If you?re in Detroit, bring a van:
Heathkit Legato AS-21 (Altec 9844 ) components. - electronics - by owner - sale
They look pretty swell...
AS-21 is not the real Legato. Advertising departments sometimes called it "Legato compact" or "mini legato"............................ and those are a pretty sweet deal even at the asking price.
Legato is model HH-1-C(imported white birch) or HH-1-CM(african mahogany), and it is significantly different from, and preceded the AS-21.
Last edited by bowtie427ss; December 11th, 2017 at 07:43 AM.
Not all vegetables make good leaders.
I don't understand it not being a real Legato, It says "Legato" right on the back of the cabinet. It may be a later Legato, but it's not like the current Altec reusing model numbers on their new plastic products.Originally Posted by bowtie427ss
Audio_by_Goodwill
Michigan, USA
If I lived closer to Detroit, I'd be knocking on the seller's door right now. The components alone are worth $800 any day.
I'm surprised they are not long gone already. Shocked to see that they were still unsold today.
GeeDeeEmm
And another pretty but more expensive set of Legatos:
PR. Heathkit Legato AS-21 Speakers , MSM - electronics - by owner - sale
These are very retro-styley!
It's really not complicated. They re-cycled the name a decade later.I don't understand it not being a real Legato
A real Legato uses a pair of 15 inch 803/416 woofers, an 802 on a 511, and a parallel network using oil caps and high quality potted chokes.
AS-21 came along a decade later with it's load of 414 pair and 806 on 811 with a more run of the mill network using the by now very common laminated chokes common in 60's Altec systems, and cheap electrolytics. If you still think that's a real Legato, then i cannot help you.
The speaker system above is in no way equal to or the same as the speaker system below.
Just my .02 y'all understand................................
Last edited by bowtie427ss; December 12th, 2017 at 08:01 AM.
Not all vegetables make good leaders.
Well I bought and am listening to the very pair the OP posted about. It is my first foray into Altec land and so far i am pretty satisfied. Two 414-16 LF drivers and the 806 driven horn sound pretty nice. I do need to do redo the crossovers or even just the HF pots as they are frozen. I have a pair of 902s I just had GPA install 16ohm diaphragms but it seems I'll need to change them back to 8ohm to utilize their newest crossover. Any suggestions as to improving what I have would be appreciated.It's really not complicated. They re-cycled the name a decade later.
A real Legato uses a pair of 15 inch 803/416 woofers, an 802 on a 511, and a parallel network using oil caps and high quality potted chokes.
AS-21 came along a decade later with it's load of 414 pair and 806 on 811 with a more run of the mill network using the by now very common laminated chokes common in 60's Altec systems, and cheap electrolytics. If you still think that's a real Legato, then i cannot help you.
The speaker system above is in no way equal to or the same as the speaker system below.
Just my .02 y'all understand................................
Well, at least one side, bottom [since the vent is at the top] and back ideally needs to be covered with at least 1" thick OC 703 fiberglass insulation or similar to damp its eigenmodes and once the horn/woofer is tonally balanced across the XO BW [~400-1600 Hz, HF will sound too rolled off] in room with the speakers in their proper location and auditioned from the listening 'sweet spot', then add a by-pass cap to let the HF through unshelved to a greater or lesser extent as required to get the overall flattest [or what sounds most 'musical'/whatever] in room response [historically a 0.1-1.0 uF cap is a sufficient range for women, but may need bigger for us old guys to get it ~flat out to 15 kHz].
If you want to get more serious, then brace the top, side, back panels using 1x3 boards glued on edge ~0.62*widest panel width, then add 1x3 tie bars to create an 'x' frame to tie all six panels together and add a woofer and horn driver cross brace to clamp them to with some neoprene or similar to cushion them. Last, but not least, virtually every Altec cab with full size removable backs I checked leaked like sieves, so gasket with neoprene, preferably rated NEMA 5-12 or better [3R, 4, 4X] or good quality jute [premium carpet underlay].
There's some horn tweaks, but with the dense grill cloth of days gone by, the subtle improvements just get damped away.
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
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