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hi there!
I'm new to this forum, looking for some help to decide what to do/buy :)
Does anyone have any experince with this system?
It seems very much the same as A7/MR994, but the cabinet is slightly different-
I'm considering buying a A700 system with A700XLF woofers, biamped with 9442/9444/9446 and 1632 xo but have no experince with this system and will unfortunately not be able to listen to it before I buy it so I need help :o
No experience, and perhaps past the 1999 cuttoff date spec'd for the forum?
Here's the spec sheet from LH in case of usefulness:
http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...700/page01.jpg
http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...700/page02.jpg
Jerry Hubbard did that design.
They sound incredible!
hey, thats a new one to me..trapezoidal mid bass horn? anyone got any idea how it would compare to the standard 828 cab? looks like it would have a better waf. pretty cool lookin' design if ya ask me. the rack amps as well.. sounds like a great set up. wheres the plans?
They're a newer design, but they aren't THAT new. They're still Altec, not Altec Lansing Technologies (Sparkomatic).Quote:
Originally Posted by gearfreak
The A700 system was released in 1989, the ones I'm looking at was bought new in 1993 and have been to a theather until last year.
The components seems to be the same as A7/MR994 so I would guess the sound should be quite simmilar? (since I'm new with the forum, I'm not alloved to post links to the A7/MR994:()
In fact it is 3xA700 so I'm planning to use them also in my hometheather system, there are also a pair of PS-95 and PS-90 that I might be useing as surround speakers if I decide to buy.
Are the Altec amps ans good? I've read both good and not so good reviews. The setup have been 9442A on the L/R MR994/909, 9444B on L/R 515, 9444B for the centre, 9446A for the 4x3154 in the A700XLF and also a 9444B for the PS90/95s, so it's quite a huge setup!
At papers it seems like the 3154 might not have the LF I'm looking for since the 700XLF is roled of at 43hz. Are they capable of runing lower to i.e. 25 hz if i retune the cabinet or do I need other woofers? I have a 3182/8182 and love the LF it is capable of and would love the 700XLF to the same...
Taskvig,
That will be one impressive HT.
I am curious, what is the size of your HT's room dims?
I have always been curious about the A700's.
-chris
It's not quite decided how big my room will be since I'm about to rearrange a few things in the house, so I guess it depends on my wife :) But probably it will be aprox 5x6 meters with a height of 2,40. It would have been great if it could be bigger, but that's not possible if I'm going to kepp my wife ;)
Present I'm useing JBL 250ti powered by an Crown Studio Ref amp but are curious to try out Altec horns, and right now it seems like I'm going for a trip this weekend to buy the mentioned system :) It's not 100% certain but it seems like it...
Altec amps sound quite good...they don't like the thumps and bangs of touring though.
For your use, fine.
Wow,
That's gonna be a lot of speaker in your room at the converted dims I got, 16.5'x19.8'.
But it should required a lot less amp power to push your system when you are done.....
Look forward to seeing some pics and more posts on your set-up when finished.....
-chris
For my use I guess the amps are not perfect and certainly too much power when you consider the room, but will give it a try and see how it works :)
Regarding the LF, do anyone have any experince with the 3154-16? Is it possible to get it to work properly down to 20-25hz or is it not meant for that kind of use? The fs is 25hz and the manual says "low frequencies with minimal distortion" so I was hopeing to tune the box lower than the org 43hz since I don't need that kind of SPL that it's meant for at 40-80 hz. Any inputs?
Another option is not to use the 700XLF and use either the 3182 or a pair of JBL 2245 I have instead.
I've played with the 8 ohm version...it's very impressive.Quote:
Originally Posted by taskvig
Not sure how the higher z would affect things, but I would have no qualms doing what you want to do with an 8 ohm version. Mebbe one of the box experts could chime in here...
