Picked these up today from a moving sale for next to nothing! Altec Lansing 602D Duplex speakers and cabinets! Don’t know too much about them. They do sound like they need a recap though.
-
Feeling lucky? Check out the AK 24th Anniversary Giveaway thread and join in the fun!
Altec 602D Duplex Speaker Score
- Thread starter mikemurph6
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Just out of curiosity... 
If one doesn't know much about a pair of speakers, especially really old speakers that they had never heard new and that may have a more limited high frequency bandwidth (like these), and listens to them, how would they know the sound of a speaker that needs a recap???
If one doesn't know much about a pair of speakers, especially really old speakers that they had never heard new and that may have a more limited high frequency bandwidth (like these), and listens to them, how would they know the sound of a speaker that needs a recap???
Well they are really old speakers, sat around for a while, are in perfect cosmetic condition (they were not abused) and they both sound distorted. Just guessing beyond that I suppose. If I’m wrong feel free to correct me, I posted on here because I am not an expert.Just out of curiosity...
If one doesn't know much about a pair of speakers, especially really old speakers that they had never heard new and that may have a more limited high frequency bandwidth (like these), and listens to them, how would they know the sound of a speaker that needs a recap???
Nyjblbob
Hooked on Horn's and Tubes. Go big or go home
Now, to find out why they sound distorted.?
I would take Ohm readings on the horns and the woofers,
I'm not sure if you can take the Pots out to detox them, they might be potted and sealed.
most fo those tweets are blown, and AFAIK no one has replacement diaframs for them
I would take Ohm readings on the horns and the woofers,
I'm not sure if you can take the Pots out to detox them, they might be potted and sealed.
most fo those tweets are blown, and AFAIK no one has replacement diaframs for them
AK has a dedicated sub forum for all things Altec, it's a great resource for info and plenty of Altec enthusiasts to help you on how to learn more about them.
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?forums/the-lansing-legacy.212/
Nice find by the way, seems you have a knack for finding nice gear and kudo's to your rehab of that S-C console
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/i...tannoy-and-thorens-find-of-a-lifetime.904027/
Great thanks! Yeah I got pretty lucky with this too, it was listed online in a moving sale with a bunch of furniture and was labeled as an end table...I saw the 15” round discoloration and Altec badge and messaged the seller immediately!
So I took another listen today and I believe I misrepresented what they sounded like, instead of distorted it sounded distant. However I moved the H.F. ATT. dial on the back of the speaker down which improved the sound drastically. At 0 it sounded perfect. I’m not sure what that dial was for, any thoughts?
Interesting, so why would I find the sound to get clearer with the dial set to 0?
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
The pot/l-pad is dirty or worn. At 0 the resistive pad or winding is fully bypassed sending un-attenuated signal to the tweeters.
Got it, makes sense, thank you! I’ll clean out the pots with some deoxit.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
Altec used both types of attenuators. If that network uses a potentiometer there is a possibility of it being pitted or worn.
Cleaning is surely the first step.
Cleaning is surely the first step.
Nyjblbob
Hooked on Horn's and Tubes. Go big or go home
You should go to the Lancing forum and read the thread about the Altec 3000 tweeters. Treat them gently
I have a set of 601-8D, Heath Kit cabs-driven by a Nelson Pass Amp Camp amp.
Wonderful sounding speakers-the 3000 tweet is sweet and revealing, besides the Great Heil-one of my favorite tweets...the response and clarity is amazing.
Fragile-sure.
Frankly they don't need much power-and a class A amp is a perfect combo.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/deep-inside-the-altec-3000-tweeter.410398/
Wonderful sounding speakers-the 3000 tweet is sweet and revealing, besides the Great Heil-one of my favorite tweets...the response and clarity is amazing.
Fragile-sure.
Frankly they don't need much power-and a class A amp is a perfect combo.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/deep-inside-the-altec-3000-tweeter.410398/
Last edited:
Just to add-this applies to the 601-D-but I bet the 602-d's are similar-they have the ability to convey a musical and realistic presentation very low-to medium listening levels-so the certainly don't need to be played loud to get the full effect, so to speak.
The 601-D's also benefits from dialing in the damping-2" foam directly behind the driver-curving in a "U" shaped on both sides works well in the Heath kit cabs-they had zero damping when I picked them up.
Nothing else was needed.
This technique-putting the damping behind the drivers-seems a much more effective way of properly damping the driver/enclosure with out the negative/resistive effects of volume damping.
Or just relying on lining the walls/etc.
The 601-D's also benefits from dialing in the damping-2" foam directly behind the driver-curving in a "U" shaped on both sides works well in the Heath kit cabs-they had zero damping when I picked them up.
Nothing else was needed.
This technique-putting the damping behind the drivers-seems a much more effective way of properly damping the driver/enclosure with out the negative/resistive effects of volume damping.
Or just relying on lining the walls/etc.
Interesting! Can you post a picture of how you mounted the foam? These cabinets have insulation on the walls. Thanks for the insight!
Similar threads
