My 19 build begins in earnest - H811b arrives....

**Coelacanth** · July 2nd, 2015, 02:12 AM

Marvelous! It is decided then.... I will start in the near future! Once again, thanks GM. I will keep the thread running.

**Coelacanth** · July 2nd, 2015, 03:40 AM

................and then these come up for sale.............. dang!

Klipshorns- Adopt My Babies (*sob*) | Trade Me

**westend9** · July 2nd, 2015, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

................and then these come up for sale.............. dang!

Klipshorns- Adopt My Babies (*sob*) | Trade Me

Don't worry, you won't be missing out on anything with your big MLTL cabs. (unless you like listening to a horn)

**Altec Best** · July 2nd, 2015, 12:08 PM

Like west end says you can do better by building your own. !

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Coelacanth** · July 2nd, 2015, 12:17 PM

Thank you gentlemen for helping whip the evil Klipsch virus from my traitorous soul!

Been there, done that, had the moments of glory and the hours of frustration......

**Coelacanth** · August 30th, 2016, 06:48 AM

Hello all.

Wow... its been a long time between drinks... but I have made it back. A great many things all happening at once really blindsided me and absolutely nothing has happened about this build...

Sadly I lost all of the information I had collated on this project when I switched jobs. I also had several seizures, which do strange things to my memory. So I am basically going to start fresh.

Despite some challenges, there have been some real positives too - one being I have moved into a much larger house, with a workshop. Another is the new work environment - filled with useful machinery - enourmous lathes and CNC mills etc. - some of which I operate.

Here is where I am at:

1) I want to build Altec 19's or an MLTL derivative. I will buy GPA drive units and import them..

2) I have the 811 horn which I can copy - or I can make better horns if someone can share a plan with me.

3) I had decided to use an upgraded XO network designed by Zilch. The XO was going to be used if I built replica 19's but I cannot recall if I was going to be able to use the same same design in MLTL cabinets.

I'm going back through posts and pms.. but if anyone can point me back to the road regarding the XO issue and a suitable wooden radial horn design for the GPA hf unit, I would be humbled and truly grateful.

I will get back on track with this and i will share here. Thank you all.

**Phil-G** · August 30th, 2016, 08:29 PM

WOW.
after reading your post I would like to say. i'm sincerely glad to see you back.

everyone is still here. so it's a matter of reorienting and mapping new pathways.

**Coelacanth** · August 31st, 2016, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by Phil-G

WOW.
after reading your post I would like to say. i'm sincerely glad to see you back.

everyone is still here. so it's a matter of reorienting and mapping new pathways.

That is most kind of you Phil. Thank you.

Yes I am going to have to make some new pathways - no doubt about it. All my PMs here on Hostboard have been deleted - I guess because my account was inactive.

I also searched my emails last night and found an order I placed with GPA for a the drivers for this build. I never received a reply to this email - I asked Bill for payment details and to hold the drivers for me until I could arrange suitable shipping to New Zealand. I can only suppose my email went to his junk box.

About this time I encountered the first of several seizures in fairly quick succession. They are a strange thing - like a reset button almost. When I come round from them it takes me a long time to work out who I am.. and lots of extraneous data seems to just fall by the wayside, along with stresses, cares and worries. So I end up feeling refreshed, but at a price. I've found recently that going back over my emails and messages can help fill in the blanks... but I hadn't thought if that last year. Anyhow.... onwards!

It will be 6 months or so before I have the funds again for the drivers.... (oops, I bought a Londinium espresso machine....). But I can work on horns and cabinets as of now.

Is there any danger of GPA disappearing between now and then?

**voice of the theater** · September 1st, 2016, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

That is most kind of you Phil. Thank you.

Yes I am going to have to make some new pathways - no doubt about it. All my PMs here on Hostboard have been deleted - I guess because my account was inactive.

I also searched my emails last night and found an order I placed with GPA for a the drivers for this build. I never received a reply to this email - I asked Bill for payment details and to hold the drivers for me until I could arrange suitable shipping to New Zealand. I can only suppose my email went to his junk box.

About this time I encountered the first of several seizures in fairly quick succession. They are a strange thing - like a reset button almost. When I come round from them it takes me a long time to work out who I am.. and lots of extraneous data seems to just fall by the wayside, along with stresses, cares and worries. So I end up feeling refreshed, but at a price. I've found recently that going back over my emails and messages can help fill in the blanks... but I hadn't thought if that last year. Anyhow.... onwards!

It will be 6 months or so before I have the funds again for the drivers.... (oops, I bought a Londinium espresso machine....). But I can work on horns and cabinets as of now.

Is there any danger of GPA disappearing between now and then?

Welcome back and I'm glad you're OK! I think it's a safe bet that GPA will still be around in 6 months. However, of course they won't be around forever so I bought a pair of spare GPA diaphragms a while back in case I ever need them or want to swap them out some day in the (hopefully) distant future. Personally, I would build your speakers using the original Model 19 crossover design and not the Z-19's. Zilch was an intelligent and knowledgeable guy, but he really was a JBL expert and only "dabbled" in Altecs. He ended up using his Z-19 crossovers with non-Altec h.f. drivers--he couldn't get them to sound right with Altec h.f. drivers so what does that tell you about using Z-19's with Altec h.f. drivers??? The original Model 19 crossover is a masterpiece in my opinion. I own two pair of Model 19's and love them even more now that I've recapped both pair of crossovers and did the crossover ground modification that has already been discussed in this forum several times. Best of luck with your project!

**Coelacanth** · September 3rd, 2016, 05:48 AM

Thanks for the comments VOT.

Interesting to hear that about the Z19's... everything I have read and re-read to date seemed to suggest they were superior to the original network.

I called up Bill at GPA for driver pricing etc this morning. Shipping is the killer. Getting these across the Pacific to New Zealand is going to be a massive expense. So you know what I did? I went for a drive to a couple of hifi shops in my area and listened to some modern tower speakers - priced at around what the GPA setup will cost me all up. This served to remind me that I don't want 'hifi' sound and that the A19 build will get me to where I want to go.

I got back from town and started re-designing my copy-router - to work with the horn build. Will start work on it tomorrow.

Then I have to make a decision - do I bother copying the 811's, or go with a Fostex 400 clone...? The Fostex has a lowere cutoff, but this is not of any real advantage I guess - but what I am really NOT sure about is whether this could be deterimental in some way to the end.result... Hopefully someone can answer that for me...

If the Fostex is suitable, that is the way I will go.