Altec 511B horn mod

Wardsweb

Behind The Curtain
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So what can anyone tell me about the pros or cons of cutting the veins out of a pair of 511 horns for near field in home listening?
 

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I've talked to several people who have cut the vanes in half and used silicone sealer to fill the gap they cut in them to stop the ringing.
On mine which are 811B's I covered the outside of the horn with black sound proofing mastic and it made them a lot more civil for near field listening.
My guess would be your imaging might suffer if you removed the dispersion vanes. However since it would be near field listening you wont be worrying too much about imaging I imagine. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
 
I did it with an extra pair of 811s. I was able to swap them in and out of my model 19s to see if it made a positive change. I found the sound less edgey and got better imaging. I think that if you're going to keep them you should start with cutting only the center fin and see how that sounds, it made the biggest change for me. Also keep in mind that if you do this, your horns are worth zero for resale. As I said mine were an extra pair and the 811s are more common and cheaper than the 511s.
 
Wardsweb:
How about getting a pair of Community BRH 90s or equivilant. You can probably trade your 511s (intact) for BRHs and some boot.
V
 
My opinion is that they only ring when you rap your knuckles on them, or you are using them for sound reinforcement where high spl's are kicking out.

For home use, I just mount them securely and use a support for the driver end of the horn.


I did not like the damped ones I heard, they sounded muffled to my ears!

Just my 2 cents worth!
Ron
 
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