Any woofer can be tuned as low as 0.707*Fs in a vented alignment or ~17.7 Hz with these. How loud they will play obviously is set by box size and driver power handling capability. Ideally, dual 3154s tuned this low wants a ~35 ft^3 cab, though considering room gain and their large Xmax you should be able to EQ them flat in-room and still hit DD/DTS reference with ~500 W. Dual 5" vents 15" long should do it and shortening them will raise tuning if you want to experiment.Quote:
Originally Posted by taskvig
GM
I did some calculations my self yesterday and found out more or less the same. The cabinett should be more than twice the size if I should get the woofer to play that low that I want them to, or of course the other alternative, use only one woofer in each cabinet :)
EQ is an option that I might try of course, I can get an Vestax GE 62 that might be useful for this even though an PEQ would be better suited than GEQ.
I just came home with aprox 500kg (1100 lbs) of Altec :)
3xA700 (with 1 extra MR994/909-8A)
2xA700XLF (unfortunately one woofer is not 3154, seems like JBL)
2xPS95 monitor 15" coax
1xPS90 monitor 12" coax
3x9444 amps
1x9442 amp
1x9446 amp
2x1632 XO
I haven't unpacked them yet so at the moment I just got an poor picture:
http://www.hifisentralen.no/forum/in...ch=83659;image
Wow, can't wait to see better pictures!
Very impressive- a great haul!
Looking forward to reading more about it. =)
Wow, great haul.....
You stated that you are missing a 3154, sell the extra MR994/909-8A and use the proceeds to get an extra 3154.......
-chris
Here is a picture of my A700 rig . . .
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2009/05/3.jpg
A700 mains with N1285-8B networks @ 1200Hz
A700XLF subwoofers
custom enclosure with 408-8A for center channel
Model 4 surrounds
Model 1012 surrounds
1268 power amplifier on center & surrounds
1269 power amplifier on mains
9444A power amp on subs (active EV subwoofer processor - 100Hz)
I was part of the team that developed the A700 systems. Jerry Hubbard and his engineers designed the cabinet with a sloped front panel to align the acoustic centers of the HF & LF components (909/MR994A and 515-8G). No crossover network was included with the A700, however, we made the connector panel exactly the size of the standard Altec passive network. The A700 was the final version of the A7 series before production ceased in Oklahoma City. Another version used a 299 HF driver (A800).
The two A700's pictured are the original units built for introduction in Florida at the NSCA show in 1990. I acquired the A700XLF's separately by trading other stuff.
Hi .Congratulations on your system.It's a doozy.Quote:
Originally Posted by whitebroncoii
Could you please tell me the diameter and depth of the port holes on the A700XLF.
Thanks
.........
There are two ducts: 5" diameter x 4" longQuote:
Originally Posted by LICORNE
The A700XLF cabinet is basically a trap version of the 8254 used on the A10 VOTT.
Gary
Hi,Quote:
Originally Posted by whitebroncoii
Thanks for the info. It is a trap version. Good to know though if someone wants subs
for A-5 etc.
Wow, those looks great, much better than mine which are painted black on the outside and org grey on the inside :) Are the cabinets real wood or veneer? Are they that way orginal or have you done it? Any closeups?Quote:
Originally Posted by whitebroncoii
I was planning to use the 1632 XO with 9442 on the horns and 9444 on the woofers, but are a litle concerned if that's a good combination for home use. So I'm considering getting a N1285-8B and maybe use a "hifi amp" instead... is this a good or bad idea?
Unfortunately it will take a while until I can start useing my A700 since I need to rearange quite a few things in my house first, but in the end I'm hopeing to have a result simmilar to this Urei system:
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2009/05/4.jpg
Hi Gary
The Altec surrounds model 4 and model 1012 are those the 45 degree angle for cinema's?
If so could you please show a picture of those.
Thanks again.
Bert
The A700 are the original birch plywood and stained a light oak. I have never "finished" the A700XLF cabs. The 9442A will deliver 100W per channel into 8 ohms. This is plenty for an A700 with passive network with subwoofers to fill the bottom. A hi-fi amp that can deliver 100+W into 8 ohms will do OK. Many hi-fi amps do not list their power rating into 8 ohms, only into 4 ohms. Cut the 4 ohm rating in half and you have the 8 ohm rating. A 9444 on the subs will be OK, depending on your music tastes. I plan on putting my 1270B power amplifier on my subs. For me more is better!Quote:
Originally Posted by taskvig
How do you plan on limiting the subs to 80 - 100 Hz?
