Interesting that the priority is visual appearance over sound.
Does anyone here have a pair for sale?
I already have the components for a Z-19 filter but want the original looks with altec faceplate.
Br
J
Interesting that the priority is visual appearance over sound.
Not all vegetables make good leaders.
I will replace the original caps etc.
Want the original faceplate. Its always about the sound.
There's a fella out there that makes reproduction foilcals, sells Altec and JBL related examples on ebay. If he could be contracted to produce proper model 19 crossover plate foilcals, then any crossover that used that particular casting could become a "donor". I expect original 19 crossover chassis are becoming scarce.
Not all vegetables make good leaders.
If you buy a pair of Model 19 stock crossovers--I'd use them over the z-19 crossover and not just use the faceplate. That Z-19 has garnered mixed reviews whereas many Model 19 owners love the stock crossover (myself included) once re-capped and ground modifications are done etc.
Being of "Sound" Mind
I am buying a pair of crossovers from bill at GPA this week. He said the new boards mount to the floor of the enclosure because of the larger air core inductors and better layout. They come with fresh pots and a faceplate that matches OEM to my understanding. A wiring harness connects the two. Perhaps bill will sell you the new front plates separately?
Worth a call. He is a really nice, knowledgeable guy.
I'll bet Bill's GPA Model 19 crossovers are better than the Z-19 design. IIRC Bill kept the design/values very similar to the Altec originals. I'd buy the crossovers and not just the faceplates from Bill. But that's me--I love the way my 19's sound with the stock crossovers and am very leery of the Z-19. The Z-19 was designed by a guy who wasn't even an Altec fan for the most part. He was a JBL expert--nothing against him, but he was not an "Altec guy" and only dabbled in Altecs...
Being of "Sound" Mind
I want to see the new gpa 19 crossovers first.
As i said already have Z-19 crossovers but line the stock look of the original.
I have not desided yet if I will have these external or internal eithet. The cabs is so good looking so i dont want to riun them with holes for the "pots".
An original crossover from that age would always require an restoration.
Being happy with the original Model 19 crossovers is fine, but have you compared them to the Z19? I haven't. But I think you may be selling Zilch's work on the Z19 crossover a little short. Having read the exhaustive work that he did on the project, it's clear that his intentions were to smooth the HF response of the Altec drivers. The fact that he eventually moved to using another driver altogether doesn't detract from the invaluable testing that he did.
Some of us are just fine with the characteristic sonic signatures of the Altec drivers, but as Zilch and Jean Hiraga showed, their response is far from the flat response that is typically believed to more likely reproduce the original signal. Just makes sense.
Bottom line, though, is that through the research of Zilch, Hiraga, and many, many others, Altec users and lovers now have the ability to tailor their driver's response to their own liking. There are no right or wrongs in this regard - only personal preferences.
GeeDeeEmm
Yes, I wouldn't (and didn't) state as "fact" that the stock Altec Model 19 crossover is preferable to the Z-19 design without hearing the Z-19 first. However, I am skeptical of it, as I stated, and the fact that Zilch himself ended up using a different (non Altec) h.f. driver with it tells me that it is even more suspect as being an acceptable design for the 416/802 combo. BTW, the built in equalization in the stock 19 crossover helped to smooth out the frequency response--I'm aware that the driver does not have a flat frequency response without the help of the stock crossover. Check out the graph at the top of page two of the Model 19 owner's manual. It shows how the stock 19 crossover (with the treble and mid controls set in the optimum position) creates a relatively flat frequency response from the 19's.... Here's the link:
Page 2 of Altec Lansing Portable Speaker 19 Oak User Guide | ManualsOnline.com
PS I am a fan of Hiraga's work--and I don't mean to sell Zilch short. He was very generous with his time and answered some questions that I had (sent me multiple p.m.'s) years ago when I was just getting started with restoring crossovers in speakers that used various 416's and 800 series h.f. driver combinations (Valencia 846A's and Heathkit AS-101's).
Being of "Sound" Mind
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