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Tannoys, SET tubes and Altec 604s

Old thread revival.

I have been looking at a pair of Altec 604-8G in 612c Cabs. Cost will be $1000 plus.
However a pair of Tannoy CPA 15's w/3836 drivers kinda fell into my lap for $200. Now they are currently in some Pro Speaker cabs. I am thinking new cabs, crossover tweaking etc and these might just be my lifetime speakers. They sound pretty nice as is. Unfortunately I have little to no technical skills. Looking for advise and possible build help. What do you think??
 
If you have the funds, a pair of naked fully functional 604-8G's for $1000-$1200 is a no lose proposition. With some reasonable cabinets, even better
 
rromeo said:
Old thread revival.

I have been looking at a pair of Altec 604-8G in 612c Cabs. Cost will be $1000 plus.
However a pair of Tannoy CPA 15's w/3836 drivers kinda fell into my lap for $200. Now they are currently in some Pro Speaker cabs. I am thinking new cabs, crossover tweaking etc and these might just be my lifetime speakers. They sound pretty nice as is. Unfortunately I have little to no technical skills. Looking for advise and possible build help. What do you think??
Click to expand...

You should post your location. Someone local to you might be willing to give you help or advice.

cubdog
 
Wow, CPA 15s for $200, nice! I probably have 4x that much into mine and yours have better cabinets (IMO) – I could easily delay any 604 lust in that situation. I recently heard new Tannoys with similar drivers and loved them, maybe even enough to revive my thoughts on doing something with my 3836s – if only I didn’t have these 604s to listen too...:)

A new set of cabs may make for an improvement in the bass and crossover ‘tweaking’ might be a positive thing, even though it could easily be a lateral or even negative move (assuming they are now working properly). Unless going with a proven crossover design (which might be aimed at a specific cabinet), I’d tread carefully.

If you already like the sound of them I’d suggest leaving them in those cabinets, maybe ditch the grills, get some solid stands to get the centers at ear level and consider adding ‘distributed bass’ to your system. It’s a more effective than a bigger cabinet to fill in the bottom (personal experience…), a great way to ‘tune’ in your room and lets you optimize speaker placement and the system to get the most out of those Tannoys. Crossover tweaks can come later but I bet you’ll find distributed bass has a much bigger payoff.

Then it would be on to Altecs. :D
 
I don't have any experience with the particular Tannoy crossover in question, but I know that some of the ceramic-magnet Tannoy crossovers are, like many Altec crossovers, not exactly ideal. I didn't even bother to try to find originals for my K3808s, I just built new ones from a plan provided by someone who had already worked out the kinks. There may be an 'improved' crossover out there for your drivers.
 
Well I am really starting to really like these speakers. I put them on some small slanted upward stands. I also switched from Yaqin MC 10L tube integrated to Conrad Johnson PV2 tube pre/ CJ MF 2200 SS amp combo. Some really sweet music happening from my turntable and Joni Mitchell. These do vocals and chill music very well!
 
Well. The Tannoys went on there merry way. They were just not suited for my basement. They seemed to need more space. Sooo I was able to grab some Altec 604-8G's in 612C cabinets. These are really nice. Much better suited for me. I also think they are better speakers in many ways. So I am using a pair of George Wright AU30 monoblock amps (traded the Tannoys and some cash for these) with the a CJ PV12a pre. Considering new crossovers. As I have no abilities in the world of soldering I am at somewhat of a loss where to go in that direction. Suggestions welcome.
 
GordonW said:
Man, I need to beg, borrow or steal the Churchill Wideband crossover schematic from somebody at Tannoy. With that crossover, the supertweeter, and the appropriate cabinet dimensions... :drool:

To date, the Churchill Wideband is in the top-5 speakers I've ever heard, at any price, from any manufacturer. Only the newer Tannoy Kingdom Royale beats it significantly (and it's TWICE the price)...

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...

Same here; the Churchill remains my gold standard big-ass speaker. If your drivers sound veiled it's gotta be an implementation problem.
 
I've only heard one set of Tannoys and they sounded pretty good to me, even on only two watts of power. I'm afraid i know little to nothing about them. I do know a little about that amp, and I can't remember it sounding better..









 
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