A7 Speaker Restoration

[KBuck]

Hi Guys, New to this board and Altec. I recently 'Found' a pair of Altec VOTT speaker cabinets and 511 Horns in the attic of a church. The church was built in the mid/late '50's and seeing as how I had to do some carpentry work to remove the cabinets, I imagine they were original. The high and low drivers as well as the crossovers were long gone (removed I imagine by the sound company that installed the $199 '80's Crate jobs that are there now...ouch...) Anyway, I have been doing some research and based on the assumed age and the 511 horns I think I need 802D Horn Drivers and 803 A or B Low drivers both 16 ohm to start on some restoration. Some questions I have about trying to restore these to 'vintage'.

1.) Is there a way to positively date the horns from the serial numbers?

2.) Are my driver choices accurate?

3.) The crossovers I have found less info on. I am assuming the 16 ohm ?N-500D? is the animal I want. However, the only ones I have seen look like internal mounts whereas the speakers have a square hole in the back with four screw holes at the corners which looks more like it would fit the N800 series based on the pictures I?ve seen of them. I can post some pics if it would help.

4.)There is a small round hole maybe 3/8'' in diameter near the top back of each cabinet. There are pieces of red and black wire coming out of them and stapled to the inside back of the cabinet. Was this how the signal went in or is this a modification? Again I can post pics if needed.

5.)I know I can get replacement decals on ebay (although the originals are in good shape), but does anyone know of a source for replacement hardware like; grill screen (one is damaged), screws for the cabinet back (the vintage speaker thieves didn?t put them all back in after their raid. I found some of them scattered around but only about half), or the brackets that hold up the back of the horn when they are top mounted (only found one of these). Of course I could just go to Lowes, but if I'm going to restore might as well do it right.

6.) Lastly, what about wire gauges for connecting everything once I aquire it.

Thanks in advance for any advice...

[KBuck]

It just dawned on me what the hole in the back of the cabinet with the wire sticking out is for. The Horn Driver DOH!

[LICORNE]

Hi,

Not necessarily. If the 511 was mounted inside and the reflex port sealed. This hole could have been used as rear ported .

If you have pictures should download.

If you want the Horn on top then some boards
will have to come off an a screen placed instead.

I'm just working by deduction on your description.


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[KBuck]

Thanks Convergence, I'll get some pics tonight and post tommorow. I THINK the horns were top mounted as there are holes on the cabinet tops and one had a brace that looks like it would have held the back of the horn. There is already a screen 'Port' in the front of each cabinet.

[Old Guy]

KBuck you are correct the hole with wires is for the horn. Depending on the vintage of these the correct woofer is an 803 or a little later the 416. I believe they are the same speaker- legend has it Altec changed the designation to avoid confusion with the 803 multicell. I have had this confirmed by several Altec employees who would have been in a position to know. The correct crossover would probably be 500 hz but I purchased a number of these in the early "70's that had 800 hz crossovers with the 511 horns. These came straight from Altec that way. I would suppose it was in the interest of driver reliability. Stocking relacement small format Altec diaphragms was a really profitable sideline back in the seventies.

There was also a musical instrument version that used the 421 for lows, 808 for highs, and had an 800 hz crossover.

[LICORNE]

Hi,

I can give you component matching from that period.

If you want compatible to date component then you should get in touch with GPA.

If Horn is 511B

Dividing network N501-8A

Driver 802-8D Alternate 806-8A

LF 416-8A


I will give others a chance to comment.

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[KBuck]

Here are the Pics Dust and all. Speakers are currently setting in my workshop and are # 3 in the 'Project Queue'

[Wardsweb]

The woofer mounting is obvious, the horn mounts on top of the cabinet and the crossover goes in that hole in the back of the cabinet. An alternate configuration was to take the L-bracket from the top of the cabinet, turn the cabinet upside down and mount it inside the bass port.

[Wardsweb]

If you want the best sound for home use, I would recomment using the 802-8G with the tangerine phase plug for the horn driver. The woofer can be a 416-8B (alinco) or 416-8C (ceramic). I prefer the ceramic but many collectors think the alinco is best.

[Wardsweb]

Here are my 825 cabinets in the process of being veneered.