My A7-500s. A journey

[RonSSS]

Try the later N1201 crossovers. Or the model 19's. Way better than the originals.
Remove the screens over the woofs.
416-8B's are better woofs. The -8a are a bit wooly.
Use 802-8G or 902-8a drivers with the bug screens removed.
Do damp the horns.
Brace the cabs per Jim Dickensons article.
They will come around.
BTW, EQ the low end only, a 1/3 octave EQ below 500hz will work wonders.
I actualy added 1/4" plywood spacer rings at the woofer mount to keep the cone from hitting the cab on big excursions.

Remember, these are theatre speakers, not home. But with work and patience, they can be quite nice.

There is a reason M19's were better for home use.

ron

[Altec Best]

Remember, these are theatre speakers, not home. But with work and patience, they can be quite nice.

There is a reason M19's were better for home use.

Hey Mike, I think Ron brought up a good point. These were designed for large areas not a small room inside a home.So it will take some tweaking to get them right but you do good work very thorough.I thought your port was too big also for the 416 I would even try reducing it even more to what the M19 uses a 2 1/2" x 11" port you can always enlarge it.Also the 802 symbiotik with loading caps, most people I have talked to don't like the loading caps so they remove them and stick in a thick piece of felt in the end cap instead.And the symbiotiks are more or less for power handling replace with a all aluminum diaghram. Well anyway nice job Mike you are no novice we all can learn more each day for sure.I learn something new every time I come to this forum isn't it great !!! Those A-7's look to be very nice shape though. Regards

[Panomaniac]

Thanks guys, lot's of good feedback. I didn't know this thread would get so much interest. Yep, a get a nice set, thanks to O.G.

Some more playing this afternoon. Just FWIW.

• Putting the A7s in the corner or right against the back wall helps the bass a lot. Certainly seems to be the way to go in a room like mine.
• Adding a wing to one side also helps the bass. The A5s I used had wings in both sides.
• Rolling the crossover point up and down from 450Hz to 1.8KHz does not change the sound nearly as much as I thought it would. The 511 seems to blend well with the woofer all thru this range. Above that and the mids start to drop away (woofer roll-off) and below that the low mids go away (horn roll-off). Things do change, but it's fairly subtle. Good drivers, I suppose!
• Pulling out some mid with EQ does help the horn shout. A dip of about 3-4dB centered at 1.5K is a good starting point. Overall or just on the horn.
• Vibration. The woofer horn vibrates like crazy. It's the worse part of the cabinet. And it's pointed right at you. Mine are not kerf cut in the back, but are a solid bent piece. Damping material and some bracing back there ought to work wonders.

I agree about the symbiotic frams and the loading caps. They can't be helping. Will swap in an 806 driver tomorrow for a listen. That may smooth things out a lot.
OK, back to the music (Carlos Santana).

Note, just a quick swap to a 811/806 made a BIG difference. So much smoother, better balanced and more top end. Gives the 803/291 a run for its money. Eager to hear what the 806 does on the 511.