The new Altec 604-8H III, 212-8A Impressions?

[DaveCan]

Just wondering how these new units are sounding and if anyone has heard them recently?.. I know they are coax drivers, but I still sort of think of them as in the one driver mentality, just like a 208 Fostex that needs a tweeter, so hope this can stay at the FRD thread

Dave

[DaveCan]

Forgot to add the link http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/two_way.html

Dave

[GM]

Might have more luck here:
http://www.hostboard.com/cgi-bin/ult...b/forum/f/3729
http://www.audioheritage.org/
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/etv.mpl?forum=hug
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=27

GM

[DaveCan]

Thanks GM, been doing some looking into the new drivers. Have you heard the new ones yourself or have any opinions on them to share or advice, do's and dont's etc?
Dave

[GM]

You're welcome!

Discounting the large horn prosound 'engines', The most current duplexes I've auditioned were the 604-8H and the much better performing foam rimmed blue HF horn variant used in the Urei monitors, though no doubt the Urei's XO accounted for some of its superiority.

Some time ago on the Altec forum we were musing about duplex tweaks and I harped on using a bigger horn to get the XO point and directivity control down to at least 1 kHz and Todd White noted that a bigger horn was in the works, but sadly all we got is a Urei 'style' horn.

The 212 OTOH is a step in the right direction in that it has a low distortion horn and XO more appropriate for the woofer size, but with no feedback or polar plots and a nasty peak up high, it's a question mark for the time being.

Anyway, the series 3 is a real bargain IMO and with the right cab for the app and some foam for the horn combined with a good XO and maybe some BSC if required, it might be the last speaker you'll ever buy unless they ever offer one like I want , at least for your main system. It's my understanding that the majority of old duplexes come from estate sales.

GM

[DaveCan]

Were the Urei's the ones that ended up being the best studio monitor type for the 604 or? ( been reading so much different stuff I may be getting the history jumbled)

The A7's also got me thinking, but I wonder if them being theater speakers they may not work so well in your average living room, but then again there are those that say they are the best they ever heard..

If you could have a pair of cabs from the newly made drivers which cabs would you love to have or try if it's ok to ask?

Dave

[DaveCan]

Ok I get it now I think, the new series III 604-8H now uses a Urei horn? Also I wondered if the woofer part of the Duplex could be run full range , it seems they are always crossed or something, then just a cap on the tweet could be used? Dave

[DaveCan]

This is interesting and I guess what lead Stephaen at 6moons to build the dream 604 cab? Nice cab http://www.seriousstereo.com/serious...e_speaker.html It's not as wide as some others at only 19.5'' and looks pretty serious, very nice!
Dave

[GM]

Right, with Urei's tweaks combined with the Mastering Labs XO, they are still used in a number of high end recording studios AFAIK.

You can EQ A7s for HIFI/HT duty, but the main problem remains, with a ~25 ft minimum 'throw' distance it's just too long for a typical HIFI/HT room to get the full benefit of their performance potential, so I recommend dual woofers in a large, low tuned cab to get enough of their 'punch' in a lower distortion speaker. Indeed, with the A7s I had early on I wound up getting some scrap cinema screen and made acoustic screens I painted the wall color to place in front of them to tone them down.

Haven't given cab designs for myself any thought since I'll probably never own any, but it would depend on the app. I mean for single low Q drivers I prefer corner loaded cabs with alignments that combined with the room yields a ~flat response to ~16 Hz. If out away from a corner, then a helper woofer is required IMO and I guess if floor space and budget allowed, then OB with four helper woofers. For HT, sealed with a sub system.

GM

[DaveCan]

Thanks GM, and those corner horns sound like they could be awesome!! I was thinking of maybe adding in some IB bass if needed ,to compliment whatever system I end up with, but if that may not be needed then that's some good savings right there..

I'm going to be moving to a different province once the house sells, so I don't really know at this time what the new place will be like for my listening room area, but I'm hoping for a decent room with corners that can be used, and the potential underneath or behind the speaker locations to try out some IB bass..

Dave