817 question

**Mustang Marvin** · September 14th, 2016, 11:48 AM

I am thinking about building an 817 bass cab. I have the drivers needed (2 each). I was wondering if anyone has used this cabinet? It appears to be a nice design. I am trying to increase the bass response in my system. Any help is appreciated.
Mustang Man.

**Elitopus1** · September 14th, 2016, 12:21 PM

I have some factory Altec 817 cabs. I run Altec 921-16a woofers with JBL 2360 horns and Renkus Heinz SSD-3301 drivers. They are crossed over via an Ashly active crossover at 750hz.

These cabs can produce some decent bass (and do even better when used in multiples). The thing is you have to EQ them. Don't expect much bass and very deep bass without EQ. I use ART dual 31 band EQ's and it helps alot.
Even with that I still run subwoofers with them. If you get a sub to match these you will have to go big to track the dynamics. I run a stereo pair of JBL 2242 subs each fed by a bridged Ashly FTX-2001 amp.

**Mustang Marvin** · September 14th, 2016, 12:43 PM

Dang, thats very disappointing. I have 4, 416's I was going to use, but I don't want to go through the hassle of additional equipment just to get a little more bass.
Thanks for the info,
Marvin

**bowtie427ss** · September 14th, 2016, 03:07 PM

I am trying to increase the bass response in my system. Any help is appreciated.

Can you give us some sort of benchmark of where you're at now?

Tandem 416's per side should be able to produce pretty satisfactory low end for most home apps. But, they're not going to do it in a mid-bass horn like the 817.

**Mustang Marvin** · September 15th, 2016, 10:53 AM

I am using an 8 ft. (approx) bass reflex cab with 416 c's. The bass is pretty good, but with the extra 416's I thought I could do better.

**Elitopus1** · September 15th, 2016, 11:59 AM

I read a thread somewhere (maybe on AK) a few months ago about someone using a 416 (B I think) in a subwoofer enclosure. It was built by some other company than Altec, but used the 416. He reported it going down to 20-30hz. Problem with the 416 is you wont get much excursion out of one. Maybe with 2-4 you would get the sound you are looking for.

I'll try to find that thread. Nice speakers BTW. Are those horns wood? If so where did you get them?
I have been considering a pair of wood or ceramic 805 or 808 from that guy in Europe that builds them. Even with shipping they are cheaper than originals

**Mustang Marvin** · September 15th, 2016, 01:17 PM

They were made by Chaudio design (CH Audio Design) They aren't cheap, but they are a work of art. Hand made and beautiful wood.
They have a picture of my system on their website.

GM · September 15th, 2016, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by Mustang Marvin

I am using an 8 ft. (approx) bass reflex cab with 416 c's. The bass is pretty good, but with the extra 416's I thought I could do better.

You can, put them in ~20 ft^3 [or more] in the 'standard' 36"W x 24" D x as tall as practical MLTLs.

If you want to pursue this, then I need to know ceiling, average seated ear height and if there's any stuff on the wall to limit total speaker height.

GM

**Mustang Marvin** · September 15th, 2016, 03:54 PM

Ceiling height is 8ft. I do have an 805 replica horn on top. I am interested in a double 416 config. since I have the drivers.
Thanks,
Marvin

GM · September 15th, 2016, 06:21 PM

OK, average seated ear height?

While we're about it, XO?

How far away are your ears? Hopefully at least 1.5x the gap between them.

Any idea what the odds are that these will ever be in a smaller room or at least a shorter listening distance?

Willing to make triangular cabs for better corner fit?

GM