Altec 604-8G - custom HF horn and crossover mods mystery

[Dr. Humboldt]

Hello AK,

I got a pair of Altec Model 17's from a fellow who said they were used as studio monitors by Ronnie James Dio, among others. They have a conical HF horn (installed with proper hardware) and a modified port and crossover. I haven't been able to find any information on the horn mod and I'm insufficiently educated on crossovers to know what I'm looking at, but it looks like someone knew what they were doing and used quality parts.

Does anyone know anything about or have experience with the horn mod? I gotta say, I like the multi-cell look, but I also want to preserve the biography of these speakers and of the person who knew a lot more than I do about these speakers.

Also, do the crossovers look familiar to anyone? I don't have the schematics. Nice parts there and the speaker wires go directly to the crossover -- they aren't pictured but they are a beautiful blue and black braid that reminds me of a friendship bracelet.

RIP Dio, and forgive me, but the closest thing to metal that they play these days are Wilco's harder tracks.

Thanks AK,
Wes

 

[Leben]

Interesting find! Those crossovers look like they were built with premium parts, I wouldn't change anything unless you are unhappy with the sound. Hopefully someone here has some knowledge about the horn. Congrats on some pretty cool speakers.

 

[Dr. Humboldt]

Thanks Leben! Fortunately, they sound wonderful to my ears . They were relatively inexpensive, too, so I was very happy to cross multiple state lines to make the purchase. The sellers collector of studio gear, also had UREI's to offer that were from the studio used by Salt'NPeppa. I went for the M17's on account of the nice 620 cabinets.

Peace,
Wes

 

[toddalin]

I've seen the Altecs with round concentric horns. I think they used them in primarily in ceiling installations.