Hi,
I just acquired a pair of Altec 3870. I am a small time collector of vintage audio gear but I am new to Altec speakers so I know nothing about them and information seems to be very scarce. Can someone here tell me about them? What I know now is that they were one owner speakers which is probably why the cabinets are in great shape, not even a single water ring on top and they haven't been shipped across the country. They are a 2 way sealed cabinet and the woofers are great but neither tweeter works. They sound fair even without the tweeter, bass heavy of course but they surprised me. Are the tweeters available, or a real good replacement? Any info would be appreciated. (I am not looking for what they are worth because I probably paid too much and I am keeping them.)
Thanks
The woofer is actually the 420A bi-flex extended range speaker, some folks really like these. The tweeter was made most likely by CTS, but i've also seen some made by becker(i probably have a couple pair stashed around here somewhere). The phenolic ring tweeter available from parts express is a suitable replacement, and some suggestions for a better replacement have also been made here recently in this thread: OT: Reproduction Phenolic Ring Tweeter Suits Altec
Not all vegetables make good leaders.
Thank you very much for the quick reply. You nailed it, that is the exact extended range woofer in it, no wonder it gets by with having a woofer that big and then only a tweeter with no mid. That is amazing, no information on the speaker model but tons of information on the woofer. Do you happen to know the crossover frequency? The tweeter is in a 3 7/8 inch diameter recess on mine so neither of the tweeters mentioned in that other thread fit without modifications plus I noticed they are 4 ohm, is that correct for this speaker? The tweeter itself is 3 13/16 inches with 4 holes on a 3 3/8 inch circle. I hesitate to do modifications if it isn't necessary but I am capable of doing it myself if it is best for it. How much for the original replacements you might have? What would be best for the sound quality, originals or newer replacements? I did pull one tweeter out and on the back it says: "30685-3" at the top, "137" on the left, "7548" on the right and "Mexico" on the bottom, that doesn't sound very impressive to me. I couldn't get a DC resistance on it - open circuit. If I have to modify the front baffle I might as well get what would be best for it even if it meant making a rectangular hole for a horn or something. I didn't remove the woofer, it looks like you have to pull the front baffle because the woofer is mounted to the inside surface and the front baffle is the only place that has screws. I imagine it is sealed so I put that off until required. Again, thank you for the info.
i'd love to hear a set of biflexes. besides the 755s
Sonic Barbarian
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