A7 Project Thread

A while ago I "inherited" some old Altecs from my grandpa (he's still alive). They were a model 800 and an A7-825, plus some H-808 horns with mismatching drivers.

At one point, someone had enclosed the tweeter and glued door panels to the side... :mad:

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/20.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/21.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/22.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/23.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/24.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/25.jpg

When a single A7-828 showed up on craigslist I jumped at the deal and brought it home. My project is to modify the 825 to match the appearance and sound of the 828, and then sand and repaint both speakers.

Here's my progress so far...

I pried off as much of the door skin as I could with a flatbar and chisel (I should've done it outside)

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/26.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/27.jpg

Preliminary sanding and filling... Also took of the port pieces

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/28.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/29.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/30.jpg

Here's a picture of the newly acquired A7 next to the unfinished box

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/31.jpg

More sanding and filling

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/32.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/33.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/34.jpg

The hardest part of the whole process - picking a color

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/08/35.jpg

Tomorrow it's back to sanding. Hopefully I'll primer the box and start gutting the other A7 so I can get to sanding it.

"Welcome to the Board" !

In the meantime upload your photos to a photo sharing site like Photobucket,Flickr,Image Shack,etc.... And when day 3 hits post them and try to get some good quality pictures of the HF drivers,horns,crossovers,woofers, and of the cabinets. Internally of the bracing and such.That should give Folks enough info so they can help you out.Looking forward to your pictures. :smile2:

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Originally Posted by Voice_of_the_Llama

At one point, someone had enclosed the tweeter and glued door panels to the side... :mad:

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Welcome and good luck with the project.

Door panels (assuming, household doors?) probably an attempt to quash resonances by stiffening the cab/ adding mass. If so, maybe sound better with them in place. You are the judge. Depending on what is left, you may be as well off adding new ply panels to the (damaged?) areas.

Color: If looking for 'altec grey' there are several threads on the topic here iirc. Otherwise, I like black myself. :-)

Tweeter: perhaps will be apparent from the pics, what was enclosed. The 811_ or 511_ horn that we may expect to be there could be mounted inside or outside the cabinet, by design. So we assume there is some sort of extension on the top?.

There is a lot you can do inside the box to make it better. Stiffen and thicken the walls, brace and damp the thin wodden horn flares. That's plenty of work to get you started. Then you can work on the ports and the when you feel completely exhausted, attack the crossover. Welcome to the club!

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Originally Posted by gearfreak

Welcome and good luck with the project.

Door panels (assuming, household doors?) probably an attempt to quash resonances by stiffening the cab/ adding mass. If so, maybe sound better with them in place. You are the judge. Depending on what is left, you may be as well off adding new ply panels to the (damaged?) areas.

Color: If looking for 'altec grey' there are several threads on the topic here iirc. Otherwise, I like black myself. :-)

Tweeter: perhaps will be apparent from the pics, what was enclosed. The 811_ or 511_ horn that we may expect to be there could be mounted inside or outside the cabinet, by design. So we assume there is some sort of extension on the top?.

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Yep... 1/4" door skins glued to the side. Ugly as hell and a b!tch to get off! The chips filled nicely with wood filler fortunately.

I'm going with a color that's warmer and a hair lighter than the original color.

Both cabinets have a green 511B on top. The new one has an 806a and the cabinet I'm working on has an 802c.

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

There is a lot you can do inside the box to make it better. Stiffen and thicken the walls, brace and damp the thin wodden horn flares. That's plenty of work to get you started. Then you can work on the ports and the when you feel completely exhausted, attack the crossover. Welcome to the club!

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That sounds like a good idea. I'll search around but do you have any threads in mind to help me get started?

Me? No way.
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700...s-journey.html

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

brace and damp the thin wodden horn flares.

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Is there something magical about the horn flare's internal volume including the oval speaker baffle? It would be very easy to make a template of the horn flare and make a perfectly fitting 3/8" secondary flare to glue over the exterior of the first one. Maybe even two. After installing, the woofer baffle hole could be belt sanded back to it's previous profile.

Why not do the same, but behind the flare? Oh - some of the boxes have closed off flare, of course.

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

Why not do the same, but behind the flare? Oh - some of the boxes have closed off flare, of course.

