Just to let any Aussie members know...I have just listed my 19's for sale in the classified section. Hopefully someone here can look after them before I put them on E-Bay.
Thanks,
John
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Just to let any Aussie members know...I have just listed my 19's for sale in the classified section. Hopefully someone here can look after them before I put them on E-Bay.
Thanks,
John
Hey John are they still for sale.;)Quote:
Originally Posted by J Henry
AB, I suppose I should give some background to this story for the benefit of others.Quote:
Originally Posted by Altec Best
Over a 12 month period I have been putting together a set of custom speakers loosely based on a set of Klipsch La Scala's, with my 19's as a reference to guide me, as I have always loved the sound of vintage Altec's.....I was hoping to build something better.
Initially they were stock LS & the 19's just blew them away & so I began my quest to improve them. Over the next 12 months I made substantial & expensive changes to them to the point where they weren't really LS any more & finally they began to overtake the 19's. (I'm talking timber tractrix horns, custom crossovers, new drivers, changes to cabinet design, etc).
Eventually the 19's were relegated to the spare room & hence the decision to sell them, even though they have a special place in my heart.
I'd tried all the normal upgrades & did the horn dampening, replaced the L Pads with fixed resistors, replaced the foam surrounds, but still they weren't cutting it.
Prior to my decision to sell them I had ordered new capacitors & so they duly arrived & I put them with the 19's to pass on to the new owner. AB tactfully hinted that I should try the new caps before letting them go, but I was reluctant. Because I had done so much upgrading & tinkering over the last year, maybe I was tired of the whole process...I don't know. Anyway, something just said to me....give these old girls another go.
THESE 19'S AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE!!
This is the single biggest difference I have made to these speakers.
And how would I describe it?
Before they were that typical Altec vintage sound....warm, a bit rough around the edges, yet still engaging & somehow real. Certainly not what a hi- fi addict would call quality sound.
Now the bass still has that warm quality to it (which I love) & that typical Altec growl, the mids & tops are astonishing. They have a quality to them now that I have never heard before, a real clarity & crispness without any glare or harshness. And an inner detail that I believe you can only get with top quality drivers performing at their best....& these are certainly now performing at their best.
Compared to my past reference they are another leap forward again...which says wonders for the gains made.
So, thanks to all those on this forum who provided some good tips & especially to AB for making me persevere & getting me a brand new pair of Altec Model 19's!
Thanks John !!! As a model 19 owner with the same X-over upgrade I just thought that you should really give yourself the opportunity, the pleasure of hearing the 19 with the 19 X-over on steroids :D.As I too was blown away by the clarity and presence of detail that I just thought I had to do my best to try and convince you to do the upgrade since you already had the caps in hand.I remember how I felt when I put the rebuilds into them and just wanted to pass a long that feeling.:2thumbsup: It is just such a simple way of getting the most out of them.I just thought I would give you a few subtle hints ;) CONGRATULATIONS !! Kind Regards ~ JohnQuote:
Originally Posted by J Henry
Wow, cool! Thanks for the update JH.
So, ultimately, highly modified PA speakers could not "best" Altec's flagship hifi speaker?:2thumbsup:
Whodathunkit?:doh:
Why am i not surprised?:snickerpup:
Just out of curiosity what caps did you order and where from?
Anthony
He used Solens. Hey John now just put a few watts into them and watch them really sing. ;)
Hey John did you have to change any of the resistors or was that just the caps and ground lug bypass ???
Well I was totally floored....to be fair though, the modified LS has more accurate, cleaner, & punchier bass, which I still like very much. It's just that it's hard to go past that Altec growl. The mids & tops of the 19's however are on a different level again.Quote:
Originally Posted by bowtie427ss