Modified 210 cabinets

[RacerXtreme]

Has anyone ever tried putting some different woofers in the big 210 cabinets? I bought the entire PA out of the George Burns Theatre (which used to be called the Mai-Kai
Theatre) 20 years ago. Four 210 cabinets complete with wings, and 12 288C's and 4 1005B 10 cell horns. Eventually got tired of the 60 watt 515B's (even tho there were 8 of them....). They worked o.k. up to a certain level then they just ran out of gas.
Time for something different. How about some 600 watt JBL 2225's or 2226's in the big V.O.T.T. cabinets? I've changed the port volume a little (no more vertical slots, 2 round ports instead) and added some insulation. The 15" JBL's - tho not made specifically for those cabinets - should really crank. I'm considering dropping an 18" woofer in the bottom part of the cabinets, only because I could time-align the voice coils with my 3 way Rane AC23 electronic x-over. Any ideas or advice?

I like it loud. This system will not be used for commercial purposes, only as a home stereo in my 4 car garage.

c-ya


Guy

[Jim Easley]

Guy,

You are insane! What will your neighbors think? Seriously, the JBL's will add a serious amount of punch to those modified 210's with maybe a slight loss at the extreme low end. A pricey conversion but why not.

[dhook17322]

Another option would be to get the 515B's rebuilt/remagged. They're pretty old and likely have lost some of their punch. You could also rebuild the 210's to the Dickenson specs for optimum performance.

[RacerXtreme]

Doesn't that imply putting a stiffening brace in the middle of the horn? I've got that article somewhere around here, but haven't seen it in a while. I think when the 210 cabinets are on their side and stacked one on top of the other (2 cabinets or 4 15's per side.......) the low end is much, much better than when standing them up. Even with the wings bolted on when standing up - the projection might be better (depending on where you're at and what frequency), but when they're laying on their side they just plain thump. When you stack one cabinet on top of another and bolt them together, I really don't think you'd need that stiffening brace. Maybe I'm wrong...... Guess it would depend to a certain extent on how hard you're pushing them. The cool thing is that I don't need a lot of amplifier power to push them. Running them bi-amped w/ 430 w/ch. and that's plenty for my neighborhood. The Rane electronic x-over makes them sound so much better than the old N500C or whatever the # was. I can dial them in easily.

I just picked up a two JBL 2225's. Got 6 more to go and those old Voice of the Theatre cabinets are really gonna come to life in a big way. Maybe I need to move further out into the country... Ya know, I've thought about doing this for years and never got around to it. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't, but I'm gonna give it a try. Got to believe 8 600 watt 15" JBL's in those boxes will be incredible. Just need to dial them in a little....

Anyone have an idea of how I can go about putting a laminate or veneer on the horn part of the cabinets? Someone just gave me an 1874 Chickering Square Grand Piano done in Rosewood and the finish is just incredible for 130 years old. Thought the horns would look cool in Rosewood or maybe Mahogany or something interesting ......

see ya

Guy

[oldaudio]

Guy Said : " I like it loud. This system will not be used for commercial purposes, only as a home stereo in my 4 car garage."
Guy, I like it loud too..., but, if you aren't getting all you can stand with that setup in a 4 car garage then I would say something is terribly wrong...somewhere. Unless you are driving them with a flea powered single-ended amp or the like they should make your ears bleed in that room.
I am running my 210s in a 18X25 room. I formerly
used them in a 18X60 room. I was driving them with 1569s. WAY TOO LOUD. I now drive them with a 50 WPC home stereo type amp. Much more managable.
Durff

[RacerXtreme]

Hey Durf, please don't misunderstand me........it's obviously way, way more stereo than I need in a 20 by 40 foot garage, BUT.......there may be times when I pull them out for special occasions. My kids are getting into high school soon and there's bound to be some dances coming up. Maybe an outdoor party or two in the summertime.......etc. Got the cabinets on casters so they roll around very easily.
The easiest way I can explain it to you, is that having 8 515's in 4 210 cabinets was cool, but has nowhere near the potential as having 8 600W 15" JBL's' in the same boxes..... When I need them to rock they will and most of the time they will be overkill in my garage. They simply handle ten times the power as the old Altec drivers. Maybe it won't work or sound too good, but it's worth a try.

Guy

[Cal Weldon]

RacerX,

I have tried Pyramid WX-15 wired in series and Selenium WPU 1507 QCF in parallel in my 210's. Both sound fine, but the Seleniums are more of a woofer than than the cabinets are ready for. You really need to brace them to stop them from becoming their own resonator.

Mind you those great big side panels vibrate and help to extend your low end.

Here's the wooferwoofer

Cal

[cholt]

If you want to stay with altec gear (obsolete as it is, as peviously described on this forum), it can be done with somewhat impressive results. I have 4 210s (minus wings)set up with 515bs, 288 16hs/1003b's, 902 16HFs, and dual 3182 subs which are quite dynamic, detailed, and loud when they have to be (although the imaging is not quite as good as what I perceived with my old,and also obsolete Dunlavy SCVs).

On the other hand, I have another 4 210s (modified for 16" frame, minus wings)set up with 515g HPs/299s/MR94s/909s, and dual DTS 182 subs for those "those special occasions" that require a "louder" approach (i.e 4th of July, New Years, etc). This set up can cerainly make a statement a few blocks away, law enforcement willing.

BTW, if you want to sell your not so loud, under performing 515bs, i have some other empty 210s that could provide them with a new home....

Good luck in your pursuit of your listening experience!

[RacerXtreme]

Woah.........dude........how many 210 cabinets do you have? And my wife thinks I'm excessive.....
She thinks 8 15's is totally unreasonable for our neighborhood. I think it's just enough.


Guy

[cholt]

Guy,

I have a total of 10 210s, (and a lot of other misc altec gear). Yes my wife also thinks it is obsessive, oops i mean excessive, but its a lot of fun collecting different altec products and listing to them at one time or another! Again good luck with your project (s), and seriously, try the 515g HPs with some subs, they may be what you are looking for!

Curt