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Altec Model 14 Restoration.

MadcapLaughs

MadcapLaughs

Active Member
I just picked a pair of Altec Model 14 Speakers up from Kentucky this weekend. Got lucky and bid cheap on the bay for them, Im minimally invested at this point. The only apparent thing they need is a refoam. Upon closer inspection when I brought them home, it appears that that is most likely correct, I will take them to a tech to do the refoam and crossover recap. However, the cosmetics on one woofer shows a dark spot where cleaner or something stained it at some point, and it needs a new dustcap as well...In your opinion would it be worth it to order 1 or 2 recone kits for both woofers since GPA has original spec recone kits available for the 14? Or would you try to fix the cosmetics on the one woofer...and how? I know the repair tech I am using has restored altecs such as the A7, model 14, 19, etc so I know he has the capabilities.

Again, I do not know the overall functioning condition of the speakers yet, but they do appear to be completely in tact other than missing surrounds. Also, what do you make of one woofer frame being black and the other the original silver/ steel? I think the woofer components are original woofer components, but I'm not too confident about pulling the woofers out of the cabinets to verify.

I at least went through and cleaned the outside of the cabinets with a lemon oil wood cleaner, and wiped down all the dust off the speakers, bottom line is these haven't been used for some time...I really just want soem opinions of what I might be up against as I am prepared to sink some money into these. Thanks!
 

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Nice find!

I would have both of the woofers re-coned. If you do just one, they will not sound the same. The crossovers caps will more than likely be fine as is, maybe just clean the pots with De-oxit.
 
Pull them out and see if they are the same driver. Maybe someone replaced one of them along the way.
Listening to my friends Model 14 is what turned me on to Altecs. These are keepers.

BillWojo
 
any suggestions on how to proceed with removing these from the cabinets safely? I was able to unscrew the bolts but there was no give.
 
I haven't tried this yet, but try dipping a q-tip in some alcohol and applying it to the edge where the woofer meets the baffle. The alcohol may dissolve the sealant.
 
CA7EB0A7-9F35-49B7-8A1F-50C01774A8D8.jpeg I had to use a thin putty knife on my model 19’s woofer. Was pretty careful and did no damage. You could try pushing from the inside , I could reach inside via the port . Maybe take the horn out and reach in that way. Also a little hot air might loosen them up.
 
Looks like I got a RCA33785 and a RCA34633 for each driver. They are mismatched, damn. I know 785 is Altec model 15 woofer and 34633 is the 14 woofer. They are both original Altecs but I know the magnet and woofer is nicer on the 14. I’m trying not to let my blood boil right now but it looks like I will not have an equalized pair of woofers and the sound would be uneven from each speaker I imagine. Is a recone even worth it considering this? Or am I SOL???
 

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I just bought a pair of Model 14s myself. The previous owner had refoamed the woofers at some point but one of the 34633s wasnt working. I found a 785 on ebay and installed it with the thought of sending the bad original woofer out to be worked on. I wanted instant gratification and I could afford the ebay woofer. I assume it will cost a fair amount to have the other one fixed if it is a voice coil issue. After listening for a night or two I think the original sounds a little better than the woofer from the 15. Apparently the 14 woofers are really hard to find while the 15 woofers are more common. Even mismatched it sounds pretty good to me! Altecs.JPG
 
I would contact Bill at Great Plains Audio. He might be able to help. I know he sometimes has older drivers and such .
 
I will contact bill amp Gpa but last time I talked to he told me I would have to hold out to find an original 14 woofer. I need opinions, is it worth getting in the speakers recone and fixed up with the mistmatched woofers or would it not be worth it? In other words if I get them fixed in their current state should I expect a sloppy and mismatched sound or would it Still sound nice and efficient? What do you think Southportjac?
 
Apparently GPA makes every part for this speaker except the woofer...what luck!

Anyways I hate to see these sidelined while I wait indefiently for the magic 14 woofer to pop up on the auctions site....opinions needed!
 
I don’t know how great my ears are but even mismatched they sound good to me. Maybe slightly off but not bad at all. Have you thought about finding another woofer from a model 15 and using two of those so they would match. I just paid $90 shopped for the one I bought.
 
MadcapLaughs said:
Apparently GPA makes every part for this speaker except the woofer...what luck!

Anyways I hate to see these sidelined while I wait indefiently for the magic 14 woofer to pop up on the auctions site....opinions needed!
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Reach out to GordonW here. He has fixed a couple of my open Altec drivers back up and running. Don't know the issues compared to yours.
 
Well the tech I am using is really experienced with Altecs, he didn’t seem to enthusiastic about how the mismatched woofers would sound, that’s why I was asking about an immediate recone. I really want to get these up and running, so I think I will just do the recone in the 14 and 15 woofers for now and see how they sound, I will be hunting for either a replacement 15 or 14. Thanks for gIving me other models that use the 14 woofer too. Hopefully it will turn out ok
 
MadcapLaughs said:
Well the tech I am using is really experienced with Altecs, he didn’t seem to enthusiastic about how the mismatched woofers would sound, that’s why I was asking about an immediate recone. I really want to get these up and running, so I think I will just do the recone in the 14 and 15 woofers for now and see how they sound, I will be hunting for either a replacement 15 or 14. Thanks for gIving me other models that use the 14 woofer too. Hopefully it will turn out ok
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And that's making lemonade from lemons ... Good call.
 
southportjac said:
Oh I forgot to mention that careful use of a putty knife got my woofers out safely.
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Hello - I know it’s an old thread. I now got a model 15; and the same issue. Where do you slide the putty knife in? I can’t seem to get them from outside via the cone in between the frame and cabinet? Help please?
 
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