Altec 603's

[jnorv]

I have a reasonable fix on the difference between 604's and 605'smn (basically the woofer). What is a 603?

Jim N

[bfish]

Hi, Jim,

Think 600B with a horn over the aluminum dustcap. The original Diacone, designed by George Carrington, it was Altec's first patent;

Diacone patent

[jnorv]

OK, what is a 600?

Jim N

[bfish]

600B was the predecessor to the 417. A 12" w/aluminum dustcap.

603s are often called duplexes, which is a bit of a stretch, IMO, as there is only a single source/voice coil. I've never had a chance to hear one, but would personally consider it more a historic novelty than a capable fullrange driver, especially compared to, say, a 601.

[bfish]

It seems the 603 production duration closely parallels the "patent pending" period. The patent was filed in '47, and 603s appeared in the;

1947 catalog

1949 catalog

1950 catalog

(courtesy LH and HifiLit sites)

The patent was granted in '51, and 603s are missing from subsequent catalogs. No ideas on production numbers, but given the short duration, there's probably not a lot of them left. On the positive side, I expect Bill could fully restore a 603.

The Diacone name (presumably from diaphragm/cone) and characteristic aluminum dome continued in 600s, 417s, 418s, 421s, 425s and beyond. I've long suspected the common lightweight version domes are stamped from the same blanks as small-format diaphragms, but haven't verified that.

[Old Guy]

Talk about the devil...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALTEC-MODEL-603B...QQcmdZViewItem

If they go low enough I may jump on them. Have them sent to the office to get around the WAF.

Fellow has a pretty clean pair. I would preserve them just for history.

[jnorv]

I saw those but I am looking for 604/605's.

Jim

[Old Guy]

Agreed Jim. I would just buy the 603's for historical purposes.

[Steve Schell]

The 603 was the top of the line Dia-cone speaker, sporting a 604 like horn to disperse the highs coming off the aluminum center dome. Problem was, there were not many highs to disperse. They actually sound well balanced just sitting on the workbench, but in a cabinet they are bass heavy. There were also the 400 8" and 600 12" Dia-cones; never heard these, but they sold in large numbers.

My hunch is that Jim Lansing did the majority of the Dia-cone development work before leaving Altec in late 1945, despite the Carrington patent and the Hilliard article on the 603 (both postdating Lansing's departure). Jim continued his work with the aluminum center domes immediately after starting his new company. The D-130 and D-131 with their 4" voice coils allowed for a larger aluminum diaphragm and a somewhat better balance of highs to lows.

I look at the 603 primarily as a successful marketing endeavor. It looked almost the same as the 604 from the front, but was much less expensive. The 603 was introduced shortly after the 604's introduction, probably in 1945; the early ones have the red, white and blue decal. I own serial #15, and saw but did not bid on serial #1... doh! Judging from the serial numbers Altec sold well over 10,000 603 and 603B speakers, so they did well with it.

The Dia-cones had a good run, but between Altec's manufacture of several Western Electric speaker designs beginning in 1950 and the introduction of Alex Badmaieff's Biflex speaker line, the Dia-cones were gone from the catalog by 1954.

[bfish]

Originally posted by Steve Schell:
...the Dia-cones were gone from the catalog by 1954...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've got several Dia-cones from the '70s, but it was easier to lift this picture of an eBay example;

Originally posted by Steve Schell:
...My hunch is that Jim Lansing did the majority of the Dia-cone development work before leaving Altec in late 1945, despite the Carrington patent and the Hilliard article on the 603...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Do you have any proof of that to share with us Steve...or just propaganda?