Model 19 crossover wires, which ground goes with which color

Hello, I have a pair of model 19 crossovers that came without connecting wires. Using pictures of other crossovers for model 19s I was able to determine which solder posts to connect the wires to. Unfortunately, I can't tell which black wire goes with which colored wire. There are two rows of solder posts. One in the middle of the circuit board and one close to the end of the circuit board. Middle board has Green wire (+, LF) on third post (counting left to right). Black wire on 4th post and White wire (+ INPUT) on 5th post. Outer/end row counting left to right had black wires at 4th and 7th posts and Red (+, HF) on 10th, last post. Believe these are stock, unmodified crossovers.

Hi - use following images of an actual M19 crossover and diagram to select the correct wires. The handwritten resistor and inductor numbers correspond to the numbering in the diagram. Attachment 4764

Thank you very much for your help!!!

Wow, having trouble signing in to Hostboard every day. Anyway, I think I got it right. The 4th solder post (Left to right) on the middle row / center of board is ground for input to crossover. On the end / outer row the 4th post is ground for LF driver and the 7th post is ground for HF driver. I'm going to mark the components like you did, great idea! I tried to upload a picture but doesn't work :( Thanks again for your help!

Try reading this thread I had pictures on photobucket but the some of the links are no longer working when they went from a Free site to paid. Unfortunately I no longer have them pics..A few hard drives and a few phones ago they have been lost to the effects of time.. If I am somehow able to locate one I will post it. I drew on the picture in the paint program in windows of where the connections are made.There are still a couple pictures of the rebuilt M19 crossovers however in this thread.

https://www.hostboard.com/forums/f70...isted%20!.html

Thank you again. I was able to see some of the pictures in the other thread. I think I'm good now. I will also replace the caps and resistors since the crossovers are not installed at this point. I grew up in NJ. Caldwell and Cedar Grove before I moved to CA when I was 19. In my 30's I moved to NC and been here ever since. Bought a pair of Model 14s when I was in CA about 50 years ago and still have them today. Still sound great. Always wanted a pair of Model 19s after hearing a set at a hi-fi shop in NJ as a teenager. I have all the parts, just need cabinets now.

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  Originally Posted by steve56

  Thank you again. I was able to see some of the pictures in the other thread. I think I'm good now. I will also replace the caps and resistors since the crossovers are not installed at this point. I grew up in NJ. Caldwell and Cedar Grove before I moved to CA when I was 19. In my 30's I moved to NC and been here ever since. Bought a pair of Model 14s when I was in CA about 50 years ago and still have them today. Still sound great. Always wanted a pair of Model 19s after hearing a set at a hi-fi shop in NJ as a teenager. I have all the parts, just need cabinets now.

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If you can source a pair of M19 crossovers or a N1201-8A crossover which is the same thing will give you the correct voicing of the H811/802-8G and the 416-8B woofer for a Altec Model 19... I feel the original coils are the best sounding IMHO. I asked google a question I already knew the answer to. Just to get a widely accepted opinion on the coils inside the M19 network. Everything they made inductor wise was made in house at Altec Lansing.

Many Altec purists strongly agree that the Z19 network pushes the high frequencies too aggressively, causing a harsh or bright edge that strips away the natural warmth of the iconic Altec Lansing Model 19. The factory engineering team dialed in the original network precisely for the 811B horn and 802-8G driver combination, and sticking to it is widely considered the best way to keep that signature lifelike midrange. [1, 2, 3]
To answer your question directly: Yes, all three original chokes in the factory N1201-8A crossover are iron-core inductors.
Altec used custom-wound, small laminated iron-core chokes for all three positions (0.3 mH, 2.7 mH, and 0.77 mH) inside the original pot-metal housing. They utilized iron cores primarily to keep the physical footprint compact enough to fit inside the enclosure and to maintain the specific Direct Current Resistance (DCR) required for the circuit design. [1, 2]
Because you are preserving the original sound signature, here is the community consensus on servicing those stock chokes:

• Leave Them Alone: If you are rebuilding or refreshing your stock boards, do not replace the inductors. Unlike capacitors, these factory iron-core coils do not degrade, dry out, or drift over time. As long as the copper wire isn't physically damaged or corroded, they will perform exactly as they did in the 1970s. [1, 2, 3]
• Focus on the Caps and L-Pads: To truly wake up a tired original crossover without changing its voicing, simply swap out the dried-up factory electrolytic capacitors for high-quality film caps and clean or replace the scratchy L-pads. This restores the original factory imaging and clarity without introducing the unnatural top-end brightness of the Z19. [1, 2, 3]

