Altec 755a's

I noticed that my 32b horns are a little rough inside. Luckily, they came from close S/N Altec 1221a wedges, and have a matchIng roughness. Lol

I'd feel bad cleaning them up inside, because the paint is in such good shape. Those suckers are mint. They came from Rupp arena.

I figure I'll pair them up with my 414b woofers eventually.
 
Thats why I prefer to get drivers/cabs/equipment that need work...then I don't feel bad about modifying them

I'm more of a listener than a collector anyways
 
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Springfield Speaker Repair might be able to hook you up with a fresh cone, if your voice coil is good. A while back they had a small stack of original 755 cones.
 
A C/E cone is not the same as a cone from an A. It will fit mechanically, I believe, but not sound like an A. I tried that in the 1980s.

Also there were a lot of Waldom or other aftermarket C/E cones around, cross listed with 755A.

Original A cone kits are pretty hard to come by 60 years after it was discontinued. It would be a great stroke of luck to find real Altec A cones. Ask questions.

The Japanese guys referred to earlier told me that all A cones were from the original WE run in 1948. Nobody knows more about WE than these chaps, so I tend to believe what they say unless I find hard evidence to the contrary, which hasn't happened yet.
 
I was hoping the cone and dust cap could be glued along the tears, and somehow reinforced. I think there are those out there who can repair the VC. This driver is for my use, so I wish to keep it stock as possible. I have repaired torn cones myself, but I'm sure there are people more experienced than I at the procedure. It looks as though the basket can be separated.
 
I was hoping the cone and dust cap could be glued along the tears, and somehow reinforced. I think there are those out there who can repair the VC. This driver is for my use, so I wish to keep it stock as possible. I have repaired torn cones myself, but I'm sure there are people more experienced than I at the procedure. It looks as though the basket can be separated.

Repairing cones isn't too hard, if you're careful. Sometimes they're beyond that point, though.

A C/E cone is not the same as a cone from an A. It will fit mechanically, I believe, but not sound like an A. I tried that in the 1980s.

Also there were a lot of Waldom or other aftermarket C/E cones around, cross listed with 755A.

Original A cone kits are pretty hard to come by 60 years after it was discontinued. It would be a great stroke of luck to find real Altec A cones. Ask questions.

The Japanese guys referred to earlier told me that all A cones were from the original WE run in 1948. Nobody knows more about WE than these chaps, so I tend to believe what they say unless I find hard evidence to the contrary, which hasn't happened yet.

Worst case, an A motor with a C/E cone is going to be better than an A with a destroyed cone.
 
Gordon has not checked his mail, I'll give him a shout tomorrow at work. I'm thinking I can mend the cone in a pinch. But the VC ...I know my limitations, and I can't see wires that small!
 
I'm sending my cracked cone 728B to Gordon tomorrow.

I could probably glue it myself but somebody who does this all day long must be far better at it than I am. If it was a mere 755C I'd try it.

The job is complicated on these WE designed "pancake" speakers because there is no free access to the back of the cone because of the way the frame is constructed.
 
Out of the 6 paper cone drivers on these speakers, this was the only one totally violated. A couple of the university's had dust caps pushed in. The Bozak drivers were immaculate. The horns were of course bullet proof to children's fingers!
 
An Altec 755A and 32 horn discussion is so refreshing after coming back from a late summer holiday drive with my wife to welcome the new season :)

JE
 
I guess I am at the right place. A discussion going on three pages instigated by a speaker made for monaural reproduction - full range, to boot! What stinking crossover? We don't need no tweeters. When I worked at Varian Associates, we would hang with the crazies from Bell Labs on occasion. I am sure in those days I probably heard this speaker, but it was common to drink your lunch in those days, so all recollection was deposited into a urinal. Even at my age it is hard for me to get my head (and ears) around the concept of "full range speaker'. I do notice Joe's earnest passion, however, and recognize its purity. Therefore, I am on a quest. To hear some properly set up 755A's. To be continued.
 
I guess I am at the right place. A discussion going on three pages instigated by a speaker made for monaural reproduction - full range, to boot! What stinking crossover? We don't need no tweeters. When I worked at Varian Associates, we would hang with the crazies from Bell Labs on occasion. I am sure in those days I probably heard this speaker, but it was common to drink your lunch in those days, so all recollection was deposited into a urinal. Even at my age it is hard for me to get my head (and ears) around the concept of "full range speaker'. I do notice Joe's earnest passion, however, and recognize its purity. Therefore, I am on a quest. To hear some properly set up 755A's. To be continued.
Hah, you've stumbled on the right place... Welcome to the nut house, @Olddavid !
 
I guess I am at the right place. A discussion going on three pages instigated by a speaker made for monaural reproduction - full range, to boot! What stinking crossover? We don't need no tweeters. When I worked at Varian Associates, we would hang with the crazies from Bell Labs on occasion. I am sure in those days I probably heard this speaker, but it was common to drink your lunch in those days, so all recollection was deposited into a urinal. Even at my age it is hard for me to get my head (and ears) around the concept of "full range speaker'. I do notice Joe's earnest passion, however, and recognize its purity. Therefore, I am on a quest. To hear some properly set up 755A's. To be continued.

To be fair, I have a pair and I'm still trying to hear a properly set up pair of 755a's, but that's just my problem. With some measurements and pics from Joe I am going to be making some of the Silbatone cabinets designed by a Dr. Bei. I look forward to hearing these. While I have yet to hear these speakers in a proper cabinet, I can already see some of their good points, but the lack of bass does bother me. I wish someone would come up with a good sub design that would work with these below 80hz while still allowing them to do what they do so well. Subs are just an area I have not dabbled.

Best,


Jonas
 
Silbatone cabinets designed by a Dr. Bei.

That's Dr. Bae, Stefano Bae, Silbatone engineer and PhD in solid state physics of electronic materials or some crazy thing.

Anyway, he came up will a hell of a 755A box. Doesn't make much technical sense but can't argue with the empirical results.

I have permission to go public with it and I'm writing up a blog post to accompany the drawings, but here is the what the cab looks like.

baecab.jpg
 
This is one of my favorite little speaker pairs. Really simple 2 cu ft wedge. 21.5" x 17" x 12" (at the middle). I did add a 1" dome with an L pad and a high pass to add a little ting Mon. Its a sealed box made out 5/8 plywood. I dug thru the pile to find a sheet with just the right ring to it. I got the idea from an article on 755s.
 

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