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With the downward sloped floor of the horn, it's impossible to get a one piece panel in there not to mention all of the glue blocks plus it would be impossible to measure accurately. I'd like to do it with oak plywood, cover the rest of the outside also with Oak, add bull nosed oak front edging, and bull nosed corner covers, then sand with 100 grit paper along the grain to really bring out the oak wood grain, and then painted gloss black with all of the beautiful woodgrain shining through.:)

Primed the box. Looking fantastic if I say so myself :yes:

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2011/09/5.jpg

Cut and primed the new port pieces

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2011/09/6.jpg

I gutted the other speaker so I can start sanding it...

First coat of paint on one speaker. Here you can see the difference in color between the painted (left) and original (right).

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2011/09/7.jpg

Filling and sanding of the "new" speaker... Tomorrow I'll do the front edges and hopefully I'll get to priming it.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2011/09/8.jpg

Sanded and primed some more... I cut/drilled a new woofer access panel for one speaker because the old one was a little gnarly. Ran out of primer before I could do the other access panel.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2011/09/9.jpg

Just to see how it looks...

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/10.jpg

Ordered new material to go in the port slots. It should be very close to the original cane weave.

Very Nice. Thanks for all the pics. Are you going to use the multi-cell horns or the 811s?

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

Very Nice. Thanks for all the pics. Are you going to use the multi-cell horns or the 811s?

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I sold the multicell horns (for a pretty penny I might add). I didn't see myself incorporating them into a system anytime soon and they would be better off in the hands of someone who would use them. I'll just be using the 811's

Looks good......... I would have kept the vertical ports, Though. I've always liked the older look. Will you be refurbishing the 800 system, too?

Primed the other cabinet

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/11.jpg

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Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill

Looks good......... I would have kept the vertical ports, Though. I've always liked the older look. Will you be refurbishing the 800 system, too?

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Probably not. I've already parted off most of it to help fund this project. Plus I have no room for a third speaker this size. Come to think of it I don't have any more room for speakers at all...

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Originally Posted by Voice_of_the_Llama

Probably not. I've already parted off most of it to help fund this project. Plus I have no room for a third speaker this size. Come to think of it I don't have any more room for speakers at all...

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If you list it on ebay, you should get a decent price for it. Those cabinets aren't as common as the 825/828.

Nice job--those cabs look great now! It looks like you'll be using the "traditional" tuning for them. Are you aware that it's possible to tweak the tuning of your cabinets to get deeper bass out of them (blocking off part of the port with a piece of wood attached to the inside of the cabs etc.). There are people here who may be able to give you some (relatively) easy tips to improve the bass response of those cabs without changing their outer configuration...... BTW, do you have any close up photos of the two woofers you'll be using (front and back views showing model #'s, date codes etc.) and the two h.f. drivers (showing model #'s etc. as well) that are/will be connected to the 811's?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Voice_of_the_Llama

I sold the multicell horns (for a pretty penny I might add). I didn't see myself incorporating them into a system anytime soon and they would be better off in the hands of someone who would use them. I'll just be using the 811's

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May I ask why you sold those H808's ? They are pretty close in size to the 811's and they are considered by many to be very collectible and desirable not to mention they sound good too.They are worth around $2000 min. The 811's are everywhere.

I'm just curious as to why you wouldn't want them in your project.The only thing I can think of is that the sale would fund the rest of the project and then some ! But man they are droolsville !!!! I always loved those 808's. I only ever heard them once, but were very nice from what I remember, was back in the early 90's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by voice of the theater

Nice job--those cabs look great now! It looks like you'll be using the "traditional" tuning for them. Are you aware that it's possible to tweak the tuning of your cabinets to get deeper bass out of them (blocking off part of the port with a piece of wood attached to the inside of the cabs etc.). There are people here who may be able to give you some (relatively) easy tips to improve the bass response of those cabs without changing their outer configuration...... BTW, do you have any close up photos of the two woofers you'll be using (front and back views showing model #'s, date codes etc.) and the two h.f. drivers (showing model #'s etc. as well) that are/will be connected to the 811's?

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I plan to experiment with cabinet tuning to get my desired sound. I can take pictures of the drivers... The plan is to end up with two 802c's and I may have secured the second.

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Originally Posted by Altec Best

May I ask why you sold those H808's ? They are pretty close in size to the 811's and they are considered by many to be very collectible and desirable not to mention they sound good too.They are worth around $2000 min. The 811's are everywhere.

I'm just curious as to why you wouldn't want them in your project.The only thing I can think of is that the sale would fund the rest of the project and then some ! But man they are droolsville !!!! I always loved those 808's. I only ever heard them once, but were very nice from what I remember, was back in the early 90's.

