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Look What I Got Out of a White Van?

rackmount said:
Thank you for your response Macaltac, I am so releived that the drivers will work. On the lower end they will be croosed over at about 60 Hz and a two 18" subwoofers will do the bottom end. :yes: What do you think? The other problem I have is that they came with no cross over's, just like yours, now I understand thet the horns can be ticky to properly cross over, do you think you can give some guidence in this matter? I realy doubt if I will ever come across the originals.
Thank you.
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It has been recommended to me that I use an 800Hz croosover point between the LF driver and the horn. Some have suggested as high as 1200Hz and I am currently using a 2K until I get the xover I want. An L-pad between the xover and horn is also recommended.
 
The original was, I seem to remember 500 hz, and then changed to 800 hz. Later A-L recommended 1200 hz for higher power handling.

The crossover had not only padding via L-pad, but another L-pad in the woofer circuit that affected the upper end of the woofer, thus it was a sort of midrange control.

Also, on the high pass to the horn, there was some high end compensation, that is, a bypass capacitor around the pad resistors that lifted the top end where it was beginning to fall off.

Crossover attached. This is a very sophisticated crossover. Use only 100 w L-pads.
 

Attachments

Aww, shoot I'm gonna throw in my $0.02.

macaltec: Great score. They're big, but worth the space lost for the sound quality :yes: . I hope you're not going to have to move them around much, and can fully appreciate the load in process [I've five steps out front that had fun at my expense while loading a pair in]. Congrats and I hope they give you many years service.

rackmount: I read somewhere on this forum that the horn loading of the Altec cabinet rolls off around 100hz. As a result I upped my sub crossover point from 70hz to 100, the subs are still far from barky, and I'm guessing I've removed a burden from the main drivers [which are in my case JBL D130s].

I'm running an active x-over tri-amped, so I don't think I'll be a whole lotta help on the crossover. FWIW, I've crossed mine over well above the 500hz low point for my horns [around 3K if memory serves], for the sake of keeping these from being cooked as they're put to work on live noise/experimental music.
 
Thanks earthman. Moving them does not bother me in the least. Judging by the sound so far they will be staying put for a while though.
 
I'd worry that after the expense and effort, I wouldn't like them as much as, say, Advents or A25's, something more normal.

Did you buy these without ever listening to them or any other big-ass 2-way horny?

I know you can always get back what you have in, so why not, sure. But...
 
Clmrt said:
I'd worry that after the expense and effort, I wouldn't like them as much as, say, Advents or A25's, something more normal.

Did you buy these without ever listening to them or any other big-ass 2-way horny?

I know you can always get back what you have in, so why not, sure. But...
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Nope, never heard them before, but then most of the 35 pairs of speakers I have I never heard before buying either. Normal, I've always been a nonconformist so normal does not interest me. I have heard alot of Klipsch Heritage products and always liked the sound and have also liked the Altec brand since I was a kid. I wanted big speakers and this was what I set my sites on. I didn't think I'd achieve my goal this quickly though. They are not exactly the way I want them but a good starting point. The 511 horn is the most prized part for me. In good working condition w/ drivers I could have spent the same amount on just them as I did for the whole speaker setup. Plus it gives me a project to work on. Thanks for the objective point of view.
 
That's how I do it, too. But when you start getting into refrigerators, my consevative side would kick in.

I'd also ignore it and knock over a pack of nuns to get something like what you have. Good on ya.
 
:banana: Got me a recone kit on the way. Picked up some insulation for inside of the cab. A few issues with the cabs need to be worked out yet and then for the pretty frilly stuff to make em look good. I thought I was missing the bass response so I hooked up my JBL CF 120's. Along time favorite and boatloads of bottom end. I don't miss it as much as I thought. The Altecs are just so easy to listen to and very non fatigueing.
 
Subs

Earthman, are you crssing 18" subs at 100 Hz? Does it sound ok? :scratch2:
I will be using two 18" in 12 cubic foot boxes with 2245 drivers triamped the whole lot(talk about fridges, those with a pair of industrial A7's :D ) and am worried they will have too much presence and maybe sound weird. Paul c, thank you for the crossover plans, what did you say the points are?
 
Super866 said:
I bet the neighbors were ecstatic when they saw you lugging those beasts into the house.

Just a guess... ;)
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I haven't heard anything from the neighbors in over 10 years :scratch2: :music: .
 
Well, my curiosity got to me this evening. I bi-amped the A7's with my tube amp running the horns and my H/K Citation 19's bridged to each channel for the LF. I am running them through an Audio Control 2XS crossover left over form my car audio days. I have it crossed at 800Hz. The crossover has some pretty nice features and specs. + or - 12db adustment for the HF and LF outputs 18db/octave slope SN ratio of 119db, triple isolated transformer balanced DC to DC converter, 25 to 20K response and an 18db/octave @ 20Hz subsonic filter. It may not be the best but I sure do like it alot better than the Rat Shack passive I was using. Much more smooth and improved bottom end performance. These A7's have really come alive :banana: :banana: :music: .
 
rackmount said:
Earthman, are you crssing 18" subs at 100 Hz? Does it sound ok? :scratch2:
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No, my subs are 15" in folded W cabinets. Maybe 7 feet of horn.. Sounds good, integrates well [though I think it integrates better at a little lower frequency, I find myself adjusting things from time to time]. I think the integration benefits from the horn character of the sub.

Not "fast" or "clinical", but with lots of pleasant bloom that works real well for the application.

Here's a quick shot of one side, stands almost exactly 8 feet tall..

pa.jpg
 
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Justen said:
Hey Mac, I think earthman is a member of the BASO Club!!!
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We'll have to start a western division already. I suspect they are all over the place. Big Ass Speaker Owners Club. Entrance into the club is self explanatory.
 
Hahahahaha, I suppose I am a member of the BASO club. Yes, that is in the living room; thankfully when I remarked that I wasn't really wanting to turn everything on just to watch a movie my SO was relieved. This basically amounts to my getting ANOTHER [albeit much smaller] set of speakers into the livingroom! :banana: So I'm on my way to having multiple systems in the front room. :smoke:
 
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