• Basically you want to bypass the grounding rivets on the board that the terminal strips are attached to the board with. With direct ground wires to bypass those rivets on the board. Overtime the metal oxidizes and prevents a good ground. This mod takes care of those bad grounds. After all rivets that loosen overtime DO NOT provide for good circuit grounding. I myself noticed a considerable improvement on my Model 19's after the rebuild and ground Mod.

I started the Model 19 project many years ago. I've lived with the Model 14s since I bought them new around 1979ish. The easiest Model 19 part to find was the HF drivers. Bought them first, followed by a pair of 811B, then a pair of 511B horns. At the time someone recommended using the larger horns, but now I think I will stick with originals. Next found a pair of original LF drivers with Alnico magnets. One cone was damaged so I sent them off to Great Planes Audio and had them both reconed. That was a few years ago. The hardest part was finding a pair of original Model 19 crossovers. After a long time of not finding any, I was going to build a pair based on a recommended desing, maybe the Z19. I had started assembly when I finally found a pair of oriiginal model 19 crossovers. Only problem was all the connecting wires were removed. After searching through several images of other model 19 crossovers I was able to determine where the white, green and red wires were suppossed to be. I could also tell where the 3 black wires were suppossed to be connected but didn't know which black wire matched any of the colored wires.
I was going to replace the caps. You didn't mention the resistors, should I replace them also? I was not going to replace the inductors. I was going to try cleaning the two L-pads but not shure of the best way to clean them. Spray where? I was not aware of the grounding issue with the rivets. Replace with SS bolts if loose? What is your ground mod?
I still have to make the cabinets, so it will be a while yet before I can use them. Thanks again for your help.

Yes I did. Just to be sure check them if they are still in spec and aren't damaged you can probably reuse the old ones but i would just replace them as well.When i rebuilt them I remember having to go to a couple different places as i couldn't source them all from the same place so keep that in mind if you can't find the specific values. The ground Mod is nothing more than direct wire grounds.The grounding rivets are the rivets that ground the terminal strips to the aluminum plate that the crossovers are built on.I had done a diagram before but lost the photos awhile back.. I had them on an external hard drive that crashed and burned ! :mad: I tried to find them again on a different drive. Because when i do a backup i usually try to keep my docs & pics on multiple drives but these photos somehow got overlooked on the backup and there fore lost them when the drive went down.. I will see if i can do a quick diagram to show you.. The L-pads I replaced iirc I got them from Madisound.. Same L-Pads in the original 19 XO. They are Yung 100 watt 8 ohm attenuators/L-pads..

https://www.parts-express.com/L-Pad-...265?quantity=1

Dayton Audio - Resistors

But to get your 3.9 Ohm... Buy Jantzen Resistor 3R9 (3.9R) Ohm 10W Ceramic Wirewound 5% Tolerance


I just drew this up fast mind you... Not very pretty but all you have to do is understand it.. The round red circles are the rivets you want to bypass. I then drew redlines that your new black grounding wires will be soldered to, to complete the grounding bypass of the rivets on the terminal strip. I also posted some other pics to give you what you will need to complete an original component Model 19 XO and the parts it utilizes...

If you need original knobs you may want to check in with this guy. He is in the Netherlands and may still have some. This post was from 5/2025.

Vintage JBL/Altec/TAD/Gauss/Western Electric

https://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbm.../2026/09/1.jpgGround Bypass Mod by Altec Best, on Flickr
https://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbm.../2026/09/1.jpgModel19_XO_Schematic-1 by Altec Best, on Flickr

https://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbm.../2026/09/1.jpgModel19_XO_PartsList-1 by Altec Best, on Flickr

Also the knobs for the XO

https://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbm.../2026/09/1.jpgDSCN1281 by Altec Best, on Flickr

https://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbm.../2026/09/1.jpgDSCN1282 by Altec Best, on Flickr

Thank you so much for your help. The schematic and parts list were very helpfull. I have everything now. Looking forward to finally building the cabinets and installing the parts. Sorry for the delayed response as I forgot the password again....