Altec 616-8a crossover ideas

**Elitopus1** · July 22nd, 2016, 08:07 PM

I just picked up a pair of 616-8a. They are supposed to be to my place on Tuesday. I have heard the xover network that comes with them is pretty crappy. What have you guys used in place of it? The stock network xover point is 1khz.

I think its pretty cool how the 616 is really a JBL LE15 and Altec 806a combined in a 411 basket. I am really curious to see what diaphragms come in them. They are supposed to be all original.

I am wondering how low of an xover point I can run. The fact that they don't have any sort of mini horn on them makes me think the stock 1khz is as low as I can go.

I am curious in the middle section where the screen is if I can mount a mini horn. There are 3 exposed screws there.

**Phil-G** · July 22nd, 2016, 09:10 PM

this pair? PR Altec Lansing 616 8A Duplex Loudspeakers | eBay

I was looking at them yesterday. 700 was a little much for me.

but definitely on my bucket list for the collection.

**Elitopus1** · July 22nd, 2016, 09:18 PM

Originally Posted by Phil-G

this pair? PR Altec Lansing 616 8A Duplex Loudspeakers | eBay

I was looking at them yesterday. 700 was a little much for me.

but definitely on my bucket list for the collection.

Yes thats the pair. They look pretty clean. I didn't pay 700 dollars though

I did a bit of research before buying them. Most everyone had good things to say. I want to build some nice custom cabs for them

**Phil-G** · July 22nd, 2016, 09:46 PM

i'll be interested to hear what you make of them. I'm still holding out for a pair.

**Elitopus1** · July 22nd, 2016, 11:01 PM

You should come check them out if you are ever in the Saint Augustine area. Hopefully I can make some time to build cabs and get them up and running here shortly

**BillWojo** · July 23rd, 2016, 12:33 AM

I'm new to Altec speakers but WOW, do they look nice. So far the few Altec pieces that I have picked up just extrude a sense of quality in there build and construction. Those duplex speakers are over the top. I bet they would sound awesome on one of my tube amps.
So what are you planning on driving them with?

BillWojo

**Elitopus1** · July 23rd, 2016, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by BillWojo

I'm new to Altec speakers but WOW, do they look nice. So far the few Altec pieces that I have picked up just extrude a sense of quality in there build and construction. Those duplex speakers are over the top. I bet they would sound awesome on one of my tube amps.
So what are you planning on driving them with?

BillWojo

Thanks, the pair does look really clean. That is definitely one of the reasons I bought them.

I plan on using tube power. I will probably try the SE EL84 amp that is currently hooked up to my Vott cabs.

And yes Altec gear is well made. I got into vintage audio with the Pioneer stuff my dad had around when I was a kid. At some point I turned into a horn head. Now there is no going back

. I sold all my acoustic suspension speakers and 70's solid state receivers. Now I hoard AlNiCo compression drivers and woofers. Lol

**Elitopus1** · July 27th, 2016, 02:58 PM

Both my 616-8a arrived with shifted magnets and VC rub. I already got a refund from the seller and he is going to get a refund from the shipper. He packed them with a bunch of 2" foam but they still bounced around in the box quite a bit.

I contacted Bill at GPA and he said he does not have the parts for these. I guess they will sit on my shelf now.

Guess I will take the cash I spent on these and use it to get my 420 woofers reconed to 416 at GPA. I already have them bolted to plywood and double boxed in their own boxes.

**BillWojo** · July 27th, 2016, 06:06 PM

That really stinks! Those things were beautiful. Even if you got a full refund all you have is pretty paper weights unless someone can fix them. I don't know what people are thinking when they ship stuff like that. Reminds me of the turntable shipping horror story's I hear.
Well sorry to hear of your misfortune and the sad demise of a set of Altec drivers.

BillWojo