Sam08861
Super Member
I'd previously replaced the foam surrounds for my Altec Model 14 speakers and the speakers have been wonderful.
I'd first used them as is, with the stock crossovers recapped with film and the protection circuit bypassed. Loved the speakers clarity and realism and with loudness on OMG. Then saw the biamping article at audio nirvana, and copied that, finding further clarity and better FR, holy cow. Next replaced the DSP XO with an discrete nelson pass 6-24 and inductor based line level EQ. Even better.
Unfortunately, when fiddling with the active xo's while running, an errant finger touched a resistor leg and 'pop' goes the weasel. I kept hearing distoration on the left side and after checking out the preamp, xo and amps on an o-scope, finally figured out it was voicecoil rub, most likely from over-excursion from the 'pop'. Took off the dust cap and cleaned a few pieces of resin from the voicecoil and was OK for a few weeks, but still getting an occasional rub.
Need to bite the bullet and recone.
Going to recone kit from speaker exchange + epoxy and glue. Cost was a bit dear for 1 cone setup and supplies at $112 or so shipped, but I have to say I'm impressed so far.
What you get:
-Cone with surround already attached - very impressed that the replacement has the same dimples as the originals! I am over the moon happy about this little detail!
-4 layer voicecoil - not sure if they have flattened wires like the OG, but I'll compare when the other one comes out.
-Gaskets - the bad part of this kit. Are no where near the original size, speaker exchange suggests not using them, and the cardboard stack seems to be delaminating a bit on one of them.
-spider
-Tinsels
-Shims
-An envelope with instructions (contained the tinsels/shims also - not pictured)
+ For convenience, I ordered their recommended glue/epoxy directly from them.
Packaging was excellent by the way, shrink wrapped and didn't use tape that might stick to a cone or dust cap and cause damage. Kudos to them for that.
Comparing the cone kit to the OEM altec pictures for RCA34633 online, it looks identical with the dimples and darker color under the dust cap area.
I'll install over the next few days and report back on the results and compare to the OEM right channel (except new foam surround).
I'd first used them as is, with the stock crossovers recapped with film and the protection circuit bypassed. Loved the speakers clarity and realism and with loudness on OMG. Then saw the biamping article at audio nirvana, and copied that, finding further clarity and better FR, holy cow. Next replaced the DSP XO with an discrete nelson pass 6-24 and inductor based line level EQ. Even better.
Unfortunately, when fiddling with the active xo's while running, an errant finger touched a resistor leg and 'pop' goes the weasel. I kept hearing distoration on the left side and after checking out the preamp, xo and amps on an o-scope, finally figured out it was voicecoil rub, most likely from over-excursion from the 'pop'. Took off the dust cap and cleaned a few pieces of resin from the voicecoil and was OK for a few weeks, but still getting an occasional rub.
Need to bite the bullet and recone.
Going to recone kit from speaker exchange + epoxy and glue. Cost was a bit dear for 1 cone setup and supplies at $112 or so shipped, but I have to say I'm impressed so far.
What you get:
-Cone with surround already attached - very impressed that the replacement has the same dimples as the originals! I am over the moon happy about this little detail!
-4 layer voicecoil - not sure if they have flattened wires like the OG, but I'll compare when the other one comes out.
-Gaskets - the bad part of this kit. Are no where near the original size, speaker exchange suggests not using them, and the cardboard stack seems to be delaminating a bit on one of them.
-spider
-Tinsels
-Shims
-An envelope with instructions (contained the tinsels/shims also - not pictured)
+ For convenience, I ordered their recommended glue/epoxy directly from them.
Packaging was excellent by the way, shrink wrapped and didn't use tape that might stick to a cone or dust cap and cause damage. Kudos to them for that.
Comparing the cone kit to the OEM altec pictures for RCA34633 online, it looks identical with the dimples and darker color under the dust cap area.
I'll install over the next few days and report back on the results and compare to the OEM right channel (except new foam surround).
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