Hi,
I have owned and been listening to a pair of A7-500-W's for about a year, my first pair of horn speakers after a long time in the hobby. I use either an 10 wpc s.e.t. 300b amp or a push/pull 12 wpc el84 based amp.
I like the clarity and detail they display compared to other speakers I have heard, though they do lack deep bass if that is important to the listener.
I have read so many comments from other Altec owners regarding the sound improvement from upgrading the crossovers, that will be my next step. Mine have the original crossovers and I want to stay with a passive design primarily to keep the stereo system simple for my wife to operate by herself. My plan to to set the original crossovers aside and not alter them.
After searching threads for months on multiple forums about Altec crossover designs in general and A7's in particular, it seems to be one of those audio subjects that if you ask five people, you get five divergent opinions. Many prefer active, some say upgrade using an original Altec design but use better parts, some say the original design is bad no matter quality of parts used, some mention liking specific aftermarket vendor designs, etc.
I think I am going to follow the lead of blogger/Altec owner Jeff Day and build a pair based on the design of Jean Hiraga. Unfortunately I won't be using the high-quality (extremely expensive) Duelund parts Jeff used, but I will use quality parts. I realize Hiraga's design was based on a different shaped cabinet and drivers, but some Altec owners prefer it in other applications as well.
I appreciate any thoughts Altec owners have about crossovers.
I have owned and been listening to a pair of A7-500-W's for about a year, my first pair of horn speakers after a long time in the hobby. I use either an 10 wpc s.e.t. 300b amp or a push/pull 12 wpc el84 based amp.
I like the clarity and detail they display compared to other speakers I have heard, though they do lack deep bass if that is important to the listener.
I have read so many comments from other Altec owners regarding the sound improvement from upgrading the crossovers, that will be my next step. Mine have the original crossovers and I want to stay with a passive design primarily to keep the stereo system simple for my wife to operate by herself. My plan to to set the original crossovers aside and not alter them.
After searching threads for months on multiple forums about Altec crossover designs in general and A7's in particular, it seems to be one of those audio subjects that if you ask five people, you get five divergent opinions. Many prefer active, some say upgrade using an original Altec design but use better parts, some say the original design is bad no matter quality of parts used, some mention liking specific aftermarket vendor designs, etc.
I think I am going to follow the lead of blogger/Altec owner Jeff Day and build a pair based on the design of Jean Hiraga. Unfortunately I won't be using the high-quality (extremely expensive) Duelund parts Jeff used, but I will use quality parts. I realize Hiraga's design was based on a different shaped cabinet and drivers, but some Altec owners prefer it in other applications as well.
I appreciate any thoughts Altec owners have about crossovers.
Attachments
Greets!
Missed this somehow, so with no thread 'bump' is this still in limbo or........?
GM
Yours are one of the best XOs for high output impedance amps since it uses an autoformer, so just replacing caps and adding a HF bypass cap [all preferably PIO] to allow better tonal balance matching, yet let through some portion of the HF unattenuated preserves the sound that made them famous, just with a minor tweak to take advantage of a modern recording's higher HF bandwidth [BW] as your reference for different designs.
GM
Hi EZD. Nice looking speakers there. 
Which Hiraga crossover are you looking at? I've tried what I've seen published and it did not work for me at all. That's surprising, as the published design was supposed to be based on the A5 that Jean Hiraga and I put together circa 1986 and that went on to be a reference speaker. I could never get the published design to work for my A5s.
Normally for better bass and tonal balance, you'll need to close up the bass ports a good bit. How much to close them is hard to say because it's going to depend on your woofers and your room. But yours appear to be upside down and with the horn filling the port! Interesting approach.
Which Hiraga crossover are you looking at? I've tried what I've seen published and it did not work for me at all. That's surprising, as the published design was supposed to be based on the A5 that Jean Hiraga and I put together circa 1986 and that went on to be a reference speaker. I could never get the published design to work for my A5s.
Normally for better bass and tonal balance, you'll need to close up the bass ports a good bit. How much to close them is hard to say because it's going to depend on your woofers and your room. But yours appear to be upside down and with the horn filling the port! Interesting approach.
