Altec 421 woofer

[voice of the theater]

I had a friend who used his hi-fi speaker as a guitar speaker, and that was a "no go," the voice coil overheated and there was literally smoke & flames where his voice coil used to be.

Smoke AND Flames! I hope that happened on stage--would have made for one hell of a pyrotechnics display! Talk about a "smokin" guitar solo....

[Panomaniac]

I've set car speakers on fire with too much power.
Would hate to do that with a pair of Altec drivers!

[Cal Weldon]

The 421-8LF is a bass driver and it has been used in place of the 416 or 515 for professional use. I am thinking of the 828 cabinet. There is the A7 and there is 1236.

[Old Guy]

The 421-8LF is a bass driver and it has been used in place of the 416 or 515 for professional use. I am thinking of the 828 cabinet. There is the A7 and there is 1236.

True but...there isn't a whole lot of difference between an LF and regular 421. I don't think 421 LF replacement parts are available. GPA may be able to make up something.

It's a bit better than a standard 421. but not as nice as a 416. More comparable sound wise to a 3156. The regular 421's were also used in MI A7's.

The 421, regular or LF sounds very good in a properly tuned box. But regardless, it won't reach as low as a 416B will. I've measured.

However, with the current trend of a sub below 100 or so, it becomes a moot point.

We used to add a larger paper dome over the 421's aluminum one. The net result is a slight drop in resonance and efficiency, and a slight gain in LF extension.
Also eliminates or at least reduce artifacts from the aluminum dome.


It becomes pretty close, so close I think a 421 LF just has a slightly heavier coil.

[Ronald Lee]

Old Guy: the 515/416 are hi-fi speakers, the 421 is a MI. The 515 & 416 should beat the 421 in terms of reaching down to the lows, but the 421 can handle way more power, I think Altec rates the 421 at 150 watts, and the 515 & 416 at 75 watts?

voice of the theater: I wasn't there to see the actual "pyro-techniques," I was there only after the fact. There was a blacken grille clothe on the speaker where the center of the woofer, and my friend had to sheepishly explain to me that it caught on fire when he used to for his guitar.

[scott fitlin]

True but...there isn't a whole lot of difference between an LF and regular 421. I don't think 421 LF replacement parts are available. GPA may be able to make up something.

It's a bit better than a standard 421. but not as nice as a 416. More comparable sound wise to a 3156. The regular 421's were also used in MI A7's.

The 421, regular or LF sounds very good in a properly tuned box. But regardless, it won't reach as low as a 416B will. I've measured.

However, with the current trend of a sub below 100 or so, it becomes a moot point.

We used to add a larger paper dome over the 421's aluminum one. The net result is a slight drop in resonance and efficiency, and a slight gain in LF extension.
Also eliminates or at least reduce artifacts from the aluminum dome.


It becomes pretty close, so close I think a 421 LF just has a slightly heavier coil.

Is the gap in the 421 series the same as the 515 and 416 drivers? OR, the 421 being a producer of sound, does it have a chamfered gap?

[bfish]

Parallel gap.

[scott fitlin]

Parallel gap.

Thanks, and I'll add to the 421 discussion, I used the 421-8LF for years, they sounded great. They don't reach as low as a 416, but the midbass they make is so clear sounding, and others opt to paint the aluminum dustcaps, or change them to paper, I've always had good results using EQ with a bit of cut at the offending frequencies, and while maybe this MI woofer isn't exactly what we would call ACCURATE HI FI, I just loved my 421-8LF,s in ALTEC basshorns. With Crown DC-300A,s and a pair of White 4200A EQ,s, and ALTEC horns on top of the cabinets they made some of the MOST REAL SOUND playing pre-recorded music I have ever heard, in my life. I have used 515,s and 416,s in my system, they are all EXCELLENT, but I got a special place in my head for the 421,s!