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The parts of my new Altecs

Zilch said:
I'm missing something, apparently:

1) How do you propose to tune the system for 416-8C woofers?

2) What crossovers will you build to accommodate the different driver impedances?
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No you didn't miss anything. I plan on cutting a couple of different fronts, just to see the difference. For this incarnation I was going to look for a pair of 416 z's which would have been original to this cabinet. I really want to hear these the way they were initially designed to sound like, this way I will have a better understanding of what effect the mods are doing.

Then cut another set with the tube ported fronts to go with the 416 c's and change the 806-A's to the BMS drivers. After taking this cabinet apart and reading about others I have to wonder how much slack there is in the tuning. It seems like there are a lot of 846A cabinets out there built by different cabinet shops all this having the effect that the interior volumes are slightly different.
 
similost said:
SO ANYWAY... How was your holiday? and how was Laura's Bday dinner? Hope all was well...
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Very nice on both fronts, thank you! I am still recovering today. :D I hope you guys had a nice holiday. :thmbsp:

I was also able to get the rek-o-kut that I got from Bruce during the gathering at your place up and running. The Grado tonearm works great on it.

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Now that looks really great too... you're either inspiring me to get on a few of my projects, or making me feel like crap because I haven't...

We're still doing the recovering thing too from a really long weekend.. but it was a blast.. glad to hear ya'll had a good one too..
 
spartanmanor said:
After taking this cabinet apart and reading about others I have to wonder how much slack there is in the tuning. It seems like there are a lot of 846A cabinets out there built by different cabinet shops all this having the effect that the interior volumes are slightly different.
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Play "What if" in a box modeling program such as the free downloadable WinISD, and you'll see the effect of different volumes and tunings.

Generally speaking, the best you can do is optimize the tuning for any given cabinet size and driver parameter combination. Starting from scratch, there are more degrees of freedom to work with....
 
Altec 846B Valencia

spartanmanor said:
The cabinets are in good shape the fronts are going.
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Hi Spartanmanor,

your Altecs are fine as they are......ok....some cosmetics.
They look very original.

here's a (bad) pic.

HP

PS: if you like, you are invited to register all the drivers and the cabs in the Altec registry link: www.prpr.no/lhs
User: lhs
PW: lhs2007
 

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I never posted the finished product and figured it was about time.

I am running these active with my Kenwood 500 on the lows and the Marantz 8b for the highs. The fronts were remade and I fabricated a custom cover for the woofers. It's hard to see in the photo but it is basically a ring of masonite with screening to keep cats, dogs and kids from poking at them.



Here is the before and after shots:

Before:

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After:

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Mighty damn fine job there David.. so you've never mentioned to me how you like them?

BTW.. I had seen these after, or when they were almost done, and damn did they look good.. the wood on them is super sweet..

oh..notice you got a record weight too.. how do you like that one?
 
I just got my HF drivers back from Great Plains Audio. It took a while to dial them in but I am pretty darn pleased. I want to give them some time to see how they sound once they settle in.

IMO the record weight is more of a conversation piece than a tweek. Then again I haven't played any records that have a slight warp which it might help with.
 
spartanmanor said:
I just got my HF drivers back from Great Plains Audio. It took a while to dial them in but I am pretty darn pleased. I want to give them some time to see how they sound once they settle in.
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What are you using? I just got a set of 846As w/ 16 ohm 806s and am trying to figure out what to do to "open" up the highs. I've been reading several threads on them, so I know there are several approaches, but am curious on what you did.
 
Andyman said:
What are you using? I just got a set of 846As w/ 16 ohm 806s and am trying to figure out what to do to "open" up the highs. I've been reading several threads on them, so I know there are several approaches, but am curious on what you did.
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These are stock 846a's other than having the diaphrams replaced by GPA last week. I am running these with an active crossover biamped with a Kenwood 500 on the low end and a Marantz 8b on the high end. If anything they could use some more bottom end.
 
spartanmanor said:
If anything they could use some more bottom end.
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Really?? I'm pretty sure I have 416Zs and the bottom sounds quite nice to me. But I don't run subs and listen to La Scalas too, so I may not be as attuned to big bottom as others may be.
 
Andyman said:
Really?? I'm pretty sure I have 416Zs and the bottom sounds quite nice to me. But I don't run subs and listen to La Scalas too, so I may not be as attuned to big bottom as others may be.
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I actually prefer less bass but that’s just me. These are sounding really good to me so far. I think once the new phrams settle in the balance will be perfect. And if need be I can always "push" the low end a little with the active crossover.
 
spartan,
Thanks for the photo-update. :thmbsp:
That was a tricky restoration.I'm not sure that I'd notice anything had been done to those speakers,without seeing your 'before and after' photos. :no:
The worst part about wanting to improve the sound of one's speakers,is that the speakers 'sound' is necessarily also the sound of the interaction with the equipment which precedes them.
At the start of this year,I changed my phono preamp,and my active preamp was replaced by an Attenuator/buffer-stage.The effect(via the Valencias) was that they gained immensely in resolution. :scratch2:
 
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