alteclipsch
Super Member
Oooh, I'm liking that exposed horn! I'm still working out how to configure the fronts of my AS 101 Altecs. Might have to take a page of Biggs playbook.
Altec Valencia 846u Restore
- Thread starter rshep
- Start date
malden
Addicted Member
I agree, exposing the horn on the Valencias as @drbiggles has done is a big improvement over the original design.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
Like any highly directional speaker it helps if you sit further away so the sound of the room and different drivers get a chance to blend. Other wise you just think your listening to a cheap PA horn. Its obvious the cross over and shaping networks are working great. But without a slight rolloff starting some where around 3 to 4 k and maybe being set for 6 to 4 db attenuation at 20 KHZ things are going to e awfully bright. I prefer a B curve for a start. Then maybe flatten the bass a touch. 
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
That's a great idea. Once I get some other projects done I'm going to make a second set of grills with the horns exposed.
Shoot, I bought a pair of repo badges that are on their way. Now I need to decide if I should attach them to the full grills or wait until I get the woofer only ones made?
drbiggles
I like to pull weeds.
Hey man,
I had reproduction badges as well. I would install those to the new bikini grills without question. As soon as you see them in place, your other grills will gather dust. Having the badges on the new grills put The Touch on 'em. You'll be thankful you did.
Biggles
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
The cabinet damage needed to be addressed. After some thought I decided to correct strip the veneer off and correct the MDF board underneath. Of course it’s summer time in Phoenix and the garage his about 95 degrees in the afternoon. I haven’t done much of that type of wood restoration and tried several products. I started with Minwax Wood Filler. It's a 2 part system that sets up in about 5 minutes after it's mixed. Since the garage was so warm, I really only had about 3 minutes of work time.
I didn’t like the Minwax product because it was really toxic smelling. I ended up buying a 3m vapor mask because I’ve probably lost enough brain cells already. I found another 2 part product from “PC Woody”. It was water based and cured in 24 hours. The working time was about 10 minutes. I would recommend that product for wood patching. Here's a photo of me with the mask. Looks like I'm ready for Armageddon.
I
So I dug out the water damaged wood and filled that in with the PC Woody product. I filled all the major dents that were on the edges. I had some issues with bits breaking off during the sanding process. I found another product, PC Petrifier Wood Hardener. It's like a water down epoxy that soaks into the wood. When it dries, the wood is much stronger. I highly recommend it for this type of application. I got down to minor imperfections and still had challenges with the corners. After some Internet research I decided to try thick cyanoacrylate glue with activator. I don’t know how long that technology has been around but although expensive it's the cat's pajamas for fixing little dings and corners.
I didn’t like the Minwax product because it was really toxic smelling. I ended up buying a 3m vapor mask because I’ve probably lost enough brain cells already. I found another 2 part product from “PC Woody”. It was water based and cured in 24 hours. The working time was about 10 minutes. I would recommend that product for wood patching. Here's a photo of me with the mask. Looks like I'm ready for Armageddon.
ISo I dug out the water damaged wood and filled that in with the PC Woody product. I filled all the major dents that were on the edges. I had some issues with bits breaking off during the sanding process. I found another product, PC Petrifier Wood Hardener. It's like a water down epoxy that soaks into the wood. When it dries, the wood is much stronger. I highly recommend it for this type of application. I got down to minor imperfections and still had challenges with the corners. After some Internet research I decided to try thick cyanoacrylate glue with activator. I don’t know how long that technology has been around but although expensive it's the cat's pajamas for fixing little dings and corners.
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
The cabinets were sanded with 80 grit and then 150 grit. After the sanding was done, I researched the best way to prime MDF. Kilz Original Oil-Base interior primer was selected. I read that oil based primer was best because it wouldn’t raise the “grain” of the MDF and make it rough. It worked well, here’s a photo of one of the speakers after it was primed.
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
I decided to paint the speakers in the grey that Altec uses on some of their commercial speakers. Search results for speakers with factory gray paint were found. I used a Chrome add-on called ColorPick Eye Dropper to read the RGB value. Then after creating charts and looking at various shades of gray (there are many, many shades of gray). Olympic One Satin Latex enamel line was selected and the color I used was Antique Silver OL129.
Here’s a photo with one coat and some light sanding. I used foam rollers to apply but didn’t get a perfectly smooth finish. It was probably from the AZ heat in my garage, being about 90 degrees when I was painting. The finish wasn’t horrible, but I could see different textures when viewing from different angles.
