new to the forum, but thought this a great place to sound out a potential project. After looking for a fun and nice sounding horn loaded speaker for a 2 channel set up, I've started thinking of building my own speakers. I've built up several guitars and guitar amps, but never any HIFI projects. I really like the idea of making something mine. I've been looking at all these great looking cinema speakers lately from JBL and Klipsch. Would love to have those in my listening room, but they just seem overkill. So I have a line on the some Altec Flamenco's, with some beat up cabs. Started thinking about building up new cab's for the woofer and mounting the horn on top like I see on the cinema speakers I mentioned.
I've done some searching for plans, that's how I ended up here. But, can't say I found anything specific to what I am looking to do. Hoping some or a few here can point me in the right direction as to the necessary considerations for such a project. Who knows, maybe I'm getting way ahead of myself, nothing is ever as easy as it seems. But I always looking for my next project.
I've done some searching for plans, that's how I ended up here. But, can't say I found anything specific to what I am looking to do. Hoping some or a few here can point me in the right direction as to the necessary considerations for such a project. Who knows, maybe I'm getting way ahead of myself, nothing is ever as easy as it seems. But I always looking for my next project.
here we go! thanks for the reply...
my space isn't big, roughly 16 x 20'. So this is for a 2 channel set up for mainly vinyl driven by a low powered SET amp. Bass extension only needs to be natural. For reference, I am perfectly happy with the bass on my Heresy II's. Everyone complains about those not going low, and they don't, but for my purposes they have great musical bass. This system won't be cranked either, average around 80 to 90ish dbs. Not looking for a crazy accurate reference monitor. I want a nice vintage sounding character that still sounds detailed.
my space isn't big, roughly 16 x 20'. So this is for a 2 channel set up for mainly vinyl driven by a low powered SET amp. Bass extension only needs to be natural. For reference, I am perfectly happy with the bass on my Heresy II's. Everyone complains about those not going low, and they don't, but for my purposes they have great musical bass. This system won't be cranked either, average around 80 to 90ish dbs. Not looking for a crazy accurate reference monitor. I want a nice vintage sounding character that still sounds detailed.
Alright, well, just for reference, the Heresy goes down to around 50Hz, so does the lascala, with an 8 cubic foot folded horn on a 15" woofer. Getting low-ish bass takes some serious space with a horn if you want a full two way horn speaker.
That said it reads like you just want a woofer/horn situation. You could always clone the woofer section from a cornwall with a 15" woofer and then have your horn on top of it. Tons of plans out there for cornwall clones.
That said it reads like you just want a woofer/horn situation. You could always clone the woofer section from a cornwall with a 15" woofer and then have your horn on top of it. Tons of plans out there for cornwall clones.
you are correct, I want a simple 2 way with a Tweeter/Mid horn and woofer configuration. I had been thinking about just getting some JBL 3722N's that are cheap locally, but probably not a good fit for my smallish room. Was considering building up the Crites Cornscala D until a pair of Altec Flamenco's popped up locally and even though it's been a long time, I remember liking a pair a friend had. The cabs are beat though but for the price I would be getting some nice horns and good woofers for this project. My budget would be all in, $2000 but wouldn't mind spending less fi possible. If it were to be more than $2K I'd probably go down the Cornscala D route. Going to google cornwall clones now...
You've correctly done the first step, to ask for suggestions.
Step two is to dig yourself out from under the avalanche of advice you will get 😀
Step two is to dig yourself out from under the avalanche of advice you will get 😀
I'd just remake the boxes to original spec. The flaminco was "aperiodic" type enclosure I think. 16ohm drivers? Altec was no slouch in getting combinations "just so" back in the day. My vote is to not complicate this too much.
Hey Puppet, this is a consideration also... making a new cabinet to match dimensions of the original. definitely the simplest option, but wanted to see what some other options would be.
Hi, 69 jazzmaster
Before you get on to the DIY merry go round. Ask yourself a few questions.
