Differences between the 806, 807, & 808

[Ronald Lee]

After reading the "Difference Between 806 and 802 Drivers," and now I am thoroughly confused.

I know that the 802 is the extended freq response driver, but why are there so many different versions of the 806, 807, 808?

[bowtie427ss]

806 = .8lb magnet, aluminum tangential surround diaphragm, standard compression driver load in most 800hz Altec speaker systems from the early 60's thru the early 70's. 806A is usually found as 16ohm with 806-8A being the 8 ohm version, those are the two most commonly found examples.

807 = .8lb magnet, symbiotic diaphragm/loading cap, some OEM examples may have had solder tabs instead of binding posts.

808 = 1.2lb magnet, symbiotic diaphragm/loading cap, usually found in sound reinforcement/high output applications where small format compression drivers were used

FWIW, in reference to the other thread, i don't consider the 23746 driver to specifically be an 806-8A(Brad enlightened me to this idea a while back), it's simply a "23746" specifically designed for the few speaker systems in which it was used. Since in many cases the difference between models of compression drivers has to do specifically with the diaphragm load, we probably should not call a 23746 an 806-8A since it does not contain an 806-8A diaphragm load.

Just my .02........................ don't quote me as the last word but i think this is a reasonable summary

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

808 = 1.2lb magnet, symbiotic diaphragm/loading cap, usually found in sound reinforcement/high output applications where small format compression drivers were used

I didn't realize the 808 had a larger magnet......... I thought it was the same as the others but non-tangerine, and symbiotic. I knew there was a driver or two with a smaller magnet, but thought it was an exception........ but it looks like the larger magnet of the 808 is the exception...... or am I confused? Is there a driver with a still smaller magnet (less than .8lbs)

I've got a pair of 808-8a out of 1221a monitors.

[bowtie427ss]

I didn't realize the 808 had a larger magnet......... I thought it was the same as the others but non-tangerine, and symbiotic. I knew there was a driver or two with a smaller magnet, but thought it was an exception........ but it looks like the larger magnet of the 808 is the exception...... or am I confused? Is there a driver with a still smaller magnet (less than .8lbs)

I've got a pair of 808-8a out of 1221a monitors.

Change the diaphragm load in an 808 to a 34647 and no loading cap add felt damping, and you now have an 802.

[Ronald Lee]

Wow, I am surprised and "kind of/sort of" glad that I am not the only one confused.

So in what applications were the 806, 807, & 808s used in. Since these drivers had a somewhat restricted freq range, ie Altec rated them to 15kHZ, but I bet it was only really usable to 10kHz(AM radio quality at best), I supposed they were used mostly in custom voice PA systems in small areas.

BTW: did the 808s have Altec's plastic Tangerine phase plug(cheaper) rather than the machined circumferential(more expensive) phase plug?

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

BTW: did the 808s have Altec's plastic Tangerine phase plug(cheaper) rather than the machined circumferential(more expensive) phase plug?

I beleive the B's were Tangerine. My A's are the cast/machined/metal type.

[bowtie427ss]

So in what applications were the 806, 807, & 808s used in.

806's in large quantities were used in various home systems like, but not limited to Valencias, and Flamencos. They were vended to Heathkit for use in the AS-101, and many were also used by Seeburg for their DDS1 and DSW2 jukebox extension speakers. They were also used in some of the monitors such as 9844, and 9845. I have even seen 806's painted in Jack Frazier's trademark blue along with labels of his own brand. I think PWK even used small format Altec drivers in his early days, but that might have been the 802 as the few added db of sensitivity would probably be necessary in a K-horn.

807 and 808 drivers were available as "off the shelf" raw components as well as being used in quantity in the Altec 12XX series of sound reinforcement and stage monitor speakers, favored for their "ruggedness" where HF extension was a less critical factor. While they may not look impressive on paper or in terms of hifi, i can vouch for the 1234 speaker being surprisingly good at playback of recorded music. Of course they'll play bloody loud, but they sound surprisingly good doing it.

[gvasale]

My $0.02, I doubt you'll get past 3khz with am radio. I think the spec may call for wider bandwidth, but its been to many years for me to remember

[Old Guy]

Supposedly 802/806 are not symbiotik and 807/808 are.

But if you believe that I own some prime swamp land...Altec did some odd things.

[bowtie427ss]

But if you believe that I own some prime swamp land...Altec did some odd things.

..................... and even memorialized a few.

I should mention that all evidence points to these particular drivers(from 9846's) having been originally fitted with tangential surround aluminum phragms from the factory. But, those foilcals are the genuine article from circa 1974.