New member with A7 questions

[edharbur]

Hi all.

After years of searching, I finally came across a pair of A7's at the right time and the right place. I'm psyched, but I've ended up with a few questions.

What I've got is:

A7 cases - tired but functional
511b's
802-8A drivers
809-8A500 hz crossovers
418B drivers

I run them with a mundane 100w Sony receiver in a 3,500 sq ft cabinet shop - all open, 10' ceilings, all hard surfaces. Typically,we listen to NPR on the radio in the mornings, and move on to live older rock in the afternoons (Dead etc...)

Here are the questions.

I'd like more mid range punch, particularly at lower volumes. Do I have the right components?

My finisher is going to repaint them for me next week. They were a dark gray originally. Does anyone have a color code, or should I just match the original paint? The gray is much darker than any of the repainted A7s that I've seen pictures of - has my paint darkened with age? How good was the original paintwork? Could you see the wood grain?
What gloss level?

How do I post a picture here? I'm not sure what I really have (for speakers) and I figure pictures couldn't hurt...

When were they made?

They came with a set of boxes for the horns, 14" high, 27" wide, and 19" deep. They look factory made, and have an odd set of jacks in the back that match the ones in the back of the main cabinets. The paint on both boxes matches.
Do I want to use them or just cobble up horn brackets like I've seen in pictures?

Can I mount these speakers up high so that the horns are 3 or 4 inches below the ceiling, or will this degrade the sound quality. Floor space here is at a premium.

Should I be running an equalizer of some sort? What kind? The budget these days is tight for such things...

Thanks in advance,

Ed

[Nipper]

Hi Ed.... :welcome:

Im sure someone will chime in here and help with most of your questions but I will tell you something I know for sure.... LOSE THE SONY.

I have tried some of the BEST amps Sony makes with mine and they just dont get it.
Their decent amps but my Altecs wont sing with them. Find yourself one of the nicer old Sansui amps or a great tube amp like a McIntosh 275 and you will not believe they are the same speakers.
:2thumbsup:

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

The 418 is really a musical instrument driver...... you really want a 416 or a 515 of some type (several versions of each).

[Todd W. White]

Hi Ed,

Welcome to the ALTEC family!

Answers to your questions:

1. Altec painted them "battleship gray" most of the time, but there were some that were darker. All were flat - no gloss. It could be that yours are older. Post some pic's and let us see.

2. Posting a picture:

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/alte...-pictures.html

3. I would recommend checking out how they are braced and reinforce them, if needed, before painting them. You should also be sure they're damped properly.

4. A7's came out around 1947 and continued to be made until 1998. The ones offered by Sparkomatic, er, Altec Lansing Technologies, aren't as good as the real ones, IMO.

5. I think the horns look neat by themselves, sitting on top of the cabinets. Be sure rotate the boxes so that the woofers are on top.

6. If you need to get them off the floor, fly them rotated so the woofers are nearer the floor and put the horns underneath. This won't hurt the sound at all.

7. Equalizers are fine, as long as you set them up right and don't use them as a glorified tone control. Do NOT boost! Cut only!

Hope this helps!

[Mustang Marvin]

I got a pair of 418's with the A7's I bought. I had then re coned by GPA to make them 416B's for a nominal cost. I also have them crossed at 800HZ. You may want to reduce the port size for better base when listening to music.

I drive mine with a McIntosh MX110 preamp and MC240 amp. They sound great.
Good luck,
Marvin

[edharbur]

Thanks all for the good advice.

Seems as though Having GPA re cone my 418's to 416s is an obvious first step, followed by playing with port size, and reinforcing at least the flairs.

I found Panomaniac's great thread on developing his A7s, which answered many of my questions, and raised others. See my next post.

Thanks,

Ed

[Monte Verdi]

:welcome: I have driven my A7's with a number of different amps including 3/4 of a watt SET amps, Accuphase E202, Blue Circle BC2 monoblocks and my current favorite a restored and customized H.H. Scott 222C integrated. This amp is roughly 20 watts a side and has a very rich mid band to boot. The bass is very controlled and beautiful and I would gander this amp will blow smoke rings around the Sony for sheer dynamics and big bodied boldness that you seem to be looking for, IMHO. Warning, many ($) tubes and amp must be restored before using, they can be found on Audiogon for around $500. The best amp investment I have made for Altec's thus far.

Good luck,

:2thumbsup:

[edharbur]

Clearly, I'm lacking in the amp area. The thinking on the Sony is that I ask a lot of an amp, and I'm on a limited budget. I run them at relatively high volumes - 3500 sq. ft. with huge background noise levels (big woodworking machinery) dust everywhere, and 12 hour days. I've actually seen wisps of smoke at high volume levels as wood dust burned off... Amps / receivers, therefore, are considered a disposable item. I guess that I could build a filtered, forced air vented cabinet, and go to a separate amp / receiver, but the idea was to keep things as simple as I could.

Ed

[Todd W. White]

You'll need to put a screen across the mouth of the woofer mounting hole and mesh across the horn mouth if they're in such a dusty/dirty environment.

[Altec Best]

So this is a dirty/dusty work enviroment then cheap amps will do.Use the Sony until you need the fire department to put it out. But the Altec's man, Protection a must find some nice thin fabric you can wrap them in you may have to wrap twice, in a wood shop it won't take long to fill the voice coil gaps with crude and such Good Luck Regards ~ AB

:welcome: to the forum.