Altec Lansing 103 restoration project + review (just better than you thought)

[davy rocksta]

(i'm sorry i wanted to change the title)
Hi to everyone...

well i just saw these pair for a reasonable price in a very ammm "doubtful" condition but as far as the coils were the originals there is still hope...

ok, i couldn't find any information in the web so i expected the worst in sound quality, or mediocre at last... the seller showed me how they sound, they sounded very very warm, mids and highs ok, just ok they were flat, boring (i could say opaque), decent bass extention though.

for the restoration i made works in the vinil veneer (a really descent veneer BTW), changed the capacitors for polyesther axial capacitors, i wanted to upgrade the resistors as well, but the crossovers uses 6 ohm resistors, not a common value, so i left them since the multimeter showed really close values to 6 ohms.

i replace the suspensions in both woofers (one of them was ok, but i change it anyway), one dustcap was blend, i tried to fix it but i couldn't, so i change it.

i restore the textile in the grills and made a logo based in the original one. Also, i put extra glass fiber inside the bafle.

so far so good, i finished and they ended looking really, really well

review
reciever: kenwood KA-880D 100WPC
DAC: realtec high definition audio, 24bit, 192KHz

i don't know the retail price here, and i also don't know the specs (it would be nice if someone knows)
i thin'k these were 500.00 USD in todays money
drivers:
tweeter: 1 inch (i asume) polyesther, polycarbonate?? (some plastic material)
mid range driver: 3.5 inch paper cone
woofer: 10 inch paper cone
bafle: rear port, bass reflex
nominal impedance: 8ohms
power handling: 125W max (50W continuous??)
frequency response: is unknow but i think 20Khz to 40Hz +- 3dB (based on tests from audiocheck.com)
weight 7.0 KG

ok, ok, so the first think you notice is some similarity to the Yamaha NS-6490 speaker system, but they only look alike, the technology inside is really different; these speakers are rear ported, they have 10 inch woofers and dedicated crossovers (the yamaha doesn't have crossovers they only use 2 electrolitic capacitors on each speaker for mids and tweeters)...

the first thing i noticed was that the crossovers use the same components for the mids and the tweeters; one 3.3 microF cap and a 6ohm 5W resistor in series for each driver... i thought that was a really, really "cheap" idea, but no, the mid range driver and the tweeter work toguether so the mid range plays lower frequencies that the tweeter can't and vise versa; the tweeter plays high frequencies that the mid range driver can't and in between them both "join forces" to achieve "lineality" in the highs and a natural roll off in the upper end, i mean every 3 way speaker works like this, but i was expecting, for example, harshness by the mid range trying to play higher notes that it can.

so, with the crossover restoration, i can say the midrange is crisp, the highs are detailed, but not "crystal clear" nothing special at all. i could say the upper mid range becomes a little harsh at -i could say- mid high volumes
BTW, i'm surprised, thsese speakers have a decent soundstage, i didn't spect that, also the channel separation is ok, details seem to be further away, that the actually position of the speakers, for sure i didn't spect that at all

now, with that 10 inch woofer i didin't spect much, the magnet that it has is kinda small for that size, specially by today standards, but it plays louder, deeper and cleanner that i initially thought... doing test from audiocheck (low frequency harmonic distortion) i can feel even the 24Hz test at meium volume (i think less than 50W) so they have really decent deepness (i don't know how the extra acoustic material i used manipulates the bass performance), the box is really big, and at low volumes the port pressure is almost not existing so the speaker behaves like an infinit bafle (i think) and they sound really nice at low volumes... still i'm not meaning by any means that these speakers are full range speakers but i don't feel that they need a subwoofer, they can fill a medium size room preaty well.

overall the speackers are warm sounding (thats kinda obvious), but the bass is not realy overpower instead it sounds smooth, now restored they no longer sound opaque anymore, i don't think they sound "boomy" either. so far i like them, i think they are really ok.

so far this was my review, scuse my bad english i just wanted to say this are really decent speakers worth restoring , so if you find them cheap enough give them a try, they might impress you.

 

[davy rocksta]

yeah and this are the yamaha.... and its "crossover".... and are reviewed with positive feedback. this 3 way arragement was very popular in the 80's and 90's, so i will refer to them, now on, as the pseudo 3 way ('cose the mid range driver is not a proper one, they work as a tweeter extension).
and this leaves me with more details; the 103's weakest point is the fact that the 10'' driver makes a lot of work so the mid range could be way better, i think a sooner pass in the crossover maybe up to 800Hz or 1000Hz would be the optimal, and a better "pesudo mid range" driver that can play lower frequencies... with this i'm thinking in a coil that cuts the 10'' woofer frquency response sooner, and a mid range with a 4.7 microF capacitor (or even a higher value) for it to play lower frequeincies ( but i think if i do that, the actual "midrange" driver could blow up at loud volumes)...
saying this, the strong point is playing rock and roll, 70's and 80's era, specially garage and live like productions sound really well on these speakers, i test with the dave brubeck quartet, speakers with no dept just can't play the bass drums (time out album), some times the drum bass just does not exist at all, but this is not the case with the 103 you can hear the bass drum and its unique airy extension, really good deepness. The solo instruments trumpets, guitars, violins, saxs, sounds.... well lets say an electric guitar sounds like is being played with a regular (entry level) guitar amp (i think this is why garage rock sounds so well) is the only way i can describe the mids and upper mids.