Need a pair of 811b horns

**Nickd** · May 12th, 2016, 10:10 PM

Ok I have decided to take the Altec road and build a replica pair of M19's. Going to stay to spec and use new GPA drivers and crossovers. The biggest hurdle it seems is finding a pair of clean 811b horns for a reasonable price. Any one have an extra set they woul be willing to part with?
Thanks, Nick

**gdmoore28** · May 13th, 2016, 03:15 PM

Best bet, of course, is ebay. There's a nice pair on there now.

Altec Lansing 811B Horn | eBay

No affiliation, no interest.

GeeDeeEmm

**Nickd** · May 13th, 2016, 03:18 PM

Thanks gdmoore,

I am bidding on that pair.

I will post this weekend if I am the proud new owner.

**Nickd** · May 15th, 2016, 07:37 PM

Well, haven't bought anything from e bay in quite some time. The prices for anything "vintage" are insane. But, on the bright side I should have a decent pair of 811b's in a week or so.

Next decision, plywood or particle board enclosures. I understand earlier Altec's were plywood then they switched to particle board to save money. Any opinions on which is preferred for authentic Altec sound?

**Phil-G** · May 15th, 2016, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by Nickd

Well, haven't bought anything from e bay in quite some time. The prices for anything "vintage" are insane. But, on the bright side I should have a decent pair of 811b's in a week or so.

Next decision, plywood or particle board enclosures. I understand earlier Altec's were plywood then they switched to particle board to save money. Any opinions on which is preferred for authentic Altec sound?

if you mean the ones on ebay, they do look great.

**604man** · May 15th, 2016, 11:11 PM

Originally Posted by Nickd

Well, haven't bought anything from e bay in quite some time. The prices for anything "vintage" are insane. But, on the bright side I should have a decent pair of 811b's in a week or so.

Next decision, plywood or particle board enclosures. I understand earlier Altec's were plywood then they switched to particle board to save money. Any opinions on which is preferred for authentic Altec sound?

I would use Baltic birch or Apple birch plywood ....This type of plywood is furniture grade plywood , high quality, easy to work with and you wont regret it.

The Baltic Birch i used has 13 plys for 3/4 inch plywood.......GC

**westend9** · May 15th, 2016, 11:20 PM

Have you accumulated any other parts like woofers, drivers, etc?
Also, is your listening space large enough to accommodate a larger enclosure? The MLTL enclosures GM designed for me are far superior to the original M19 box. The low end digs deeper and the 100 hz bounce is history. This enclosure is the same footprint as the original M19 but is twice the height.

**Nickd** · May 16th, 2016, 12:13 AM

Thanks for the Baltic Birch recommendation GC. I have a pair of custom Rythmik 12" servo subs that will support the M19's below 50hz and reduce some inter modulation distortion from the 15" drivers. Those subs use Baltic Birch plywood and I agree it is a fine material. I have read that particle board does have a nice deep resonance that makes for a good sounding box. Although I agree with the Altec manual, it does not have great strength.

Westend, I am tying to stay with the already large "factory" look. I have built line source speakers and the height is not really pleasing in appearance to my wife. I have subs to reach deep, and I use a Lyngdof TDAI 2170 for DAC / pre & amp. It can loose any 100hz bumps with really amazing DSP.

I am going to purchase new woofers, compression drivers and crossovers from GPA. The used stuff is crazy expensive and I suspect the new drivers may even sound better than some of the originals. Since they won't be 40 tear old "original" Altec's, I don't really have to worry about screwing up the "vintage" value.

I'm free to make them sound best as possible, but I do want to keep the original look and as much of the Altec magic as I can..

**Vince325** · May 16th, 2016, 03:18 AM

Originally Posted by Nickd

Thanks for the Baltic Birch recommendation GC. I have a pair of custom Rythmik 12" servo subs that will support the M19's below 50hz and reduce some inter modulation distortion from the 15" drivers. Those subs use Baltic Birch plywood and I agree it is a fine material. I have read that particle board does have a nice deep resonance that makes for a good sounding box. Although I agree with the Altec manual, it does not have great strength.

Westend, I am tying to stay with the already large "factory" look. I have built line source speakers and the height is not really pleasing in appearance to my wife. I have subs to reach deep, and I use a Lyngdof TDAI 2170 for DAC / pre & amp. It can loose any 100hz bumps with really amazing DSP.

I am going to purchase new woofers, compression drivers and crossovers from GPA. The used stuff is crazy expensive and I suspect the new drivers may even sound better than some of the originals. Since they won't be 40 tear old "original" Altec's, I don't really have to worry about screwing up the "vintage" value.

I'm free to make them sound best as possible, but I do want to keep the original look and as much of the Altec magic as I can..

I have a set of Flamencos and Sevilles all my boxes are plywood with particle board backs. I was thinking they just used particle board to save money maybe there was a reason for them. Thanks for the thought Vince

**gdmoore28** · May 16th, 2016, 11:02 AM

Your project sounds like another great, fun Altec build. And you obviously know what you are doing. Will you be posting your build process anywhere? Despite over forty years of building speakers (I hesitate to call most of them real speakers now!), I still never tire of watching the process.

GeeDeeEmm