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I sold them to fund the project, and also because I really don't have much money (I'm a poor college student living back at home). I'll probably need to get a laptop for school soon... I think I like the looks of the smaller horns better too.

More sanding and painting. First coat on the "new" box, second coat on the other one. Painted all the other pieces...

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/17.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/18.jpg

I might have found another 802c...

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Originally Posted by Voice_of_the_Llama

I sold them to fund the project, and also because I really don't have much money (I'm a poor college student living back at home)

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That makes sense ! Doing a good job ! Keep it up !

I'm glad to see that you have at least one brace per side on the back of the horn flares. Mine had none. What's the other cabinet look like?

Welcome to the Altec Forum. You've come to the right place....

Second coat on the other cabinet...

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/24.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/25.jpg

And the slats

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/26.jpg

Started the new horn mounts out of clear vertical grain fir

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/27.jpg

New decals and grill screen for the port on their way...

Time to relax...

Here's the inside of the cabinets for those interested.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/28.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/29.jpg

And the components

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/30.jpg

The left 416 (plain green) is from the new speaker. The right one is one I bought on flea bay. Numbers on the baskets read 391845 and 391745 respectively.
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/31.jpg

I'm going to sell the 806a once I get my other 802c.
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/32.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/33.jpg

Cabs are coming along nicely! Your 416A's look to be in great shape--very similar to the green 16 ohm 416Z's I had in my 846A Valencias -- and about the same age too. Your date codes ("Numbers on the baskets read 391845 and 391745 respectively") indicate the woofers were manufactured in November 1968 and November 1967 respectively...... Looks like you'll be all set once you secure another 802C

Drilled the mounts, reused the old "tornado" nuts and primed.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/35.jpg

Another pic of the cabs

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/36.jpg

The more I think about it, I'm not sure matte paint is the way to go...

Flat grey belongs as a primer coat. I would never paint an A7 that color. My vote goes to gloss black, followed by candy red and then candy blue over appliance white.

Make sure you place a 1/4" spacer between the front baffle and the woofer as has been told to me by people that know to eliminate woofer excursion bottoming out.

I can't see hitting the board for home use. Well, not me anyway. I've done it with a signal generator, but never music. Can't hurt to put in a spacer, I suppose.

I bet I have.

I picked up the same color in satin. In real life the grey color I chose looks very good, especially with the green 811 horn. The matte just doesn't work. As far as the woofer "bottoming out" on the motorboard, I can't imagine having that issue with the speakers in my 12x15x8 room.

One thing is for sure: The paint on the cabs is going to be thick!

The insulation in the cabinet I had was hard and brittle, and infused with rat poop, so I replaced it with new material. Applied a coat of satin paint to both speakers.

MUCH better than matte (what was I thinking?? :headscrat)

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/42.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/43.jpg

Got the labels today.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/46.jpg

This is about where I want 'em... (held with tape)

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/47.jpg

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/48.jpg

Another test fit... These will look great with the black cover in the ports.

http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/09/49.jpg

The labels look great. Did you get those on eBay?

Yes. The guy is cranking them out... I was hoping they were adhesive-backed but I guess I'll use spray adhesive or something.

They are looking real nice buddy, Can't wait for you to fire them up and give a review. :)

Yes, looking very nice. Makes me feel pretty lazy. I sure hope your not going to be listening to any county/wester on them.

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Originally Posted by VolvoHeretic

Yes, looking very nice. Makes me feel pretty lazy. I sure hope your not going to be listening to any county/wester on them.

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Haha of course not! Only MP3s of Justin Beiber and Rebecca Black will be rocking through these babies...

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Originally Posted by VolvoHeretic

Make sure you place a 1/4" spacer between the front baffle and the woofer as has been told to me by people that know to eliminate woofer excursion bottoming out.

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Hmm, if you hit the baffle with a vintage Altec horn or MI driver, then you're so far past Xmax that you run the risk of the VC bottoming out and/or leaving the gap completely if a spacer is used and eventually it will most likely ruin the VC, requiring a re-cone. Spacers became required when folks got tired of blowing up Altec drivers with too much power and switched to JBL 2035H or similar before Altec came out with their own high power versions that required them for prosound and extreme HIFI apps.

I'll probably have a heart attack if I ever see the 515Bs move that much.

GM

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

The labels look great. Did you get those on eBay?

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I got a bunch of those do you need some ?