

    A lot of Altec stuff back in the 50's to mid-60's was actually ( or should have been labelled as ) 12 ohms .

    Thanks for the confirmation that nothing is amiss with the drivers.

  10. #10
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    gdm

    Quote Originally Posted by gdmoore28 View Post
    Rob,
    What many people who decide to upgrade the crossover do is build another one from scratch and save the original for resale. The original is a fairly basic 12db/octave crossover, nothing very complicated at all. Most folks recommend at least replacing the capacitors in the original, especially if the sound is suffering ill effects, as you say your's is. (Can you give us a more detailed explanation of exactly what you are hearing?)

    One of the other Altec guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your crossover may be one of those whose components are sealed in a tar-like substance that makes capacitor replacement rather difficult. You will be able to confirm whether this is correct once you open it up. If the sealer is not there, then it's simply a matter of replacing the capacitors with ones of like value. The caps are available from many sources, such as Parts Express. It's also very important to clean the inside of the horn attenuator (L-pad, level control, whatever one wishes to call it) with DeOxit cleaner. Sometimes it's possible to restore proper order by simply moving the knob from one extreme to the other a dozen times or so. They have a tendency to corrode at the contacts inside.

    If the crossover is sealed, and you want to avoid the hassle of dealing with the sealer, it's a simple matter to duplicate the original with new components. You will need only to read the very simple schematic for that crossover, available on numerous sites, including this one and the Altec Users Board ( http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700...ers-board.html ). Speaking of which, you may want to add your post and pictures to that sight, too. Many, many excellent and very helpful Altec specialists on that site with much, much more knowledge than I. If you have trouble finding a link to your specific crossover schematic, let us know and we'll find it for you.

    You have some very nice speakers there, and they will be a fun and rewarding project. Once you have them dialed back in to proper specs, you will then be able to do some serious listening and determine if the "Altec sound" is for you. Some people love the Valencias, others not so much. One thing for certain, if it turns out that you don't care for them, there will be a ready market for resale.

    Keep us informed with your progress. And more pics, of course!!!

    GeeDeeEmm
    Building a new crossover sounds like an interesting project for me. Always up for a challenge that I have no clue how to complete. Then again, I could always buy one and leave the original unmolested. I will look into all options. Thanks for the encouragement!

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    Logo placement

    Most of the images I see on google show the Altec badge attached to the grill. Mine are attached to the cabinet wood on the bottom right. Should I leave them there? What is the significance of the two locations?

  12. #12
    Senior Member gdmoore28's Avatar
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    Altec Valencia Name Tags

    Rob, I've just scanned through roughly a hundred images using Google Images, and didn't come up with EVEN ONE IMAGE of Valencias wearing factory-styled tags behind the grills. I'd say that the previous owner simply liked the looks of the Valencias without grills, so he attached a pair for the sake of image! And I must say that I agree with that decision, don't you?I purchased a very nice pair of copper "maestro" tags from a gentleman on Ebay. The workmanship was excellent, and the copper is real, not plated. The price was reasonable, too. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Altec-Rectan...IAAOxyVaBSsOh0

    GeeDeeEmm

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    Quote Originally Posted by gdmoore28 View Post
    Rob, I've just scanned through roughly a hundred images using Google Images, and didn't come up with EVEN ONE IMAGE of Valencias wearing factory-styled tags behind the grills. I'd say that the previous owner simply liked the looks of the Valencias without grills, so he attached a pair for the sake of image! And I must say that I agree with that decision, don't you?I purchased a very nice pair of copper "maestro" tags from a gentleman on Ebay. The workmanship was excellent, and the copper is real, not plated. The price was reasonable, too. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Altec-Rectan...IAAOxyVaBSsOh0

    GeeDeeEmm

    This is where my logos are attached.


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  14. #14
    Senior Member gdmoore28's Avatar
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    That's very odd. Are they attached with adhesive? I'm wondering if they had a tendency to become detached from the grill, so the previous owner decided to attach them where they would be less likely to fall off?

    The way things typically go on these type of inquiries, though, is that somebody will chime in and say that their Valencias were delivered with the same type of label mount, and then we will discover that they were factory-mounted that way for two years only!

    I wish the other Altec guys would chime in on this one. We need some more input.

    GeeDeeEmm

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    Quote Originally Posted by gdmoore28 View Post
    That's very odd. Are they attached with adhesive? I'm wondering if they had a tendency to become detached from the grill, so the previous owner decided to attach them where they would be less likely to fall off?

    The way things typically go on these type of inquiries, though, is that somebody will chime in and say that their Valencias were delivered with the same type of label mount, and then we will discover that they were factory-mounted that way for two years only!

    I wish the other Altec guys would chime in on this one. We need some more input.

    GeeDeeEmm
    BTW That is not a pic of my speaker. Have only seen a couple on google images with the logo mounted there. Just curious if it does date them to a specific time period. If there is nothing significant about the location I might move them when I get the new grills.

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