Heathkit AS-101: Thrift Store Score!

[Riki]

I just scored a pair of Heathkit AS-101 speakers from a local thrift store. They are in pretty fair nick and have matching serial numbers.





The insides look untouched.







The crossovers are wired for a single amp





And what is really neat (at least to me) is that each of the speakers had a business card in it. It'd be fun if this guy was still around, so I could let him know that his speakers found a good home.



I hooked them up in my garage for a quick test. They sound awesome! Because of their vintage, I started with something classic: Dinah Washington "Is you Is or Is You Ain't M Baby." I've never owned horns before, and boy was impressed. To mix things up a bit I followed with Ini Kamoze "World of Reggae" and was blown away by the bass.

I want to get these in the house as daily drivers. But, I don't want to damage them. I'm going to replace the caps and, at least, clean the corroded pots. But, is there any other preventative maintenance that you would perform? Any highly recommended modifications? I know I'm going to find a bunch of info in the archives, but I was hoping to get some fresh 2019 opinions too.

The cabs are in decent shape, but the dark color is unappealing (to me). Has anyone had any luck stripping and staining these cabs? Or, would easier to just go ahead and build new ones?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[hjames]

Wow - thats awesome! I moved your thread to "The Lansing Legacy" since those are basically Altec Valencia speakers in Heathkit style cabinets.
I have a pair of them downstairs that I rebuilt/upgraded a year or so back ...
I agree with you about the cabinet color - but since I'm not a woodworker,
I have not approached that issue with mine.

My refurb upgrade thread is here -
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/altec-valencia-heathkit-as-101.806226/

 

[Riki]

Wow - thats awesome! I moved your thread to "The Lansing Legacy" since those are basically Altec Valencia speakers in Heathkit style cabinets.
I have a pair of them downstairs that I rebuilt/upgraded a year or so back ...
I agree with you about the cabinet color - but since I'm not a woodworker,
I have not approached that issue with mine.

My refurb upgrade thread is here -
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/altec-valencia-heathkit-as-101.806226/

Thanks! I'm excited to start playing with these speakers

 

[bowtie427ss]

Rotate the woofers 180 degrees. Use a good degree of caution removing them in case the surround dope has migrated and settled to the bottom in excess. This can usually be determined using a strong light shining thru the grill. If this has happened and you try to remove the woofer, you will tear the cone and surround. If excessive dope migration has occurred, it can be softened with the heat of a blow dryer on low or medium for safe removal of the woofer.

Get those cardboard wrapped, wax sealed caps out of there. They're a known problem looking for the right time to happen.

Beyond that, get them positioned and start enjoying them.

 

[hugo454]

 

[phil-g]

How about we start another subforum called "the Heathkit legacy"

 

[911s55]

Groovacious!

Lattice front style speakers can sometimes get lost in the crap shuffle at yard sales and thrifts, those should be fun.

 

[BillWojo]

Very nice, I have a set of them also. I think they look much nicer than the Altec Valencia cabinets and have beautiful grill cloth.
If you look online there is a set of these that were refinished that look very nice. I'm not a fan of the original finish myself.
Congrats and enjoy.

BillWojo

 

[Riki]

Very nice, I have a set of them also. I think they look much nicer than the Altec Valencia cabinets and have beautiful grill cloth.
If you look online there is a set of these that were refinished that look very nice. I'm not a fan of the original finish myself.
Congrats and enjoy.

BillWojo

I'm on the fence about this grill cloth. It's got that cool vintage feel. But, I can see it billowing in and out as the woofer attempts to breath through it. I'm waffling on the idea of putting something significantly lighter on there. It's be cool to be able to see the horn and woofer through the cloth.

 

[Ezd]

Nice score...Congratulations.

 

[Riki]

Has anyone here ever tried wiring these for bi-amp and using something like a minidsp? Before we get our pitchforks out, I do understand with the merits of keeping digital doodads out of the signal path. That age old argument aside, the flexibility of the DSP sounds interesting for an application like this. In reading others posts, the process of restoring, upgrading, and modifying the crossover network iteratively, to meet the listeners tastes, can get quite pricey and time consuming (and these are tough speakers to move in and out of the workshop). The DSP sounds like a magic box that would make all of that quicker, easier, and cheaper (and is therefore likely too good to be true). I was just curious if anyone has any experience that they can share? My plan is to restore the cabs before doing any electrical work, so I have a little time to entertain such shower thoughts

 

[Johnny_Law]

Congratulations! I really love my Altec 803B/802D/511 combo. On the crossover question, I built new crossovers from scratch for mine using reasonably priced inductors and poly caps and they sound fantastic. On the cab question, I'd recommend stripping the old varnish off and oiling - assuming the veneer looks good underneath - that's my preferred mode. Whatever you decide to do you're in for a treat.

