Altec 604 vs. 605

[korneluk]

Folks,

Soundwise, how does the 605B compare to the 604E? These will be used in an OB positioned near corners.

TIA,

-- jos? k.

[Tom Brennan]

All I can say is that my 605As sound very good but in vented boxes.

Not what you asked but I figured I'd say something.

[Old Guy]

Gootta pretty much agree with Tom

Both are very good.

How does a Porsche drive compared to a Ferrari?

Ask 20 automotive experts, you will likely get 20 different answers. At some point, your toys get personal. Which makes objectivity impossible.

The 605 was I believe intended to replace the 604, it has smaller magnets, all this in trying to reduce cost.

But the design is good, What happened is several large corporate buyers kept ordering the 604.
Not privy to inside politics at Altec during the period, but I believe those orders resulted in the "E" model.

I think either is going to be more than adequate, final choice I would feel is more a personal than technical issue.
If you already had one, I wouldn't sell it to buy the other.

My personal choice in Duplexes would be the last Alnico Tangerine model. But then there is a saying about opinions....

[valhallax]

it was my understanding that the 605 were comparable to the 416 series driver, and the 604 were akin to the 515? please correct me if im wrong..while the 416 plays lower and the 515 is great for midrange..again i may be mistaken.

[speakerdave]

This history is available on the Lansing Heritage website. As I recall, the 605 was devised as a way of cutting costs, as OG says, but it was proffered as an upgrade in sound. People with ears didn't believe it. The reaction to this obfustication was such that Tannoy and JBL gained a permanent advantage in the monitor market and the 604E and subsequent models were an attempt to correct the error.

The 605 is like an 806 mounted on a 416, while the 604 is like an 802 mounted on a 515. That should tell you pretty much what the story is. There are people who prefer the 416 to the 515, especially for bass reflex, and there are people who say they do not hear a difference between the 806 (or 804) and the 802.

I listened to the 604 8G for a long time, but I've never heard the 605, so I cannot comment on a comparison of the sound. Both models would, I should think, offer the inherent advantages of the coaxial design, and some have pointed out that because of the smaller magnets the axial offset of the 605 is less. I think, however, that it is generally understood that, other things being equal, a stronger magnetic field for the woofer will provide better definition into the midrange, and that is crucial for a coaxial in which the woofer must carry up to about 1500 Hz well. And a stronger magnetic field in the compression driver will provide greater extension into the high frequencies, other things being equal. Whether these differences would be critical enough to any particular individual to justify the additional cost of the 604 would have to be answered by the individual.

David

[jmarkwart]

korneluk,

speakerdave pretty well hit the nail on the head. I've listened to both and felt the 605 compression driver had much less headroom on transients than the 604 due to its 50% less magnet weight; however they both can be fatiguing without Mid Freq EQ if they are cranked up. The other thing you will notice is that the amp drive has to be turned up 6dB on a 605B to keep up with a 604E.

Jeff