Upgrading a pair of Heathkit AS101/Altec Valencia Speakers

[DonM]

Zilch,

In the N800-F there is a variable potentiometer (16 ohms) in series with a fixed resistor of 20 ohms parallel to the HF.

Can I assume in your test the potentiometer was set to its minimum and there was still the fixed resistor in series?

Thanks,

Don

PS. I'm an Accountant

[ZilchLab]

Originally posted by DonM
PS. I'm an Accountant

The variable potentiometer is 25 Ohms, actually, according to the schematic (link @ #15). That was set for no attenuation, for a total of 45 Ohms across the HF driver, and full drive to its terminals, i.e., no resistance in series with the driver.

This I conclude from observing that the SPL levels are essentially superimposed in the VHF, where the filter does not itself appreciably attenuate the drive....

[ZilchLab]

Found the 8-Ohm Altec N800-8K schematic:

[DonM]

Zilch,

I'm using X-Over Pro 3 to simulate some different scenarios for my Altec 806a & 416. It's not that accurate but does give some indication of the response change when you use different values.

I will input the values from the N-800F that you used and compare the X-Over Pro simulated response to your spl graph posted above for the 806A.

Thanks again for your help.

Don

[Alan Cohen]

I have the opportunity to pick up a fairly pristine pair of Heathkit AS-101s.

I've read a lot about them here elsewhere and had a question.

I'm new to the DIY audio scene and have built a nice tube-based preamp and amp. I'll be pushing about 15W of glorious OTL sound. I recently heard a friends set up which included a pair of 803b mids and was really seduced by the Altec horn sound. I'm hooked.

But at this point I'm not ready to drop $5K on building my own speaker system, and don't have the room for some A7 robots.

So the question is for $1000 investment, is a pair of nice AS-101s a reasonable start into this adventure?

FWIW, I have a pair of Altec tweeters that I can use to supplement the top end. I'd have to build a crossover for it...maybe at 5K. I'm also not too shy to send them to GPA for a recharge and diaphragm replacement.

[phivates]

I wish I still had my pair. Surprisingly mellow, not impressive in any way, music friendly. I sold the drivers for cold hard cash which I also no longer have.