Altec 803B Multicell Horn in home use??

Hello dear Altec-users,

this is my first here.
My name is Jonas and I'm from Germany, I'm 19 years old and I'm going to build up my own Voice Of The Theatre system pretty soon.
Because there was a chance to get the 803B Multicell horns I bought them and I also have Altec 288D drivers.
The other part of my A5 consists of original American 828B cabinets with a A416WVL woofer. This is a field coil speaker manufactured by the German Wolf von Langa.
My first crossover will by like the Hiraga A5 for the start and will maybe improved.

My taste of music is blues and psychedelic of the 60's and I hardly listen to anything else but records.

My question:
My room has sth about 23m?, sorry I will compare it to inch etc later.. :o
The listening distance is ca. 3 meters.
Will this work with the 803B horn? Or would a 805 or 1005 horn do a better job on that?


Best of luck,
Jonas

Welcome to the forum - and congratulations on your rig. You're starting out right!

I am listening to the 803B horns right now at about 3m distance and they are fine. The 803 is a very directional horn, very tight - so it does not splash off the wall much. The 1505 that Hiraga uses is much wider - and I think a bit flatter at the top end. The 803B will play lower, but drops off at the top end. so the crossover for the 1505 is not ideal for the 803, although it is a good place to start.

Anyhow, the 803 is a great start and is often much cheaper than the 1005 or the 1505.

just FYI - I'm the guy who helped Mr. Hiraga rebuild those A5s. See my avatar. Of course that was a few years before you were born! =)

Welcome Jonas there are alot of knowledgeable guys here that will help you at the Altec site.Your starting off with a very nice project good luck with it and have fun. :)

Hello,

thank you for your answers.
Do you may have a solution for the crossover?
I heared somewhere that there is the possibility to raise the treble of the speaker.
Or should I better look for a tweeter?
Which tweeter is recommended for Altec use?

Hi Jonas,
Hiraga used JBL tweeters. The bullet or the slot type. Seemed to work well.
With the 300Hz horn you won't get a lot of high end, that's why the 500Hz horns are more popular. The 1005 seems the most popular for home use.
The published Hiraga A5 crossover has a high freq. boost for the horn.

Nothing wrong with adding a tweeter. Look for the JBL 2402, 2404 or 2405.
I'm sure the guys here can give Altec suggestions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

With the 300Hz horn you won't get a lot of high end, that's why the 500Hz horns are more popular

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What does that mean?
Does it mean it doesn't sound good or it is not popular in home use?

The 300Hz horns do not have as much treble as the 500Hz horns. Mostly because they are longer hrons. So you need to use a lower crossover point with your tweeter to get enough treble. On the 500Hz horns you can almost get away with no tweeter. I often did for live gigs.

The 300Hz horns sound great, no problem. But as you have found, they are BIG. (Imagine the 1803) So they are not as popular for home use. I think that the 1005 is very sought after because it is a "good size" for home use. Not too giant, but big enough to sound great.

The 803B is a great place to start - I love mine. But you WILL need a tweeter, that's all.
You should measure your 288/803 to see at what frequency you need to bring in the tweeter. It should be somewhere in the region of 5K-8K.

So I say start with the 803. Keep your eyes open for a good deal on a 1005, or even the 1505, if you have room for it. Who knows, you may be so happy with the 803 that you will forget any other horn. :D

Once I get a pair of throats from ePay last week I may try 803B horns suspended pointing downward at an angle a foot or so from the ceiling. The 825/515's will be directly below them on the floor. My reason for this is the 803's are deeper than the cabs and if voice coils are to be aligned the horn would stick out over the front of the bass horn. I could also use the real estate atop the 825's for other things.
Anyone else tried horns hung rather than the usual way?
Jon A.

I think I need your help for the crossover.

I Have 16 Ohms 288 driver and 8 Ohms woofer.
I could buy a JBL 2405 with 16 Ohms.

But which crossover layout sounds nice?
Does anybody have experience on that issue?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aeyb701

I may try 803B horns suspended pointing downward at an angle a foot or so from the ceiling. .

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Funny - I've been thinking of the same thing. Would sure be nice. And I want to do them on pulleys (12' ceiling) so that I can hoist them out of the way.
Only trouble is - where to put them? I have not found the ideal spot for the bass cabs yet.


Jonas. Use the 16 ohm section of the published crossover for your 288s, and the 8 ohm section for your woofers.
You can buy any of the JBL tweeters you want. 16 ohm might me a littler easier, that's all. But the tweeter crossover can be calculated for 8 or 16. It could be as simple as 1 cap and 1 resistor.

Just know that as Jon notes above, the 803 horns are long, so to get them lined up right with your woofers the front of the horn will stick out beyond the front of the cab. There are crossover tricks to get around this, more on that later.