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Thread: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

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    Senior Hostboard Member Elitopus1's Avatar
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    Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    I have a pair of Urei 604G that I got from different places. Not a matching pair and of unknown history. They have similar cone numbers (both recones), but the suspension compliance is much softer on one than the other. I want to get them reconed so they match.
    I really enjoy the 604G, and I?ll be keeping these for a long time. So resale value isn?t super important. Sound is number one.

    So I have two options. I can send them off to GPA where they can recone and remag them, or I know a guy much closer to me (like one state away) who could recone them but not remag them. The guy close to me is GordonW from AK. He has reconed drivers for me in the past and does excellent work. He could even use GPA cones if I wanted.

    So my question, is it worth it to pay like an extra 100$ in shipping, and also pay GPA?s now very expensive prices just to have the drivers remagged?

    Thanks guys
    Don

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    Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags


    Phil-G's Avatar
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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    Gordon's house is closer to Oklahoma.
    Sonic Barbarian

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    Senior Hostboard Member GM's Avatar
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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    When did he move? He use to be within 'shouting' distance from me.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Anyway, as Pano can attest, as they weaken, Qts rises and next thing you know you got a 'flabby'/'bloated', etc., performer only suited for OB instead of a 'heart attack fast' one, and that's before you put it in a box, so how much you willing to gamble?

    Ferrite, you normally can assume they're 'close enough' as long as they're not cracked [chipped normally is no big deal], but not AlNiCo, especially if they were in prosound where they were kept heated up for long periods.

    Someone posted that dropping them would need remagging [and by 'remagging' I mean they get completely drained before a new charge, something not always done, making it a waste of time/$$ IME], which I find interesting since 'we' had numerous AlNiCo motors that would get cracked/broken into pieces that actually got obviously faster to the point where we did a lot of testing, but never figured out any 'rhyme or reason' as to how we might take advantage of it.

    GM
    Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.

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    Senior Hostboard Member Elitopus1's Avatar
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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    Aw that’s too bad Gordon isn’t in GA any more. He was my go to guy.

    I wonder about the drivers and my use for them even. I’m using them with some Ashly MOSFET amps (each driver has its own Ashly FTX-2001). They get driven to some high levels, but usually not for too long. Maybe an hour or two at a time. Nothing like a recording studio would do.
    I’ve often thought if I would be better off with ferrite drivers for high volume playback.

    Maybe it’s time to get a nice tube amp. It would take up less space than the rack of Ashlys. Lol.

    My biggest concern with the Urei drivers is the plastic horn. I think if one were to ever get broken/chipped I could never find a replacement. And they will get brittle as they get older. Maybe in the day of 3D printers it wouldn’t be too much of an issue to get a copy made. But a pain it would be regardless.

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    Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags


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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    wait a minute Don. what i meant was Gordon's house is closer to Oklahoma than yours. and it might be slightly cheaper to ship from there.
    are the horns removable?
    Sonic Barbarian

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    Senior Hostboard Member Elitopus1's Avatar
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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    And here I?m thinking damn, Gordon and Phil must be good friends, Phil knew he moved before anyone else.

    AFAIK the horns are not removable without tearing into the woofer cone. I know on the later Urei (when they stopped using an Altec driver), the horns came off easily. Or so it looks like that from pictures I?ve seen.

    I had considered swapping the horns out for the standard 604G horns at one point and Bill said he could do it during the recone, but in his opinion the Urei horns sounded better than the standard metal horns on the 604G.
    I think the standard horns would have a slightly higher resale value though. Seems like the Ureis don?t go for as much money.

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    Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags


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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    i hear Oklahoma is really nice this time of year.

    15 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Oklahoma State | PlanetWare

    wow it's a tossup between the JM Davis Arms & Historical Museum and the Oklahoma City Zoo.. so its essentially a wasteland
    Last edited by Phil-G; October 20th, 2019 at 09:53 AM.
    Sonic Barbarian

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    Senior Hostboard Member Elitopus1's Avatar
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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    Man, they don’t even have GPA on the list of top 15 tourist attractions.

    I bet Oklahoma is nice this time of year.... until winter comes.

    Hey and don’t forget about the Cowboy and western heritage museum

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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    No Matter what, I wouldn't ship 604's ( if I owned any ) with the HF diaphragms installed.

    If you have 23744 diaphragms ( especially ) I would remove them and put them up on the shelf for safe-keeping while the cones are being redone.

    As for the shipping to GPA question; those of us who measure these devices would simply determine the need ( for a remag ) by obtaining the TS parameters ( for the woofer section ).

    As GM has mentioned, Qts rises with weakened magnets.

    Personally, anything above .40 would auto-trigger the need for the remag ( between .30 to .40 would require review of all the risks involved in shipping ).

    FYI, GPA recone kits are typically made available to authorized centers.

    Florida has a couple of outfits that fit that label ( no slight intended to GordonW ).

    If I was local ( to FLA ) I would consider having my 604's reconed by these people.

    https://reconingspeakers.com/product/altec-604-8g-recone-kit/




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    Senior Hostboard Member Elitopus1's Avatar
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    Re: Is it really worth it to recharge my AlNiCo mags

    A few questions. How would I measure Ts parameters for the drivers? Like is that equipment common? I know that Gordon was able to measure some parameters where he works, but I?m not sure what exactly.

    I agree completely about not shipping them with the HF diaphragms installed. I would keep them at home.

    The speaker place over in Tampa is an option. It?s about 3.5 hours away from me, but my dad lives about an hour north of Tampa. I could take them over and drop them off/pick them up. Shipping is the biggest risk, and if I could avoid that it would be good.
    I emailed them and asked for a quote to recone both woofers using their GPA kits.

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