Speaking of subs, the 3154 is an excellent extended-low subwoofer (foam surround) and will shake the house for movies. However, I found them to not be tight enough for my music needs. I have one A700XLF loaded with the original 3154's and the other loaded with 4156 woofers. The 4156 is a copy of the 3156. This combination is perfect for my room. I now get lows that shake the floor and punch that will knock you over.
I see, I wish my was not painted either, but nothing to do with that :o But I guess it doesn't care that much since I probably will build a bafflewall so I will not see very much of them. Are the grillcover org or something you have built? Pictures?
I have 5 Altec amps, 9442 running l/r horns, 9444 on l/r woofers, 9444 on center, 9444 on surrounds and 9446 on the LFX. Since I've 2x1632, one is runing L/R, the other one is running the center and LFX.
The LFX have previously been used on 100hz but I thought that was pretty high? I imagine 63hz maybe would be better since the A700 should be find to 55hz?
Are you running a HF filter on the A700 or fullrange?
BTW: I like what you are saying about the LF capabilites of the LFX, since it's tuned as high as 43hz I imagined it would not be very well suited for movies, but hopefully I'm wrong :) I've used the 8182 a while now, and it's goregous, I would love to have another one :)
Hi,
I've found model 4 and model 1012 from this site. Good speakers.
http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...home/page2.jpg
I also found 1983 Mark IV Altec surrounds. They were moved from a large city single theater to a small
village theater together with 3 Altec A-4 and amps.
I'll get back to the later on another thread.
Item 1) The grilles on the A700 are original (wood frame, acoustic black cloth). I never got around to building grilles for the A700XLF.Quote:
Originally Posted by taskvig
Item 3) IMHO the subwoofer crossover is entirely dependent on taste and application. I like lots of punch for music and the horn-loaded 515 does not do it for me below 200Hz. Remember, the 825, 828, 816, 817 cabinets are bass-horns to around 160Hz and then bass-reflex down to 50Hz.
Item 3) I have been running the A700's full-range for years. This is not ideal, but, I can turn off the subwoofer amp for some material.
Item 4) So far as the port tuning of the A700XLF, many people think that this is the low frequency limit in a ported cabinet. Frequency response graphs show this is not true. Many people think that by re-tuning to a lower frequency you can get lower stuff out of the system. Software for designing tuned cabinets show this is not true. The lower you tune a cabinet, the more it acts like a sealed box. Generally a sealed box offers a slow roll-off starting at a couple hundred Hz (unless the volume is very large). A properly ported box flattens the response down to the port frequency and steeply rolls-off below this frequency. Most woofers can produce 25Hz, the question is; is it loud enough to be useful? The A700XLF is 10dB down at 35Hz in a test chamber. You can expect 3 dB down or better at 35Hz in a small room (sitting on the floor and against a wall). Re-tuning the A700 to a lower port frequency will alter the response curve, reduce the output at mid-bass and only get another couple below 35Hz.
For the first night, I've been useing my A700 quite a bit today :) Unfortunately I agree with you that the A700 doesn't do it below 200hz, so honestly I am kind of dissapointed with the bassperformance :o I really hope my listeningroom is one big part of the problem and not entirely the speakers... I've previsouly had several speakers with the same problem and that's why I'm going to rearange a few things in my house before I can setup the whole system.Quote:
Originally Posted by whitebroncoii
But anyway... even that I was kind of dissapointed in the beginning I was really impressed when I also hooked up my 3182 :D With the 3182 it now played real nice with music and I've just finished a movie and that was even better! I might think that it would be even better with at supertweeter, so I will consider getting a 902hf or something simmilar to use at the top, but even without it sound great!