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Altec 846B Foam Horn Surrounds - Pix Please?

DanO55 said:
On second thought. I just saw a picture of a pair of 846Us that ended on that auction site and sure enough the same foam is in em.
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This is really interesting, if both are indeed original foams, then that foam has outlasted virtually all model 19 foams which were newer.

In the last decade i have seen a LOT of model 19's and not one cabinet with intact original foam. I've seen them with the remains of original foam, many without any foam at all, and some with any of the various replacements available over the last 10 or 12 years.

Could be a different type of foam with a better shelf life was used in the Valencia's. :scratch2:
 
That's the exact foam that is around my horns so I would say that it is in fact stock. Also mine do not have foam grills but rather a reddish/brown and black woven fabric.
 
Bowtie, I have heard that two things cause rubber and plastic to degrade: UV light and ozone. Put something in a Ziploc bag in the dark and it will last a very long time.

Since most 846B owners probably kept their grilles on, the amount of sunlight and air (and ozone) circulation might have been reduced enough to preserve the foams. That's just a theory. And that would assume that Model 19 owners were more likely to leave off their grille covers.

Of course, my theory is hard to reconcile with all the blown foam surrounds over the years ... they can't all have been left uncovered! Maybe the cone movement was enough to draw air and thus ozone over them? Naw; that seems like reaching.
 
I got mine there too. You won't be sorry. Post your impressions please once you get them in. I was overwhelmed with the build quality. Good Old American Engineering.
 
Zonker92 said:
Really; and was that original? I'd love to see a photo!
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poor little guy was stuck. This is the only photo I have of the grills right now

2010-09-169515-37-3195796.jpg
 
Ah, they look like 70s classics. Here's a lousy photo of mine; I got the cloth from Parts Express. I now have about seven coats of tung oil on the veneer:

TungOil846B.jpg


Here's how I bought them:

IMG_2965.jpg


IMG_2966.jpg
 
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They're pretty cool, huh? Paul Darst made them (his wife Debbie is at DDarst2@carolina.rr.com); I think he's still hashing out a few details but soon I'll post a formal review. I'm guessing the pricing will be in the $60 range.

(No affiliation; I'm just an enthusiast.)

My speaker modifications now include: New GPA 902-8A horn compression drivers; outboard Z19 crossovers feeding a binding posts that allow biamping or biwiring; new internal wiring; new-old-stock 416-8B 16" woofers; new grill covers; seven coats of tung oil finish; Damplifier on all the outside walls of the horn bodies; Darst foams; and one new Altec badge. Component-wise, they're Model 19 equivalents. I'm gonna caulk the rear gaps on the horn partitions, too.

The next two mods I'm considering are legs like these, and maybe front-mounting the new woofers on a new baffle, with a spacer behind the horn to maintain the same timing.

They sure beat the **** out of my originals, don't they? Before:

IMG_2983DesktopResolution.jpg


After:

IMG_3329DesktopResolution.jpg
 
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Wow!

Those are seriously nice looking. Great job!

There will always be critics of Altec 811 &511 horns but, I find them wonderful sounding and remind me of being in a pub with a live band. It may be "colored" sound but, I like the color.
 
Thanks! I'd love to take the credit, Doc, but I'll just say the Darsts are awesome.

My horns had a bit of a "ring" to them, which I could really detect on some Norah Jones and Tori Amos vocals, but the Damplifier seems to have muted it nicely. I haven't auditioned them since adding the foam, but I'm sure it will be the same or better.

Is the foam supposed to damp horn resonance, or kill cabinet / baffle reflections, or what?
 
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