Mystery Diaphragms

I'm sure they're only a mystery to me! I've been doing spring cleaning lately and sold a bunch of stuff I don't use anymore on craigslist--two old TV's, two VCR's, a graphic Equalizer, Alesis Digital Effects Unit, DBX stereo compressor/limiter/gate, etc. Everything sold pretty quickly as I listed them at very reasonable prices.... Anyways, I've already sold all the Altecs that I don't use anymore over the last couple of years (a pair of Valencias 846A, Heathkit/(Altec) AS 101's, Altec Model 9's, Altec P.A. speakers in home brew cabs (511 horns, 806 drivers, 421 woofers...). Well, during my spring cleaning I found two more pieces of Altec gear that I don't use anymore and one of them has me slightly mystified. I found an old Symbiotik (working) diaphragm tucked away in a cupboard in my recording studio. As soon as I saw it, I remembered where/when it was from. Back in the 90's, when I was playing in my first band, I had a pair of Altec P.A. speakers with 807-8A drivers in them. I remember that I blew a diaphragm in one of them at a gig, and when I called Altec (I think it must have been Altec Pro in Oklahoma -- I just remember it was a toll free 800 number), they had replacement diaphragms available much to my relief. I ordered two brand new diaphragms even though I had only blown one as I am kind of compulsive (neurotic?) that way. Whenever I've had to replace something speaker related for stereo use, I always buy replacement parts in two's and replace both the working unit and non working unit as I know a brand new part will sound different than an old one and I need my stereo speakers to sound as identical as possible. Anyways, the replacement diaphragms they sent me were 34726 diaphragms--they worked great and after installing both of them myself, I did an A/B comparison and my speakers still sounded identical to each other and sounded as good as they did before I blew the diaphragm as far as I could tell back then. When I sold those Altec PA speakers (over 10 years ago), both 34726's went with them of course. This diaphragm is the non-blown, working diaphragm from the 807-8A's that I used to own. I remember throwing the bad one away and keeping the good one (I'll bet I could have saved the bad one by soldering the blown lead--oh well, live and learn!). I just examined it today and the leads look good--not bent at right angles, instead just a gentle curve. I noticed that the part number on it is 21545 and that is where I am stumped--I had forgotten that it's a different number than the replacement diaphragms I purchased. I just looked at the parts replacement chart at GPA's website, and sure enough, the 34726 is the replacement diaphragm for the 807-8A---so Altec Pro did right for me back in the 90's (which is fortunate, because I had very little clue as to what I was doing--all I really knew was that I loved the sound of Altecs!). I can't find any listing for this diaphragm -- a 21545. My questions for the experts here are: is this the correct diaphragm for the 807-8A? Also, is it the original diaphragm for the 807-8A? Is it the original diaphragm for any other Altec drivers? Lastly, is it worth listing on ebay--is there a demand for Symbiotik diaphragms in general and for this one specifically? If so, what is it worth? If it's worth anything, I'll list it here in the classifieds first--I want people here to have first shot at it..... Here's some pics I took today (click on image to enlarge).....


http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/04/29.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/04/30.jpg

Here's the box that one of the replacement diaphragms came in (where the 21545 has been stored).....
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/04/31.jpg

It's funny how a little piece of gear can bring back so many memories. As I held this thing in my hand today, I remembered the gig where we blew it's "mate". I remember having to finish the gig with only one working horn, being really pissed off at our (substitute) sound man for the loud feedback that blew the other diaphragm, and worrying about "is there a place that still sells these things"....... I was so relieved when someone at a local musical equipment shop gave me the phone number for Altec Pro--and felt really lucky that they still made replacement parts for my vintage Altecs. Kind of how lucky I felt when I first found out about Great Plains Audio when I needed re-coning done for my Altec PA speakers that I sold a couple of years ago........

It's the original 807, 808-8A Symbiotik.

GM

Mystery solved--thanks GM!

From those pictures it looks like the wire leads have small kinks in them if this is so.

THEN THAT ISN'T GOOD. They will fail at those kinks, 100% Guaranteed ! :eek:

Thanks for the heads up AB--I just took a close look at the photo and it does kind of look like kinks. I took the diaphragm back out of the box and it must just be the photo--because the leads are nice and smooth with a fairly gentle curve. When I list/sell the diaphragm, I'll have to take better pics......