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Pair of Altec 19s not identical…?

dvican

dvican

New Member
I’ve recently acquired a pair of early 19s in a decent shape, hurray, and as I’m starting to restore them, I notice that they’re not an identical match!?

the most worrying difference to me is that one uses 802-8D with the slit metal phase plug, while the other has 802-8G with the tangerine.
I don’t seem to perceive any differences between the two so far, but this might give me audiophilia nervosa outbursts later. The rest seem ok - 416s are 8Z + 8A, crossovers have different style knobs, same beautiful walnut, great sound...

would I be better off replacing one of them to match the other, getting a set of 902s instead, or be happy with what I have…?
 
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I'd enjoy them while I kept an eye out for a match on the cheap. They do come around. I'll wager there isn't a significant difference and if you can't hear one.......
I like things to match as well, just because.
 
good to know, thanks. it seems that the jury is split on which 802 version is better - metal vs tangerine, or even vs the 902s. i guess whomever shows first is the winner : )

i'll be experimenting with adding JBL's baby cheeks in the meantime so maybe that evens things out...
 
Cross 'em at about 7 or 8K? What's your plan?

Edit: @RonSSNova is a Model 19 aficionado and will be around to offer some good advice.
 
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yes, that's the plan
though i'm not clear on which cap brings me there. i'll start with 1.5mFd - i'm guessing that'd be around 8kHz ? i have 1mFd to try as well - 10kHz? and i read of someone liking 2mFd at 6k?

any advice would be great! i do worry that running them of the HF outputs might have negative effect on the rest of the network...?
 
excellent link, thank you. will adding the super-tweeter make it a three way? the nineteens' network already uses inductors, if this changes their specs i better slow down. wow, this gets deep quickly...
 
The purpose of the link is to determine around what value capacitor you want at a given frequency for your supertweeter. Ignore the low frequency. You get a general idea and experiment around that value. You might need to attemuate it also.

Edit: You should probably build a good crossover for the speakers as they are if you are handy. You might be pleased.
 
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What you have apparently, is the later Model Nineteens with the 416-8C. This is a ferrite-magnet version of the original 416-8B. Some like the early AlNiCo magnet version better, I have owned the early and have never been able to compare the two, not sure if there is any/much audible difference.

The walnut cabinet is much less common than the oak, IMO much more attractive, should have black cloth on the grillwork (oak had brown). The walnut finish was not available when first released and therefore much MUCH less common.

If they have the original (optional) riser even better, if not there are plans available and they're easy to make.

As far as the original horns? My opinion is that they are the most desirable and enjoyable as original speakers, I'd look for an original horn to make them so. The original crossover wasn't bad either, ALTEC had very good engineering and testing facilities, ... much better than most internet designers of modifications today. Are there improvements possible? Certainly! However having owned a pair long-term in one of my systems, I can say that the response "curve" is more of a ragged landscape. They sound amazing and one of my favorite speakers, but on paper it is hard to see why. Fairly "flat" down into the 30s, good beyond audibility, crossover point in a good place for most music/vocals, horns have great range and dynamics and are some of the best out there (at least for their era) and actual instrumented testing vs some of the internet claims of them ringing etc. show them to be excellent and probably some of the best you'll see for the price point that they currently bring in a horn. But, neither driver, the waveguide, the cabinet, the crossover, nothing is perfect and this leads to several things that can be improved upon (on paper), I'm just not sure why because they sound great.

Upgrades are a bit tough to recommend as pretty much everything in them can be upgraded so where do you stop? Do you reinforce and seal the cabinets, move the terminals, improve the crossover, install a better horn, a better woofer, improve the porting, the cabinet damping, and still call it an ALTEC Model Nineteen or just start over?

Great speakers stock for what they are, enjoy.
 
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SaturationPt said:
later Model Nineteens with the 416-8G.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you mean 416-8C. There were several variants, the first of which were a bit short of wonderful.

The final version, revised, produced, and marketed by GPA got it right.

SaturationPt said:
This is a ferrite-magnet version of the original 416-8B. Some like the early AlNiCo magnet version better
Click to expand...
Preferences aside, 416-8B is the woofer the model 19 cabinet with it's dual resonant chambers was engineered around.
 
great info - thank you. the network has 391624 numbers which made me think speakers were made in '76. they came with black grills, but risers were gone, working on those now. the 416s are 8A and 8Z, the A looks like it should, the Z version not so much

index.php
 
damn - so basically i got two different speakers, and none is the original?! hmm, that is disappointing to say the least...
 
I have the 19's and replaced the X overs with new ones from GPA. Walnut and in perfect shape.

I push them with tubes and have ended my search for audio bliss. (well, maybe)
 

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gorgeous - i wish the foam replacements were still available. sadly, my diy attempts are not that great : )
 
here is my re-coned duckling, you can see the busted/repaired cap.
final cab sanding and refinishing coming this summer, but i already love the 19s look...

Screenshot 2024-02-16 at 10.52.34 AM.png
 
you are right! i was looking for the sellers that are in all the older links but they are no longer in business it seems, and somehow i missed this guy in my search. that is great...
 
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