Stumbled upon some Altec 511B's with Emilar EA175 drivers. What now?

[kreichenbach]

Went to a Savers last week looking for some new CDs but left with these two big black boxes. I can see the Altec 511B sticker?/Badge on the horns but cant get a picture. Unfortunately one of the drivers is open. The other reads around 7 ohms. What do I do now? Can I build a 2-way a-la Econowave? Does it make sense to buy new diaphrams for the Emilar drivers (about $200/pr) or new more modern drivers? What woofer would be a good pairing? There are some Definimax 4012ho's on BT that look like a possibility. Finally what to do about a crossover?

Am I doomed trying to build a house because I found a nail!!!????

 

[elitopus]

The EA175 are nice drivers. I really like mine. They seem slightly more sensitive than the Altec 802D and 802G I compared them to. Might just be they are more extended though.

If you are patient you can find an original diaphragm on ebay for less than what a new Radian will cost you. I see them pop up from time to time.

I don't think 200$ a pair is bad for a pair of diaphragms. It is about the same as if you bought a pair of good phragms for a pair of Altec or JBL drivers.

If you buy new phragms, and decide to go and sell the drivers though, you probably will just break even. They don't sell for big money like the Altecs do.

Great sounding driver. I was also happiest crossing mine over at 800hz. A simple 2nd order crossover would be fine. These dont seem to need as much HF EQ as other drivers I have played with.

I would look for some sensitive 12” or 15” woofers to use them with. Altec, JBL, Guass, EV, Renkus, etc.

 

[elitopus]

The Altec 511 horns will work well for a 2 way speaker project. A good solid performer.

 

[mhardy6647]

The 511B isn't Altec's best effort.
There's been a lot of horn chatter of late; there are some dandy ones that won' t break the bank.
You might want to consider selling the horns, keeping the drivers, and trying some other horns.

I am currently rather smitten with these.

DSC_6853 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(some context: http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.h...score&sortOrder=DESC&sortRank=Forum&forum=hug)

Here's an interesting recent thread that's got me looking at horns on eBAY. Again. :

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/university-emilar-bliss.795773

DSC_9570 (3) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[Tom Brennan]

I was very keen on the 511B, and came back to them after using a lot of different horns on 1" Altec and JBL drivers including Edgar saladbowls (which were very good). I was also keen on the Emilar bow ties but only if used crossing at 1200hz, not 800.

 

[mhardy6647]

Sold mine -- and y'all know I don't offload much. Actually, it'd be interesting to see if the fellow (here @ AK, and in NH) ended up using them & if so, what he thinks of 'em.
I think that the 511B will do better crossed higher (than 500 or 800 Hz, that is) as well. But it's an awfully large tweeter.
This said, some folks excoriate the 811B as well -- but those I like just fine.

De gustibus non est disputandum - as in most things.

DSC_3091 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_3088 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[elitopus]

I didn't want to be the first one to talk smack about the 511b, but it is true, not the best horn. I’ll stick with good solid performer though.

Many people really like the Altec 511/811horns. Its just that many hornies (people who have lots O horns for DIY projects) usually don't. Mhardy is right, the 811 is definitely the better of the two.

I sold all my 511b horns, and kept my 2 pair of EA175 and EC175 drivers.

I like the small Emilar, and Renkus horns a lot better.

 

[kreichenbach]

Thanks for the input Tom B, elitopus & mhardy6647!! I saw the impressive size and envisioned a "Visual statement" speaker that would hopefully have a sound to match. The only Horn experience I have is with Klipsch KG-3s and 4s that I liked well enough but like many here I have upgradeitis . Besides I have way too many projects as it is that are much closer to completion!!

Looks like I'll keep an eye out for some Emilar EH500s if I decide to keep the EA175 drivers.

 

[bowtie427ss]

511B vs 811B i think depends somewhat on what you are personally expecting. The 811 with it's shorter axis has a bit of an HF/VHF advantage. It also has a smaller, more compact form factor.

I'm firmly in Mr Brennan's camp preferring the 511 over the 811 by a margin.

The 511 prevails in the crossover region and is more capable of a close to seamless transition to the LF section.

I think 511 is optimized with a 800-1000hz XO, i would further opine a steeper slope the lower you cross it.

IMO, the 811 does something to the middle/upper mids(negatively) that the 511's throat geometry fixes. The trade-off is a bit earlier VHF rolloff with the 511.

 

[elitopus]

You should get the Emilar drivers up and running and listen to the 511’s. You might just like them.
If not, you can sell them and make enough to buy your next pair of horns.

 

[mhardy6647]

Dang-- now don't you guys be makin' me feel remorseful about movin' my 511Bs along, OK?

 

[turnitdown]

Zilch and EarlK worked on the Altec horns with BMS 4550 compression drivers and got them flat out to 20kHz with their own developed and tested crossover circuit. The DID say to cross the 511B higher at about 800Hz. Search and you may find it.

 

[turnitdown]

Found it. http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulle...ok-at-my-new-babies-Altec-846Bs-w-EV-Tweeters!