Here’s a photo with one coat and some light sanding. I used foam rollers to apply but didn’t get a perfectly smooth finish. It was probably from the AZ heat in my garage, being about 90 degrees when I was painting. The finish wasn’t horrible, but I could see different textures when viewing from different angles.
Attachments
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rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
After 2 more coats of paint I was done with the painting phase. Next up, installing the crossovers. I wanted to mount the 30923 on the inside of the back panel. There wasn’t really room because the horn is squeezed into the box and almost touches the back panel. By the time I installed the midrange adjustment pot there wasn’t room for the 30923 board.
It seemed like a good place to mount it would be upside down and screwed into the bottom of the top panel. I was totally paranoid that I’d use the wrong size screws and have them pop up through the top. That didn’t happen and here’s what they look like installed.
It seemed like a good place to mount it would be upside down and screwed into the bottom of the top panel. I was totally paranoid that I’d use the wrong size screws and have them pop up through the top. That didn’t happen and here’s what they look like installed.
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rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
The previous post picture also shows the blocks that I added for the Velcro that would keep the top of the grill nice and snug. I did mis-judge where that Velcro should go. Consideration for the thickness of the motor board for the woofer was missed. The photo shows the original blocks. I just cut the same size pieces again to supplement and glued them in front of the originals to get all the Velco mounting points to be on the same plane.
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
Next up was to build some bases for the speakers. The original ones were in sorry condition. I also wanted the horns to be at ear height from my listening chair. After some measurements the stand height was set at 8 inches.
I didn’t want a solid 8 inch base around the bottom of the speakers. Instead, some stout legs were made with 2x4’s. Here’s a photo while they were being assembled.
They are braid nailed and glued together. I filled in the nail holes and painted them flat black.
I didn’t want a solid 8 inch base around the bottom of the speakers. Instead, some stout legs were made with 2x4’s. Here’s a photo while they were being assembled.
They are braid nailed and glued together. I filled in the nail holes and painted them flat black.
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
The grills where very warped so I dampened them by misting water on them. I then pressed them done with a couple hundred pounds of stuff I had around the shop. After about a week I pulled them out and they were significantly closer to being straight.
My wife works at Joann’s so of course we used their black speaker cloth purchased with her handy employee discount. She helped me size the fabric and hot glue it to the frames. The fabric is called Utility Fabric-Black Speaker Cloth. (shameless plug for my wife’s store)
My wife works at Joann’s so of course we used their black speaker cloth purchased with her handy employee discount. She helped me size the fabric and hot glue it to the frames. The fabric is called Utility Fabric-Black Speaker Cloth. (shameless plug for my wife’s store)
rshep
Working my way to 1000 posts
One last thing to do, I only had one original Altec badge and it was the boring style with “Altec Lansing” in chrome raised letters against a black background. After pursing the selections on eBay I bought the “Altec Lansing Copper Maestro” reproductions, copper with black lettering. Here's a shot from the listing.
gdmoore28
Super Member
Great job, rshep!!!! Normally, I don't like the industrial gray look, but you've knocked it out of the park with these. They look clean, purposeful, and downright attractive. 'Gotta pat you on the back for this job. Very impressive.
In my case, the 30923 network simply transformed the sound of my 802Ds to something quite magical. What are your thoughts now that you've had a chance to hear them with and without the eq network?
Would also like to hear your thoughts on the bass response. Is it good in the 846 cabs? I have 416-8Zs in my cabs (6.5 cu ft) and the bass response is fantastic for typical pop, jazz, and rock. Much better than I had anticipated. Probably not low enough for lovers of organ, but perfect for my fare.
GeeDeeEmm
In my case, the 30923 network simply transformed the sound of my 802Ds to something quite magical. What are your thoughts now that you've had a chance to hear them with and without the eq network?
Would also like to hear your thoughts on the bass response. Is it good in the 846 cabs? I have 416-8Zs in my cabs (6.5 cu ft) and the bass response is fantastic for typical pop, jazz, and rock. Much better than I had anticipated. Probably not low enough for lovers of organ, but perfect for my fare.
GeeDeeEmm
Hey rshep, I've been following along with your progress, real nice restoration! Someday I hope to stumble upon some Altec's, but for now I just follow along for the ride. I hope you are happy with the final results of your restoration and their sound quality.
Do you happen to have a link for your capacitance tester?
Do you happen to have a link for your capacitance tester?
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