I have a friend with the same speakers in a really large room and they sound remarkably bad with stock crossover driven by EL 84 based amp ( Dyna ST70 ) Big lump of uncoordinated sound tolerated probably only by the magic of Altec sticker and originality. Do rip them apart and change everything , those dreaded 416 too if necessary . Life is too short for delusions.
You can't really trust anybody to express any honest opinion . They will run out of the room once the music start playing and then write how gobsmacked they were and what a treasure the owner has. I will take this all back once I hear a good ,stock altec system.I'm not holding my breath .
You can't really trust anybody to express any honest opinion . They will run out of the room once the music start playing and then write how gobsmacked they were and what a treasure the owner has. I will take this all back once I hear a good ,stock altec system.I'm not holding my breath .
This why i do not trust your opinion.
Sure , in Sweden Altec's are as common as mushrooms in the forest so the few examples which make it there have to be worshiped.
. NOTHING Altec made for home use makes sense AS-IS. With the exception of Malibu maybe if that's the one using 803A drivers which ARE remarkable drivers and have some decent midrange and exemplary midbass if used in horn and even as a direct driver. IMHO the most overhyped driver in Altec's lineup is 414 . Pretty much useless for anything . Well maybe as a midbass gap stop if space is at premium. Those tales of it's exceptional midrange is a pure folklore BS.
Happy listening
The company which really deserves it's separate thread and reverence for home audio is Electrovoice IMHO .
Edit :the mentioned earlier El 84 amp is st 35 not st 70 obviously.
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Sure , in Sweden Altec's are as common as mushrooms in the forest so the few examples which make it there have to be worshiped.
Those tales of it's exceptional midrange is a pure folklore BS.
Happy listening
The company which really deserves it's separate thread and reverence for home audio is Electrovoice IMHO .
Edit :the mentioned earlier El 84 amp is st 35 not st 70 obviously.
Sure we have a lot of mushrooms in the forest, I like to harvest the forest's delights, but we also have a lot of Altec Lansing parts that float around, after Lansing disappeared it was replaced with JBL. But anyway for hifi it is so that it is combined with different brands no one no longer cares about preserving the original systems here is the best possible sound experience. There are certainly those who preserve but no one I know.
I can agree with you that nothing that Altec has done is for hifi it is done mainly for PA but with some tricks and mods one can use some parts from Altec, about 414 I have no experience can not debate it.
Interestingly, you think EV is good for hifi it is a brand that is not common here. Many of those who build large systems use Beyma because they work excellent at home for hifi.
Sure I'm biased one of my speakers is a 604E what I've done is to change XO but I will go further to adapt them better for home use just because I can
. Over and out from
Anders
Actually I meant an Altec HI-Fi line of speakers made for home use like the one domesticated Vott or all those Valencia like jokes which enjoy resurgence thanks to excellent marketing efforts of Shindo distributor and Art Doodly poetic prose for "music lovers" Of course I'm susceptible and a "music lover" fore and the most so I had to haul in a pair of Valencia and were ready to accept Jesus on the spot. I understand now that they are best enjoyed in the garage like most of the Altec lovers do.( with the exception when they are exchanging polars or new crossover trick ideas on diyaudio or contemplating the life after Ariels ). Back to my Valencia , after I exchanged that dreaded 416 for 515B and the HF horn assembly for edgarhorn with JBL 2" and hooked it up to the same shitty altec crossover it brought some life into the performance.
Altec's 2 ways are complete waste of time. Make them 3 way with capable midrange plus SUB and it may get interesting enough to justify the hype.
Also Over and out from.
L
Altec's 2 ways are complete waste of time. Make them 3 way with capable midrange plus SUB and it may get interesting enough to justify the hype.
Also Over and out from.
L
Hi EZD. Nice looking speakers there.
Which Hiraga crossover are you looking at? I've tried what I've seen published and it did not work for me at all. That's surprising, as the published design was supposed to be based on the A5 that Jean Hiraga and I put together circa 1986 and that went on to be a reference speaker. I could never get the published design to work for my A5s.
Normally for better bass and tonal balance, you'll need to close up the bass ports a good bit. How much to close them is hard to say because it's going to depend on your woofers and your room. But yours appear to be upside down and with the horn filling the port! Interesting approach.
