DC audio fan - with an ALTEC project

[hjames]

And while I wait to assemble drivers and such, I'm listening to the rare old JBL L212s I fixed up last year at this time,
with a volkswoofer around the corner picking up the bottom

[hjames]

Was chasing old links I had last night and ran across someone with a parts pile from a pair of Model 15 series II speakers - so, I'm buying their rebuilt crossovers and the (plastic) 32 horns. So between them, the 902/908 drivers and the JBL 2214 woofers, that should be enough parts that I can get some sounds out of the cabinets and see what's up.
Of course, with all this east coast snow, it'll probably be a week or two for shipping and assembly at my end ...
More info and pix when available ...

[hjames]

Had an open invitation to have a listen to Walt's system (SoundMods), to get some idea of what's possible with Altec gear,
and since I was in his area yesterday, I called and dropped by for a couple hours to listen to his Altec gear. OMG!
I could have stayed for hours listening to that gear, but I had to leave as it got dark and I had a long drive home ...

Crisp, clean and full of music - I love the dynamics and the presence - very much keyed as a live presentation.
The sound is even more incredible for speaker systems originally "minted" in 1964. Woah!

Now I'm really eager for the horns and crossovers of my Model 15s to arrive so I can get a listen to my gear in stock form,
and get a sense of what I have to work with starting down this path.

Again, it was very kind of him to open his home to a total stranger like that.

Thanks again!

[SoundMods]

Had an open invitation to have a listen to Walt's system (SoundMods), to get some idea of what's possible with Altec gear,
and since I was in his area yesterday, I called and dropped by for a couple hours to listen to his Altec gear. OMG!
I could have stayed for hours listening to that gear, but I had to leave as it got dark and I had a long drive home ...

Crisp, clean and full of music - I love the dynamics and the presence - very much keyed as a live presentation.
The sound is even more incredible for speaker systems originally "minted" in 1964. Woah!

Now I'm really eager for the horns and crossovers of my Model 15s to arrive so I can get a listen to my gear in stock form,
and get a sense of what I have to work with starting down this path.

Again, it was very kind of him to open his home to a total stranger like that.

Thanks again!

Compliments are always welcome! THANK YOU!

On that note -- I got to know Heather during her visit and this gal has radio-station experience and is a solder-sniffer from way back. She is a genuine DIY gal which is extremely rare for this hobby. Typically this hobby is a man's club. I could talk about any technical stuff with her without the sometimes "deer caught in head lights" response I get from some hobbyists.

[hjames]

Christmas package just arrived - Model 15 crossovers, hardware and original horns...
The soldering iron is heating as I have larger wire already connected to the connector cups I installed in the base,
jumpers from the Altec 908/902-8A's and the JBl 2214 woofers (I will temporarily use).
I've got work to do!

[J-ROB]

The sound is even more incredible for speaker systems originally "minted" in 1964. Woah!

The basic design of those Altecs is a decade older than that!

You have to go back to the 30s and 40s for the really good stuff!

The Altecs are derived from 1930s Lansing field coil units, which in turn were adaptations of 1930s Western Electric patents. They are all descendants of the ancestral WE 594A, which is the best compression driver of all time.

The JBL 375/2440 is a direct ancestor of the 594A also. Basically a copy of the geometry, if not the materials.

The 1930s Lansing Iconic with 415 field coil 15" and 801 field coil 1" driver would blow your mind. Very modern, fast and transparent sound.

These electrodynamic Lansing Mfg. Company units became the permanent magnet Altec 802 and 416 woofer. Alnico V was a WWII era invention.

When you get that pile of stuff going, I can lend you a pr of 802-g if you want to try them out vs. 902s. Not sure if my extras are 8 or 16 ohm or a pr of each.

[hjames]

Well, the parts arrived, I got the parts in, and they are playing now ...
Its a bit shrill - I probably need to pad down the horn/drivers -
I suspect the JBL 2214 woofers are a lower efficiency -
but I knew they'd be a compromise until I had better options (and more $$).

Got Joni Mitchell's Hejira playing now ... basically sounds great.

Last edited by hjames on January 9th, 2018, 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[SoundMods]

The sound is even more incredible for speaker systems originally "minted" in 1964. Woah!

The basic design of those Altecs is a decade older than that!

You have to go back to the 30s and 40s for the really good stuff!

The Altecs are derived from 1930s Lansing field coil units, which in turn were adaptations of 1930s Western Electric patents. They are all descendants of the ancestral WE 594A, which is the best compression driver of all time.

The JBL 375/2440 is a direct ancestor of the 594A also. Basically a copy of the geometry, if not the materials.

The 1930s Lansing Iconic with 415 field coil 15" and 801 field coil 1" driver would blow your mind. Very modern, fast and transparent sound.

These electrodynamic Lansing Mfg. Company units became the permanent magnet Altec 802 and 416 woofer. Alnico V was a WWII era invention.

When you get that pile of stuff going, I can lend you a pr of 802-g if you want to try them out vs. 902s. Not sure if my extras are 8 or 16 ohm or a pr of each.

Or -- you could skip all of the hard work and buy a finished Western Electric system from Vue Hong at Deja' Vue Audio. It's pocket change -- a mere $40,000 to $50,000.

[hjames]

The sound is even more incredible for speaker systems originally "minted" in 1964. Woah!

The basic design of those Altecs is a decade older than that!

You have to go back to the 30s and 40s for the really good stuff!

The Altecs are derived from 1930s Lansing field coil units, which in turn were adaptations of 1930s Western Electric patents. They are all descendants of the ancestral WE 594A, which is the best compression driver of all time.

The JBL 375/2440 is a direct ancestor of the 594A also. Basically a copy of the geometry, if not the materials.

The 1930s Lansing Iconic with 415 field coil 15" and 801 field coil 1" driver would blow your mind. Very modern, fast and transparent sound.

These electrodynamic Lansing Mfg. Company units became the permanent magnet Altec 802 and 416 woofer. Alnico V was a WWII era invention.

When you get that pile of stuff going, I can lend you a pr of 802-g if you want to try them out vs. 902s. Not sure if my extras are 8 or 16 ohm or a pr of each.

Or -- you could skip all of the hard work and buy a finished Western Electric system from Vue Hong at Deja' Vue Audio. It's pocket change -- a mere $40,000 to $50,000.

Tempting, but I'll pass on that this year!

[J-ROB]

If you don't have a standalone RTA setup, get an RTA app for your phone and see where you are.

Are you using the M15 xover? No filter on the woofer in the M15, I think, so the woof impedance doesn't really matter, but the 902 should be 8 ohms.

I think the M15 xover has a MF notch and an HF control which changes the peaking network but it is not a volume pad, per se.

Properly balanced, that bent horn will be a bit on the smooth and laid back side, which is a good thing about it. It is definitely not an in-yo-face sort of horn.

PS: Hey Walt, you can't get a Western Electric horn system for $50k. Try several times that figure! 5-10X that figure for the good stuff on the Asian luxury market.

Deja Vu is selling GIP replicas. You can get a decent entry level GIP system for $50k. Talk to me, I write their brochures and I can get you a good price!

I'll try to get my GIP 18"ers running for the next Capitol Audiofest. They are pretty good speakers.