Altec 817-A Enigma! Input Needed

[dc270]

I am helping a gentleman with a fairly sizable project. What I have is a mix match of odds and ends- not exactly sure what to make of it all, so I am asking here. First here is the list of parts inventoried to have made these once sing:

Per cab x 2 cabs

Cabs 817-A cabinets
416/ 8 ohm & 421 8H. 8 ohm woofers. 1 416 need rebuilt has a rub.
2, 511 horn cells with 902 8B/ 8 ohm & 807-8A/ 8 ohm drivers
2, N-1285-8B networks
2, 20 ohm/ 20 watt resistors in series with + & - to the horn driver, outside the networks. 1, 15 ohm resistor (20 watt( wired between the two woofers. I suspect they were compensating for the woofers and horn driver to give an 8 ohm load back to the network. I would rather dump the Altec network and build my own at this point- do away with the outboard strings of resistors.

What are the thoughts here with miss matched horn drivers and woofers in each cabinet? Could I effectively run just one 511 horn for the cabs and driver types?

The customer wants a nice faux wood finish on the cabs- which I can do. As for all the miss matched stuff- any thoughts? The customer has nice tube gear and is OK with 16 ohm loads. I could series wire the woofers and even the horns to get the 16 ohms- after I build a proper 16ohm network.

Thanks for your hopeful input!
DC

[GM]

Well, assuming they will never be driven at PA levels, then the mismatched woofers, while not optimum, should be an OK match if a 500 Hz XO is used, though I'd at least either coat the 421's alum. DC with rubber cement or similar or replace it with a paper one.

I recommend keeping the stacked 511s with the 807 on top and roll it off to let only the 902 do the HF. This combo yields a slightly greater piston area than a 288, etc., for the big horn's full mids except with a higher/'sweeter' HF response and a similar mouth area of the 805 except with a tighter vertical pattern. Damp the horn bells and fill in between and around them with thick acoustic foam to mimic the M19's foam horn extension.

16 ohms reduces current demand and lowers impedance peaks, so a good plan with a tube based system.

GM