Hi Pano,
Thanks for posting... The main reason I want to try using a Hiraga design crossover is from reading blogger/reviewer Jeff Day's many postings about his experience with a variety of Altec speaker models and the various crossovers he has tried using in his own speakers or listened to in friends Altecs.
He has many postings over multiple years on the subject. Here is a recent overview he wrote including a schematic for 16 ohm drivers.
Overview & Update: The Duelund-Altec Project - Jeff's Place
Perhaps I am incorrect, but I am thinking that the size and shape of his "Stokowski" cabinets and the similarity of drivers in his speakers compared to my "Magnificents" will result in a positive outcome for me if I also use the schematic shown.
This gentlemen has corroborated with Mr. Day on Hiraga based crossover builds and also shares some of his experience.
Altec A7 Voice Of Theatre Speakers
Seems a reasonable assumption, though still recommend 'refreshing' at least one of yours for comparison, then tonally balancing it without regard for how rolled off the HF is, then adding a bypass cap to finish balancing it out, which will 'tell the tale' as to whether JD's custom is worth it, though believe that without the custom components it may be a 'six of one, half dozen of another' choice.
Personally having a hard time taking him seriously after reading about speaker wire choice and 'cable cooker'. Wonder if they did any Megger testing.
Regardless, in retrospect I think I misspoke in that I'm not sure your XOs have auto-formers, just multi-tapped resistors.
Anyway, looking forward to your review/preference.
GM
Personally having a hard time taking him seriously after reading about speaker wire choice and 'cable cooker'. Wonder if they did any Megger testing.
Regardless, in retrospect I think I misspoke in that I'm not sure your XOs have auto-formers, just multi-tapped resistors.
Anyway, looking forward to your review/preference.
GM
Hi Horacio,
Well if you are interested in Altec horns, they are quite large, front loaded and intended for PA use.
There are other types of enclosures that are more in line with a residence and of course, the WAF. There are smaller rear loaded horns, and other types of fancy ports that offer you a nice package.
Tell us what your goals are.
Well if you are interested in Altec horns, they are quite large, front loaded and intended for PA use.
There are other types of enclosures that are more in line with a residence and of course, the WAF. There are smaller rear loaded horns, and other types of fancy ports that offer you a nice package.
Tell us what your goals are.
Well, thanks for your note.
After reading Pano’s post on page one I was impressed by his creation, he said that he “never heard any other speaker of any size, shape, technology or vintage that sounds more like real live music than these”.
In my home system I listen to classical music, my wife is an open minded architect, so the WAF is non existing for me.
I was thinking about something like the Altec 846A, 846 B 8 Ohm or something with multi cell horns.
How well will perform with classical music I have no idea.
Cheers,
After reading Pano’s post on page one I was impressed by his creation, he said that he “never heard any other speaker of any size, shape, technology or vintage that sounds more like real live music than these”.
In my home system I listen to classical music, my wife is an open minded architect, so the WAF is non existing for me.
I was thinking about something like the Altec 846A, 846 B 8 Ohm or something with multi cell horns.
How well will perform with classical music I have no idea.
Cheers,
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Maybe this will give you a clue : The Vintage Beat: The Maestro's Custom VOTT Loudspeakers - Jeff's Place
GM
: The Vintage Beat: The Maestro's Custom VOTT Loudspeakers - Jeff's PlaceGM
The man that designed the A7-500 inside that fine furniture 'skin' [among others] instead chose this 'modest' built in infinite baffle [IB] to handle any music genre including pipe organ symphonies and imagine will 'strike a chord' with your architect:
https://ia902502.us.archive.org/Boo...Mar_0000.jp2&scale=6.429872495446266&rotate=0
https://ia902502.us.archive.org/Boo...Mar_0027.jp2&scale=6.429872495446266&rotate=0
GM
with your architect:https://ia902502.us.archive.org/Boo...Mar_0000.jp2&scale=6.429872495446266&rotate=0
https://ia902502.us.archive.org/Boo...Mar_0027.jp2&scale=6.429872495446266&rotate=0
GM
What's your point? You claim to want a horn based system suitable for classical, so gave you some. The 846/Iconic series started life in the mid 30s as a studio monitor, so is OK for all genres up to a point.
You want the best mids, lower treble clarity, stick with Quad or an electrostat if you can find any.
GM