New Heathkit AS101 owner - First post.

[voice of the theater]

I think I'm going to squirrel away some nuts and berries for a pair of 604-8H-IIIs from Bill. I can build my own cabs. They'd make a nice shop speaker. I do spend lots of time out there.

I want a set for the bedroom as well. I probably don't have room for a 15" driver cab. Maybe a 12". If the bi-amping experiment does not work out, I'll have a pair of 1W 300B OTL monoblocks without a home. I thought a bedroom system, where the volume would normally be very low, would be perfect for them. Didn't Altec make a 12" Duplex too? Like you, I'm hooked on horns.

I'll bet those GPA 604-8H-III's sound phenomenal--they've even got (the modern version of) Tangerines. To answer your question, yes, Altec made multiple 12" duplexes. Most of them were lower quality (IMHO) ceiling speakers, but they did make the 601's which were nice hi-fi/studio monitor speakers. They pop up once in a while on craigslist and Ebay etc. Here are a couple of links.....

http://altecpro.com/pdfs/vintage/Spe...20Speakers.pdf

2 Vintage Altec 601C Speakers in Barzilay Walnut Cabinets N 3000 E Crossovers | eBay

They also made the 601-8D which wasn't as good IIRC.....

http://altecpro.com/pdfs/vintage/Spe...%20Speaker.pdf

GPA also makes a 12" duplex with a single magnet which I haven't heard but doesn't seem to have the extended bandwidth I'd want. I really don't know much about the 212-8A's though....

http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/downloads/212_8A.pdf

[alancohen]

I HATE MOVING!

Now back to your regularly scheduled broadcast....

[cbb]

Anyone have any thoughts as to the effect the old burlap sacks, I mean, grills are having on the sound?
I have mine in a 2.1 home theater set up but wonder how much better they would sound with a modern, acoustically transparent, grill.

Pain to remove though as the whole speaker would have to be disassembled...

Great dynamics and power but I doubt they will ever "disappear".

[alancohen]

Anyone have any thoughts as to the effect the old burlap sacks, I mean, grills are having on the sound?
I have mine in a 2.1 home theater set up but wonder how much better they would sound with a modern, acoustically transparent, grill.

Pain to remove though as the whole speaker would have to be disassembled...

Great dynamics and power but I doubt they will ever "disappear".

Sectoral horns can be fairly directional. The heavily twined burlap might serve to break that up a bit. I put a cheap plastic grille in front of my TangBand full range speakers and it did just that. The "sweet spot" widened more than a little.

I think making them disappear will be more a function of the room than anything else. You can make almost any speaker image better by careful placement, acoustic treatment and seating position.

[alancohen]

Still alive. Still moving...

The end is in sight, but the unpacking and subsequent organizating is daunting. I finally found a good reason for a wife. Anyone know where I can rent one for a few weeks? I'm hoping to be done by Spring.

But I did manage to get a make shift system set up. Just the 15W OTL, preamp, Heathkits and Pandora from my cablebox. As the space is filling up, the sound is getting better. With the volume on 1 it fills this large space with sound. I still need window and sliding door treatments, but so far I am very happy. The sound doesn't suck, as a matter of fact it is quite good. I still need to get the bass right and limit the first reflections, but I'm hopeful I can get it working right.

Unfortunately, I do not have a dedicated room for audio and will have to make compromises in order to be able to live in the space as well as listen to music.

[alancohen]

Update: Most of the passive XO system is set up as it was before. No time to fool with the Behringer and bi-amping yet.

But the news is: My oldest son (17) is a bit of a thespian. I am not a musical fan in the least. As a matter of fact my tendency is to cringe when the singing starts.

But my son's participation has coaxed my into the theater to see every performance he has ever done and who da thunk it, but I'm converted. He suggested we go see Les Miz, The Movie and of course I went. I have never seen it before and as a matter of fact haven't been on Broadway since Grease in the 70s. I was surprised that it is more an opera than a musical. As I'm typing this I am streaming the soundtrack from Pandora, through my Mac Mini, Dragonfly DAC and 15W OTL on my Heathkits and enjoying it immensely. Of course the sound is astounding, but I'm actually enjoying show tunes for the first time in my life.

Help!!

[Earl K]

Update: Most of the passive XO system is set up as it was before. No time to fool with the Behringer and bi-amping yet.

Thanks for the updates Alan .

- I never saw mentioned ( maybe I just lost track ), but did you ever install both of those GPA 802G drivers ? If so, how did you get them to fit ?

- What developments have occurred to date with your passives ? ( ie; are these currently new builds, just 30923 pads or are you running the stock networks as you found them ) ?

Glad you're enjoying those AS101's .