Might be time to look for a nice tube amp too ...

 

[Nyjblbob]

Congratulations! I really love my Altec 803B/802D/511 combo. On the crossover question, I built new crossovers from scratch for mine using reasonably priced inductors and poly caps and they sound fantastic. On the cab question, I'd recommend stripping the old varnish off and oiling - assuming the veneer looks good underneath - that's my preferred mode. Whatever you decide to do you're in for a treat.

Might be time to look for a nice tube amp too ...

Truer words
Welcome to the world of Horns,
Your life will change!
Enjoy your Altecs
Read all the threads and see how Akers mod and improved them
Then get a tube set up!
Bobhorn

 

[Riki]

Well, I got the driver out. They are beauties!!!!



I have to say that I am not in love with this limp fiberglass insulation in the cabinets. What do you guys think about replacing it with some modern sound dampening material, like the egg crate stuff that they sell at parts express?

 

[hjames]

Well, I got the driver out. They are beauties!!!!

View attachment 1675406

I have to say that I am not in love with this limp fiberglass insulation in the cabinets. What do you guys think about replacing it with some modern sound dampening material, like the egg crate stuff that they sell at parts express?

Honestly - have you had a look at how I redid the interior in my AS-101s ... fully fluffed up lambs wool! yes, really. The picture below shows the quasi bass bin configured in the lower part of the cabinet, and the beginnings of loading in the lambs wool. Note I wrapped the woofer with fiberglass window screen to keep any stuffing out of the back of the woofer.

 

[Riki]

Honestly - have you had a look at how I redid the interior in my AS-101s ... fully fluffed up lambs wool! yes, really. The picture below shows the quasi bass bin configured in the lower part of the cabinet, and the beginnings of loading in the lambs wool. Note I wrapped the woofer with fiberglass window screen to keep any stuffing out of the back of the woofer.
View attachment 1675419

Interesting, the stock material lining your cab looks way more dense than what I have. I pulled my fiberglass out so I could remove the baffles. I can put it back in. But, from the look of what you have I can probably get away with using a thin layer of foam and filling. Did you fill both the woofer and horn sections all the way up with the fluffed lambs wool?

 

[Nyjblbob]

Interesting, the stock material lining your cab looks way more dense than what I have. I pulled my fiberglass out so I could remove the baffles. I can put it back in. But, from the look of what you have I can probably get away with using a thin layer of foam and filling. Did you fill both the woofer and horn sections all the way up with the fluffed lambs wool?

I’m trying to see how you are fastening the lambs wool .
I’m redoing the inside of my new old
604 Big Reds . The original Big staples I removed are impossible to reuse.
Is the Lambs Wool really better?
And I also noticed 1 side did not have any
Wool on both from the factory
Bobhorn

 

[hjames]

I’m trying to see how you are fastening the lambs wool .
I’m redoing the inside of my new old
604 Big Reds . The original Big staples I removed are impossible to reuse.
Is the Lambs Wool really better?
And I also noticed 1 side did not have any
Wool on both from the factory
Bobhorn

One picture was "Before" the right picture was "after". That basically shows how I prepared the chamber with the stiff fiberglass divider to make what my guru called a "Half ass transmission line." The bottom area is filled perhaps 3/4 with lambswool, but - I pulled apart and fluffed it up as much as possible. There is no lambswool in the top area.
Notice the notches in the yellow stiff fiberglass material I installed just above the woofer - this is roughly lined up with the open space at each end of the horn - a kind of port at each end.

Again, the full discussion of what I did is detailed here -
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/altec-valencia-heathkit-as-101.806226/

I installed porcelin and granite tiles on the back and bottom of each cabinet - that added weight and mass and deadened the cabinet considerably. I got a pair of larger 18x18 granite tiles, covered on side with Gorilla glue duct tape (2 layers) so they would not scratch the tops of the cabinet and laid them on top - Provides further mass and deadening effect.

 

[K.A.B]

Nice and welcome to the club, now have your life change forever.

 

[djnagle]

My only concern is the compression driver is up side down on the third picture down on the first post.