A7 enclosures

[Mirrophonic Sound System]

The 820's must sound fantastic (might be Altec's BEST domestic speaker they ever made!)

...and heaviest weighing in at a backbreaking 230 lbs (shipping weight) ! And only $525 back in 1954 !

[GM]

>The 820's must sound fantastic (might be Altec's BEST domestic speaker they ever made!)
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Except for the frequency extremes, you're probably right, though the multi-cell might sound too 'phasey' for my tastes. I never had the chance to audition one, but I was so enamored of the design when I first saw a pic that I scaled it using a Pantograph and we made a 'clone' of sorts using whatever wood I scrounged up in the 'hood and some used drivers and a horn my dad got from a local repair shop. I assume they came out of a console. I eventually sold it to a classmate so I could start my A7 clones. I shudder to think how bad they would probably sound to me today, especially since my bedroom was only 10ft x 10ft and it was driven with a mid '40s AM radio with a separate RCA 45rpm 'TT', but back then I was in Hog Heaven!

I learned a lot from them though as I figured out the design basics with the help of a couple of guys in our 'hood who were into what passed for DIY HIFI. There's been a number of times over the decades that I've contemplated getting the proper drivers/horn and do one 'right', but never got around to it. A few times I've browsed ebay for an H808, but haven't found one.
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...and heaviest weighing in at a backbreaking 230 lbs (shipping weight) ! And only $525 back in 1954 !
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Yeah, that's not light, but compared to a Bozak Concert Grand it's just so-so. I got to audition some of these against A7-500-8s and in some ways I liked them better, but the price! I could have bought a new loaded 'vette for what they wanted for a pair.

Hmm, according to an on-line inflation calculator, it would increase this price 605.2%, or 6.052*$525 = $3177.30; so yeah, this is dirt cheap in today's ultra-fi market. It would probably cost this much in reconditioned parts/materials to do a replica.

GM

[aeyb701]

Hi all:
On the topic of A7 clones I am getting a pair shipped from Winnipeg to Peterborough, with 511B/808/and Scorpion 15-inch woofers, built for the road, for 200 bucks freight. They were on Kijiji.
I would like to try my 416-8b's/ and 802-8G or 902-8T's in them.
I have a pair of N-801-8a's and 1285 Xovers.

Question:
Is it unfathomable to use an 800-Hz xover with the 511B's, or should it be set at 500Hz using the 1285's?

I don't know how I'll "casually" unveil them to my significant other and I may store them somewhere a while till the opportunity presents itself..."Oh these, they were at the sally ann for a couple sawbucks so I just popped them into the back of the Jetta one day..." not bloody likely I suppose!

Thanks for comments offered.
Jon Archibald,
Indian River ON

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

Originally posted by aeyb701:
Hi all:
On the topic of A7 clones

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It would be better to start a new thread than to add a post to a thread that is 3+ years old.

[Old Guy]

800 hz xover for the 511's is no problem. Whether you like 800 or 500 better is up to you.

I am assuming these are for stereo at home? The aluminum diaphragms don't live long at 500 in pro use. The 808 can be converted to 802 specs, search the threads here if you want to do that.