Best sounding combination for Altec 416A

[mekr]

I am a new member of Altec club,who knew nothing about these speakers when a friend of mine bought Altec 416A for me from chennai,india previously used in theatres ,these were reconed with new cones from GPA and then i started my quest on the net for lifelike,non fatiguing and delicate sound ,hence i am asking members to advice me which other speakers shall be going for my requirement of delicate HF and delicious mids,Even i read about mids from Altec 755A but these are too expensive,kindly advice whether i should go for any combination other than 416 or any matching driver with 416.
i have read about great sound of Altec 7 and Altec 19

[voice of the theater]

I am a new member of Altec club,who knew nothing about these speakers when a friend of mine bought Altec 416A for me from chennai,india previously used in theatres ,these were reconed with new cones from GPA and then i started my quest on the net for lifelike,non fatiguing and delicate sound ,hence i am asking members to advice me which other speakers shall be going for my requirement of delicate HF and delicious mids......

If you've got a pair of 416A's that were reconed by GPA--you've basically got a brand new pair of 416's--a great pair of woofers!. If I were building a speaker system around a new pair of 416's, I'd stick close to the Altec Model 19 design--one of the best (416 based) speaker systems ever made IMHO. If you decide to go this route, I would recommend a new pair of GPA 902 High Frequency Drivers to go with your "new" woofers (great sounding, affordable h.f. drivers that come with brand new factory installed diaphragms), and buy a used pair of Altec 811B horns. The horns are easy to find (inexpensive too) on ebay. Here's a couple of examples:

ALTEC H-811B HIGH FREQUENCY HORN...................(L.B - eBay (item 370450489530 end time Nov-26-10 13:34:47 PST)ALTEC H-811B HIGH FREQUENCY HORN...................(L.B - eBay (item 370450489530 end time Nov-26-10 13:34:47 PST)

Altec H-811B Black Horn 2 AVAILABLE good! - eBay (item 280568272162 end time Nov-27-10 14:58:37 PST)

You'll need a couple of crossovers of course, I'd recommend either buy used Model 19 crossovers from ebay etc. (or build new ones---schematics are available on this forum if you do a search) or build a pair of Zilch Z19 crossovers. IF you go this route you'll want to build Model 19 cabinets--here's a link to the plans:

Vintage Altec Lansing Model 19 Cabinet PlansVintage Altec Lansing Model 19 Cabinet Plans

Keep in mind that you've got 16 ohm woofers so you'll have to do a slight mod to get them to work correctly with those crossovers--that info is also here on this forum if you do a search for it. Best of luck with this project--please let us know what you choose to do with your 416's and if possible post some photos of your project and your impressions of the finished speaker systems. You'll find there are many very knowledgeable/helpful people (more knowledgeable than me) here on this board--you've come to the right place. Welcome aboard! :welcome:

[DNV47]

You mentioned the 755A driver and that could be a clue that maybe your not sure what your looking for in speaker sonics or even type. Electrostat, high efficiency bass reflex, acoustic suspenison, etc.

The 755A or B are usually sought after by people that believe one full range speaker without a crossover sounds better and the popular mounting is an open baffle.

Open Baffle

These drivers can sound very nice in the mids but they lack lower bass and upper treble so they really aren't "full range" but if the mids are the most important thing to you, they work.
They aren't very efficient and I think it would be a mistake to try and use them along with the much more efficient Altec or JBL drivers because of level matching problems. (SPL)
A pair of older Electro Voice 8 inch cones like the SP8 or LS8 would probably work better and I liked them better than the 755B's I once had.

There's also a question of dynamics or impact. The 755's do not have the same impact as the Altec drivers and they don't sound as fast or sharp. You used the word "delicate" and I'd say the 755's are more delicate sounding than Altec Drivers but that would apply to the EV drivers too.

If you want to use the 416A's, I'd follow Voice of the Theaters advice and mate them with 902's or even one of the 802's with 811 horns and a model 19 xover.
BMS is also a popular HF driver and I think it might be the 4550 that some people have used with Altec woofers and it's high frequency response goes beyond the Altec but I don't know if it sounds like an Altec driver or not.
The Altec 806 driver will work but the high frequency extension isn't good.

The model 19 xover is an equalizer of sorts and it tames the mids while boosting the highs and it's very effective but if you have 16 ohm woofers the values of the components in the xover will have to be adjusted for best results as Voice already said.

The 19's can sound very smooth and life like but there is an element of punchy dynamics present and I wonder if you wouldn't be happy with a pair of Altec or GPA 604's?

I once had an early 1950's Altec 604 and I can see why they are loved so much but I prefer the more full and dynamic sound sound of the Model 19's.

[GM]

If you've got a pair of 416A's that were reconed by GPA--you've basically got a brand new pair of 416's--a great pair of woofers!. If I were building a speaker system around a new pair of 416's, I'd stick close to the Altec Model 19 design--one of the best (416 based) speaker systems ever made IMHO.

Mike/panomanic sure didn't and even in a sealed alignment his took around 17 ft^3, so no way his would work well in the M19, so I strongly recommend these drivers be accurately measured before choosing an alignment other than OB.

Even if they were original, the 803B/416A wants at least a 10 ft^3 cab for good reflex loading at rated power and preferably more, so the M19 would still be a bit small and tuned a bit too high which means a smaller vent which in turn means a lower low distortion power handling and higher F3. Not many 'free lunches' in speaker design.

GM

[voice of the theater]

Mike/panomanic sure didn't and even in a sealed alignment his took around 17 ft^3, so no way his would work well in the M19, so I strongly recommend these drivers be accurately measured before choosing an alignment other than OB.

Even if they were original, the 803B/416A wants at least a 10 ft^3 cab for good reflex loading at rated power and preferably more, so the M19 would still be a bit small and tuned a bit too high which means a smaller vent which in turn means a lower low distortion power handling and higher F3. Not many 'free lunches' in speaker design.

GM

Well, at least I was right about one thing--see my quote below.....:doh:

.....You'll find there are many very knowledgeable/helpful people (more knowledgeable than me) here on this board.....

[LICORNE]

For a simpler system but just as HI FI as you can get. THe Valencia model which is the home version of the Altec A7 VOTT.

THe plans: available "simpler than model 19"
The crossover :simple to make
THe horn: EBAY 811 or GPA 511
The driver :GPA 909


Don't put all your savings in a sound system is my advice.

Amps pro: Krell,Mckintosh, Chord.

Will work well with Marantz, The new Sony, Harman.

[Altec Best]

Well, at least I was right about one thing--see my quote below.....:doh:

Quote:
Originally Posted by voice of the theater
.....You'll find there are many very knowledgeable/helpful people (more knowledgeable than me) here on this board.....

:laffingassoff: :2thumbsup: Funny stuff there.

[GM]

For a simpler system but just as HI FI as you can get. THe Valencia model which is the home version of the Altec A7 VOTT.

Again, being even smaller than the M19, this cab is potentially way too small for GPA 416A re-cones for high SQ (referenced to the original) in a typical room if not ~aperiodically loaded, i.e. ~stuffed with the attendant relatively high F3 - F10 roll off.

GM

[GM]

The 19's can sound very smooth and life like but there is an element of punchy dynamics present.........

Tuning the cab lower will smooth them out further for a 'tighter'/'faster', more HIFI response similar to what one gets if loading them with 515Bs.

GM

[mekr]

Thanks for the information,a friend suggested to go for 360 litre Onken cabinet of 25mm birch ply with 511 horns and HF driver