Will the real CONE KIT please stand up?

[dennis gilliam]

During the "old" era, all woofer kits were different and numbered as such. During the EVI era, if you wanted to do up a 15"er, you got a generic kit from them that was supposed to do 416's, 515's, 604's and 904's. What gives--Is that dictum still in force? If not, what is the salient difference between the cones in say a 416 and a 515? I mean the virtual difference, not limited to a part number. I have a number of older kits, and would like to use them in the proper context.

DG

[David Deratany]

Bill H once spelled out the differences for me, but I don't have that info on this pc. If I remember correctly, the 604 and 604B had a phenolic spider, later ones an accordian type spider possibly made of rubber, the B & C had paper surrounds, D and later had pleated surrounds. The parts were interchangeable for the most part, so my b's were done with D/E cones which may be the same as 515 cones, when Altec/EVI ran out of "b" kits. Bill H now has "original" "b" kits for those who want to go back.

[marcuswilson]

If ypu are exchanging kits, be careful of voice coil lengths and positions. The distance from the spider to the centre of the coil varies and the length of the coil varies. The length of the pole pieces also vary with different models. The spider mounting can be shimmed to centre the voice coil sometimes. I have had to shim spiders on some 515s to take later kits.

[Steve Burger]

Hi, this is Jim D, I'm over at Steve's place. The 604E-G-H-K-L the 803B, 416A-B-C-E-Z, 515B-C-D-E 605A & B, all use the same accordian edge cone. It has changed vendors several times and may look different. The 515 (early) 803/803A, 603, 604-604B-C-D all use he same papere edge cone. Many of these paper edge units have been replaced by the above accordian edge cones. A controversy exists with the 604D as it was not a regular catalog item. Those that exist were specially made to order, mostly for studios. From the original ones I have seen, all have paper edges. I was told by an old ALTEC employee that the 604D was kind of a prototype for the 604E with the later suspension but was green like the C. The viewed units seem to be identical to the C, but have a different crossover, quite possibly the 605 1600Hz unit. There does seem to have been some consolodation of the cone kits, but quite possibly the original differences were minor or just duplications. I will try to find out more, at a later date. As Steve likes to say, More will be revealed. Jim

[airboss]

All of the drivers mentioned so far exclude the 605A. There are a pair of them currently listed on the e-bay. Are surrounds and replacement parts available for them?

[Steve Burger]

yep. This is Steve not Jim D this time replying so I am likely to get corrected by the real experts. I may be in danger of over simplifiying but I believe the main difference is the 802 horn driver in the 604 was replaced with the 806 which is a little smaller and a little less sensitive and the 515 woofer of the 604 was replaced by the 416 when they came out with the 605. All of the parts are available from Bill Hanuschack at Great Plains Audio in Oklahoma City. I often will buy something that I know is dead. I then Email Bill it is coming his way. Then have the person I buy from include a note inside with the product stating exactly what I want done and to send it on to me. I think it drives Bill a little crazy but he always comes through. By doing that I save a lot of shipping costs. This is especially true when shipping from the East Coast.

[dennis gilliam]

I still have a question on the difference at this point: Given the same kit load for a 515B (and later) and 416B (and later again), and they have the same frame, is all that's different is the magnet Gauss level? Is this all that sets the response in certain cabs?

Maybe the surround compliance with or without coating?

It seems that if the magnet is the big deal, this would be quite the argument for field coil setups!

DG out

[paart]

First "real" speaker I ever owned was a field coil speaker--a 15 inch Jensen "Special" as I recall. When I first got it, I thought it was a great idea, but quickly lost enthusiasm. I powered the field coil the way that it was usually done at the time---as an amplifier power supply choke, and found that the field coil was a significant source of hum! It also made a fair amount of heat. Although these problems could be overcome, I suspect that the additional manufacturing cost would kill any thoughts of producing this design for any general use.

[brianlee59]

I'm looking for ALTEC 604B recone kit.
Pleasse help me!

[rghinton]

I have an 803B woofer and an 803A woofer that need to be reconed. If I have them both reconed by Bill in OKCY with a 515B cone with the accordion edge will they be a matched pair or is there some difference in the frame, voice coil gap, magnet structure, etc?
My second question is that there is a ring screwed to the outside edge of the speaker that holds down the outside edge of the accordion edge. This ring is on both of my speakers and there is no gasket. Why was the speaker made this way and how is the speaker sealed to the baffle?