Originally Posted by RonSSS
Hey Ron, I have been concerned about your sunken cone stories in the past and the many other
stories since about woofers coming back different. Your not alone.
The reconing process seems to relate more to reupholstering a chair than producing a precision
electrical device. I hope I never have to send a driver out.
I have had great results with GPA recones. I think with any repair/manufacturing facility, no matter how good they are (or how good their track record is), there are always going to be exceptions to every rule. No manufacturer/repair facility can bat 1,000. In this case, Ron mentioned it was the first time they had done a recone on this particular speaker type. Understandable how this might have been an exception to their usual track record. I think any other stories/mishaps that have occurred are similar exceptions to the rule. There will always be a rare/occasional defect with any manufacturing or repair facility, but I would stack GPA's quality/track record against the best of them. It's hard to beat replacement parts manufactured with actual Altec tooling and installed by former Altec employees. If I buy another blown Altec woofer (like the 421 I had in a P.A. cab that they did a great job reconing for me last year) or need a h. f. diaphragm etc., I wouldn't hesitate to send a driver out to GPA for installation/repair etc. Understandably, when someone sends something to them for repair, and it comes back working great, most people don't really see a point in posting about it on a forum like this. Of course, in the rare exception where something goes wrong, then people will post for advice etc. so you end up reading about the exceptions on forums like these and not the vast majority of times when things come back working/sounding great.....
I didn't mean to complain. Just stated what I saw.
Fs moved from 17hz to 25hz. I measured the one that worked before I had the work done.
No matter, I put them in 8 cubic foot ducted port boxes and tuned them to 22hz and they worked great as subwoofers.
In fact here is a photo.
I should put this setup back together, it was the best Altec sound I've had in my basement. My M19's are good, but this was better.
Ron
Enjoying Altec Speakers since 1972
Even though tinsel slap is easily corrected, there's no excuse for it. Not enough care taken there.
Really? I thought they just recommended sealed.
"[I]We're going all the way, till the wheels fall off and burn[/I]!"
Bob Dylan, from [I]Brownsville Girl[/I]
[I]"Time wounds all heels"[/I]
John Lennon, referring to the Nixon/Hoover deportation fiasco.
Brad's been to Bucklin (no need for head scratcin', that's one of those "you had to be there" things).
It's just semantics. Just because Sara Lee recommends whipped cream on their pumpkin pie doesn't mean that's the only way it tastes good.
"[I]We're going all the way, till the wheels fall off and burn[/I]!"
Bob Dylan, from [I]Brownsville Girl[/I]
[I]"Time wounds all heels"[/I]
John Lennon, referring to the Nixon/Hoover deportation fiasco.
Just drove 311 miles to buy these 411s. I basically thought the same thing (old guy), put them in my shop and stare at them for the next five years. Fact is though, they are almost perfect. The pictures on ebay didn't do them justice in the least. I pulled two tiny pieces of cork from the surrounds and they look new. I love what RonSS did with his, placing one in the 8ft. box, but then the squabbles about "to vent or not to vent" pipe in. GM says that with a monstrosity cab, it could work (vented)? I Have (had) perfect M19s till the new 'kitty' moved in and ignored the numerous expensive scratch towers and pads but thought how neat it would be to use the 416Bs surrounds instead. Ahh, if the 411s would only sound right in the model 19s...
n3135x
At this point, the only written 'proof' I'm aware of that it was more than a suggestion is Altec's lack of listing any vented alignment for the 411 in their '74 DIY manual and of course practicing what they 'preached' by only offering the various 411 versions in sealed cabs.
From experience with a very early pair with the super low Fs, high Vas though, it took a fairly large cab tuned very low to keep the driver linear. When I experimented with venting them loaded in the bottom half of blocked off 825s it caused some strange fart-like noises to emanate from the surround along with some interesting looking rippling, so sealed it was.
Don't have a clue about the later versions, though I gather from Ron's experience that if you send a 411 to GPA, it comes back as some 'flavor' of 416 (or maybe even 515) performance wise, so I imagine that venting is a viable choice in many (most?) apps, making me wonder how its performance in a 411 spec cab, etc., compares to the original, especially the 9846 with its special filters.
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
So,we stick with the 30 cu ft vented box or the Altec sealed box....?
Is there one of those two options which actually does the job better?it is comments like GM's that he has heard stunning bass from these drivers that intrigue me,and make me want to get the best from these drivers.
If there had to be a compromise,I would compromise quantity in order to attain quality.
Turntable : Yamaha GT 2000 - Cartridge : Soundsmith The Voice Ebony - Phono Stage : Moon LP5.3 - Preamp : Transcendent Sound Grounded Grid - Speakers : KRK Expose E8B.
These obviously are not foam surrounds. They came from an unknown year from the Barcelona. I would think foam would be preferable for a large subwoofer? I'd hate to have them redone in foam for financial reasons and would it benefit the purpose?
n3135x
The 30 cu ft box would really be worth the effort only if you put 2-411's in each. Dual will Rule.
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