Altec 418 Question

[Sll]

Hello. Does anyone know what the difference is between the Altec 418 and 418B 15" guitar speakers? I am not referring to the 418-8H. This speaker just says 418 on the label and has a date code of 391221. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[RMC]

Welcome to the Lansing Heritage Forum.

I looked around to help you, though with no success.

The 418 (no B) seems to have fallen in between two chairs. The 418B appears to have been released 1972 so i checked the 1971 Altec is Now catalog in the LH library and didn't see it there, where it should have been shown.

Checked the Altec Unofficial Web Page, no info, and not in the TS parameters list either.

Then looked at the Great Plains Audio library also and still no trace of the 418 (no B).

I had hoped that in finding a spec sheet one could have compared it with the B version sheet and therefore find some differences you're looking for.

Then you're out of luck, this driver seems to be a phantom, at least on paper... Regards

Richard

[Sll]

Thanks Richard.
S

[mitcheaster]

Hello. Does anyone know what the difference is between the Altec 418 and 418B 15" guitar speakers? I am not referring to the 418-8H. This speaker just says 418 on the label and has a date code of 391221. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

I just bought a “plain” 418, and it has a smaller voice coil than the 418B. So, that’s a significant difference! But I could never find any information about this model, either.

[RMC]

Hi mitcheaster,

Welcome to the Lansing Heritage.

The larger voice coil on the B version could have been to increase the driver's power handling ability, increasing power has been an on-going trend for a long time.

Since both woofers have the same basic model number, my guess is they are probably not only of the same type, but also pretty close to each other, except for VC size and maybe suspension stiffness.

Richard