Best compact enclosure for these Altec Components

[Stampants]

Hi. Got a good lead on these Altec Components:

Horn: 511B
Drivers: 802-16G 16ohms
Woofers: 416-8A

What "compact" enclosure will at least approach or give justice to these components, barring the original A7 enclosures since WAF and limited room size is a struggle.

Thanks in advance for the help!

🙂

[Earl K]

You are stuck between a rock & a hard place .

The 416-8a wants a minimum of about 7 cu ft to produce reasonable bass .

A 7 cu' sized enclosure is rarely WAF approved .

This is all due to the very large VAS value of the woofer .

[Stampants]

You are stuck between a rock & a hard place .

The 416-8a wants a minimum of about 7 cu ft to produce reasonable bass .

A 7 cu' sized enclosure is rarely WAF approved .

This is all due to the very large VAS value of the woofer .

Hmmm.... how about Altec Valencia Cabinets?

[Stampants]

You are stuck between a rock & a hard place .

The 416-8a wants a minimum of about 7 cu ft to produce reasonable bass .

A 7 cu' sized enclosure is rarely WAF approved .

This is all due to the very large VAS value of the woofer .

Well I know it is not going to be that small, id just want something smaller than an A7 cabinet. I can go for 36" in height and around 20" in depth. Width can be variable ��

[emilime75]

Your 36x20, and going 24 in width and using .75" material, yields 8.31 cuft. Enough to down size it a bit and allow for the displacement of the bracing, drivers, horn, vents...

[Stampants]

Your 36x20, and going 24 in width and using .75" material, yields 8.31 cuft. Enough to down size it a bit and allow for the displacement of the bracing, drivers, horn, vents...

Nice! Thanks! are there any DIY Altec approved enclosure plans that are similar to the above dimensions?

[Earl K]

( Right-Click and open the pic in a new tab to see it full size ).

- Multiply the 3 inside dimensions of any box ( stated in inches ) & then divide by 1728 to get cu ft

[Ed Kreamer]

You'll find in the library section of this site, some altec plans in the 1974 enclosure manual along with some recommendations from Altec. The 846b box is about as small as you can go (about 5 cu.ft.) Altec recommended 7.5 ft3 as the optimum for the 416. The 620 box that Earl shows here is a good starting place. Also make certain that the horn is firmly ( but don't break it! ) attached to your box as they have a tendency to ring. Not much you can do here, it's going to be big.

Hope this helps

Ed

[Stampants]

( Right-Click and open the pic in a new tab to see it full size ).

- Multiply the 3 inside dimensions of any box ( stated in inches ) & then divide by 1728 to get cu ft

Thanks for this!

[Stampants]

You'll find in the library section of this site, some altec plans in the 1974 enclosure manual along with some recommendations from Altec. The 846b box is about as small as you can go (about 5 cu.ft.) Altec recommended 7.5 ft3 as the optimum for the 416. The 620 box that Earl shows here is a good starting place. Also make certain that the horn is firmly ( but don't break it! ) attached to your box as they have a tendency to ring. Not much you can do here, it's going to be big.

Hope this helps

Ed

Replies have been a lot of help.

I'm actually mulling over choosing either the Model 19 enclosure or the Valencia ones. Mainly so I can hide the horns within the enclosure.
(I know less than the recommended cuft but it seems that these are the sizes I can get away with in our living room)

Also a few questions:

- what are the downsides of choosing these enclosures over the 620s ( do they result in a very compromised sound or would components degrade if I choose a smaller enclosure?)

- The compression driver is 16 ohms and the woofer is 8 ohms. The seller says that he has an Altec Crossover [failed to mention which one, will know when I visit him next week] is this just as simple as hooking up these drivers to that xover or do I need to tweak one of the components for to match ohms?

Thanks Guys!

[Mr. Widget]

FWIW: If I were going this route, I'd go with the Model 19 and slip your 511B horns in there. I think the low end of the 511B is nicer than the stock 811B and even if you go with the higher crossover frequency of the Model 19, I think you would still appreciate the larger horn. (Just an educated guess... I haven't tried it myself.)


Widget

[Stampants]

FWIW: If I were going this route, I'd go with the Model 19 and slip your 511B horns in there. I think the low end of the 511B is nicer than the stock 811B and even if you go with the higher crossover frequency of the Model 19, I think you would still appreciate the larger horn. (Just an educated guess... I haven't tried it myself.)


Widget

Thanks. Inclined to go in this route too. Just noticed that the Model 19s have the 416B (guess work here), won't the 416 8a be an issue?

[Earl K]

Couple of suggestions;

(1) Since WAF is a recurring factor here, you need to determine what size enclosure she will allow in the listening space .
- I recommend creating a pair of cardboard box mockups ( based on the enclosure info given ) and then starting negotiations.

(2) Do your 416's still have their original cone kits ?

If so, they'll have this stamped number ( 21184-2 ) somewhere on the back of the cone ;



If they have been reconed with newer Altec parts, they'll have a number like the following ;



35400 is the important part to the above number .

If you have neither number then your 416's have been reconed ( most likely ) with aftermarket parts ( & therefore, with all due respect, spending any more time on choosing a box size is a waste of time > until your woofers TS parameters get measured ) .

[Chas]

FWIW: If I were going this route, I'd go with the Model 19 and slip your 511B horns in there. I think the low end of the 511B is nicer than the stock 811B and even if you go with the higher crossover frequency of the Model 19, I think you would still appreciate the larger horn. (Just an educated guess... I haven't tried it myself.)


Widget

+1, having used both horns in the past I would strongly agree. If you are felling really adventurous, try a JBL CD instead of Altec. You'll need to drill an additional mounting hole in the flange (three bolt vs. two) and you can still swap drivers back and forth.

[Stampants]

Couple of suggestions;

(1) Since WAF is a recurring factor here, you need to determine what size enclosure she will allow in the listening space .
- I recommend creating a pair of cardboard box mockups ( based on the enclosure info given ) and then starting negotiations.

(2) Do your 416's still have their original cone kits ?

If so, they'll have this stamped number ( 21184-2 ) somewhere on the back of the cone ;



If they have been reconed with newer Altec parts, they'll have a number like the following ;



35400 is the important part to the above number .

If you have neither number then your 416's have been reconed ( most likely ) with aftermarket parts ( & therefore, with all due respect, spending any more time on choosing a box size is a waste of time > until your woofers TS parameters get measured ) .

Wow! Thanks for this info! If ever it needs re edging and or coning where can I get valid parts?