New to Altec - what to buy

[Altec Best]

Yes you are right about room size . But as A former projectionist and sound operator THe altecs with Big horns are the best HI FI souning speakers.

Same comment by another cinema installer on film tech:

quote Steve :

I'll put an Altec A-4/MR94 up against any large system or an Altec A-5/MR94 up against any smaller system any day. And as to medium horns...the MRII594 is unbeatable in my book.

What does this have to do with the OP's request ? If he can't get it past his Wife, it is irrelevant ! So I will assume these are for his home. Here is a part of his original post. Post # 1

This will be a DIY effort and horns will be built into a cabinet for WAF - thats actually the only way I can get them to pass muster - that and buying new carpet and sofa

I value HF extension and smoothness but must have SNAP in the midrange and so will use a 10" or 8" cone for that

Please help me decide based on your REAL LIFE experience which would be the best buy

Not certain if referring to a particular one, but of course not all MR's are 4 bolt.

Search Phila CL for MRII564 for decent pics of the 3 bolt example. (yes, mine).

Hi Gearfreak, all my posts have been about the MR594 II which are 4 bolt Large format Horns. I only posted them pro boxes as an example on how you can build boxes around a 511,MR594 II, horns so his wife will like them.Maybe with some veneer or a nice hardwood or furniture grade ply.


I also agree with Pano & OG ! Can't go wrong with Model 17,18, and my favorites 19's .... But he states this will be a DIY project.So I will hazard to guess a small format horn and he also mentions a 10" or 8" cone. IMO that is really small even for a small format compression driver. 12" woofer would be the smallest I would go with.

[JRKO]

Hey guys - thanks for the info so far! Its definitly for home use. My room is a typical English lounge = not big 16x12 brick all around (concrete floor & ceiling) but then again these pix show a previous pair doing a poor copy job of Altec 19's I believe. For scale Im 6'4" and in the other pic thats my lounge looking at the 12' width

Spoke to Bill at GPA who is a font of info and a really stand up guy, not even pressing me to buy new diaphragms for the pair of 902-8b's he recommended over the older variants if available. He suggested a 511b or 811b horns depending on crossover, which is nice as thats where I was leaning toward. Next stop that little online auction place..............so I am now the proud owner of a pair of 902-8b's coming from inside the UK so no import duty to pay. YAY

Next stop - horns!!

[JRKO]

But he states this will be a DIY project.So I will hazard to guess a small format horn and he also mentions a 10" or 8" cone. IMO that is really small even for a small format compression driver. 12" woofer would be the smallest I would go with.

Sorry my bad. My intention is to use a pair Eminence Beta-15A's (that I already own) for bass but they don't get too far up the freq range (eminence.com/pdf/Beta_15A.pdf) and may not play nice at 1200Hz. So I thought I'd play the JBL game and add a smaller 'mid bass' driver for more transient attack. I like these (profesional.beyma.com/pdf/10MI100E.pdf). That way the Beta-15a's could be on a plate amp each which I already have doing 30-150Hz and the 10" could manage 150-1200Hz. I could also make the Beta-15a's into separate subs for higher WAF.

Now that was my idea. Doesn't mean its right! Would the Beta-15a be ok by itself? Is 2 way better than 3? Would I be better off just buying something like (profesional.beyma.com/pdf/15MI100E.pdf)? All help appreciated

[Altec Best]

Would a pair of 416's be an option for you ? They will do 1200 Hz easily.You seem to have the HF part taken care of.Yes Bill is a good guy.His approach is to help you acheive what you want.And not try to sell you new gear at every turn.

[bowtie427ss]

And not try to sell you new gear at every turn.

In the OP's case trying to sell him on a pair of 416's would really be doing him a favor in the long run.

I'm not knocking the Eminence, they build some very fine sounding drivers.

But, the 416 is a pretty special woofer, and if the OP really wants to taste Altec, he'll find 416's bursting with flavor.

[Altec Best]

Agreed ! That's why I mentioned the 416.Especially if he is going with a pair of 902's for the HF.What I meant about Bill was if he can fix something for you for a fraction of the cost that is what he does instead of trying to push new gear on you with a much higher dollar price tag attached.Not that some of us would mind the new gear !

[Alien_Shore]

I just pulled a pair 416As out of storage and am testing them out in rather large enclosures (816A). They do sound amazing, particularly as they head upwards towards XO frequency. It's pretty astounding the range these things have.

[rontec]

I got some decent results using Eminence 15's with Altec 511 b's/808 8b's (800hz crossover) from low to moderate volumes. However for higher volumes or live sound..... The 416's would be a necessity for me. The Eminence's from my point of view seem to break up a little at higher volumes. You could use the Eminence's for now and keep your eyes open for some 416's in the future.(BTW- I would agree, the 416's are unsurpassed at low volume levels too and you would eliminate the complexity and cost of a mid-bass driver)

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

I just pulled a pair 416As out of storage and am testing them out in rather large enclosures (816A). They do sound amazing, particularly as they head upwards towards XO frequency. It's pretty astounding the range these things have.

Haha...... "rather large enclosures (816)". I like them in part because they're on the smaller side :-)

[JRKO]

The only pair of 416's for sale on that auction site are just over $900. NO WAY will I EVER get that $ past Mrs JRKO - EVER. I haven't even bought the horns yet!!! I cant listen at high volumes anyways as I have neighbours below, above, to the back and to the side of me. 4 People I cant afford to P-off

Would the Beyma 15MI100E be any better? I'm not sure really what I should be looking for in the mid/bass driver. other than the freq curve is pretty flat (within +/- 3dB) up to and past the crossover point.

What in the specs should tell me that I've found a god driver?

TNX for you help so far BTW - very much appreciated