Altec 19

[GM]

Dunno, I don't read every thread and it's just what I came up with using the design drawings and Altec's published displacements of the 802, 811, 416 and a small amount for the XO.

GM

[Altec Best]

Dunno, I don't read every thread and it's just what I came up with using the design drawings and Altec's published displacements of the 802, 811, 416 and a small amount for the XO.

GM

NO GM, I don't think it was you, .It was a year ago after all I have hard time remembering what I had for lunch. I was just qouting the dims you posted. And remember someone posted 8.35 ft^3 awhile back can't remeber who now though.

They look even bigger than that too.

[amandarae]

Thank you very much guys!

I was asking for the dimensions and port opening to get an idea on how big the box is just in case. I listened to the 19's almost a year ago but did not bother to get the dimensions of the unit and port.

I am currently using a 612C cabs. The 612C is about 6.8 ft3 and I tried a first order XO at 1200 Hz (I tried 900, 1000, 1100, and 1400) with the 416-8B/802D/811 and sounds great to me from top to bottom, better than when I am using the N501-8 XO. The latter, gives sound as if I am in a movie theater especially in the mid bass region and I think a little too much for my 22' x 24' music room. I do not want to attenuate the 416 since I am using low power amps and sensitivity is a premium on this kind of set up thus trying to see if different XO will work. I found a literature on the net that the Altec 19 is cross at 1200 Hz. with 416-8B/811 combo, so I tried it and I am glad I did.

I will try the 511 tonight.

Thanks again Altec Best, GM, and DNV47!


Abe

[GM]

You're welcome!

Hmm, 1st order XOs < four octaves away from a horn's usable lower limit is a no-no except maybe in the near-field or late night apartment apps and for sure an N501-8A designed for the 511 is causing a huge dip in the 811's response, so little wonder that the 416 is dominating the lower mids response.

GM

[amandarae]

Hello GM,

Sorry if I was not clear in my previous post. I was using 511 horns with the N501-8A XO when the midbass becomes too much in my room. Here' what I experienced:

I use the 612C cabs, 416-8B/802-D with 8 ohm diaphragm/511 horns and the N501-8A cross over. With this set up, the midbass was too prominent. If I replaced the 511 with the 811 and use 1st order XO at 800 Hz, the problematic midbass was tamed a bit. Going back to the 511 horns, and using 1st order XO produced the same problematic result and to me it sounds like a movie theater. I stuffed the box with polyfill, pulled the cabs about 5 feet away from the front wall, to no avail.

Attenuating the 416 with 15 ohms seems to solved the problem using the Altec 501-8A XO but efficiency was being taxed for sure on the woofer that is why as much as possible, I do not want this method to be my solution because I am using low power SET amps.

The only combo that seems to work for me is when I use a 1st order XO on the 802/811 and the 416-8B.

Any suggestions what should I check if I want to use the N501-8A with the 511/802D/416-8B/612C combo?

Best regards,

Abe

[alex_d15z6]

Hi Amandarae !
I sent you PM without success.
The same result here - after experimenting with 511 and 811 horns 811 was installed in Altec 19 clone enclosure and using 1201 original schematics for XO. Speakers are 802 and 416 .So i can recommend to try original Altec 1201 XO.

PS . I was quite impressed by your system i see on youtube - my respect.
I have some questions regarding your system details -please let me know whey you have time to answer
Best regards,
Alex

[DNV47]

I'd have to agree with using the Model 19 xovers with the 416B/802/811.
My listening room is half the dimensions of yours Amandarae and my 19's sound awesome to me contray to the popular belief that big speakers always need big rooms.
They are in corners NOT toed in and the wall of sound and nearfield listening makes up for not being able to blast them in a much larger room and things like classical guitar sound especially natural with the nearfield listening.
Last night I was amazed at how good the the Doors 13 LP sounded and I did crank it up because it was so enjoyable.
If you build xovers I'd try the schematic values for the inductors and the lower vales as seen in the Model 19 inductor measurement thread on this site because IMHO it's a matter of opinion as to which sound better and for what reasons.
Based on my experience, at least with the 2.7 woofer inductors, I prefer the original inductors that read lower than the schematic values (around 2.43mh) and I no longer have the urge to "improve" because there's nothing to improve.
I would also suggest you use pots for the level controls so you can find your own "sweet spots" then change to fixed resistors if you feel they are better once you have found the prefered resistances.

[amandarae]

Thanks Alex! I will try the 1201 XO! About my system, thanks for the kind words. If you want, you can PM me so that we do not use this forum's BW. I hope I can answer your inquiry/ries.


DNV47, Thanks again! I will get the parts and post my impressions here in the future.


Regards guys!

Abe

[Earl K]

FWIW, Jim Easleys' superb Model 19 drawings .

<> cheers

[alex_d15z6]

@DNV47 What is your listening room dimensions ? I have a choice between two rooms and did not decide yet where to install my Altec 19 copys - your listening experience of will be quite interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Best regards ,
Alex