1. How important and critical are you about music / sound ?
2. Is this the end of the line speaker project for you ?
3. Is this system in a house you own or are neighbors a concern ?
4. What skill level, desire and tools do have to work with ?
Just trying to save you time , money and labor. I have asked myself these questions many times for over 40 yrs. to arrive at my present system. I am definitely the exception and not the rule. These are questions only you can answer. Good luck with your project.
Meet Joe, and his amazing DIY horn speakers - YouTube
Joe
Before you get on to the DIY merry go round. Ask yourself a few questions.
1. How important and critical are you about music / sound ?
2. Is this the end of the line speaker project for you ?
3. Is this system in a house you own or are neighbors a concern ?
4. What skill level, desire and tools do have to work with ?
Just trying to save you time , money and labor. I have asked myself these questions many times for over 40 yrs. to arrive at my present system. I am definitely the exception and not the rule. These are questions only you can answer. Good luck with your project.
Meet Joe, and his amazing DIY horn speakers - YouTube
Joe
Hey Joe... I've watch your video with Steve Guttenberg awhile back! your listening room is amazing! So I have some answers...
1. Sound is very important to me, very important. However I am not overly critical. This project isn't intended to be the last speaker or to really save me money but more to enjoy a project turning an old pair of beat up Altec's into a fun listen.
2. No such speaker! I have several pairs that are keepers, but there is always another cool pair to be had.
3. My system is in a house. And while volume is not a concern, I do mostly listen at lower levels through low power SET amps.
4. My skills are good, not great, but competent. I have completed many projects but mostly guitar amps and cabs, nothing HIFI related. I am pretty good with a solder iron and have a good friend that is a construction contractor, so if I don't have a tool, he does.
I appreciate the inquiry. Right now I am leaning towards the building up the Cornscala D kit... I just can't help but imagine how well those Altec Flamenco's would sound in fresh boxes. Maybe another time after I build a kit rather than trying to do it from sracth.
1. Sound is very important to me, very important. However I am not overly critical. This project isn't intended to be the last speaker or to really save me money but more to enjoy a project turning an old pair of beat up Altec's into a fun listen.
2. No such speaker! I have several pairs that are keepers, but there is always another cool pair to be had.
3. My system is in a house. And while volume is not a concern, I do mostly listen at lower levels through low power SET amps.
4. My skills are good, not great, but competent. I have completed many projects but mostly guitar amps and cabs, nothing HIFI related. I am pretty good with a solder iron and have a good friend that is a construction contractor, so if I don't have a tool, he does.
I appreciate the inquiry. Right now I am leaning towards the building up the Cornscala D kit... I just can't help but imagine how well those Altec Flamenco's would sound in fresh boxes. Maybe another time after I build a kit rather than trying to do it from sracth.
I think audio is a great hobby and you can take it as far as you want. If there is any info I can help you with, just ask.
Joe
Joe
okay... so my project has taken shape after finding some deals on some components. I picked up a pair of Altec 811B horns with 802D and 808 8a drivers and most recently some clone Altec 816 cabs. The 816's came loaded with 421a drivers. So, my project will be some kind of bastard Altec 1235. So here is what i plan to do with some questions;
1. Swap 421 woofers with 416 8b's
2. Mount 811 horns to 816 cabinet
Questions
1. Passive or active crossover... I'm an analog guy so I kind of cringe at the idea of an electronic or even a digital crossover. But for the sake of the project I like the idea of an active crossover to be able to experiment with the crossover point... so many people vary on the the XO frequency I hate to lock myself into a fixed passive crossover.
2. How would standing the 816 cabs on their sides affect the sound, if at all? I like the idea of having the horns mounted at 30ish inches hight rather than way down at 22ish inches high.
any ideas? thanks!
1. Swap 421 woofers with 416 8b's
2. Mount 811 horns to 816 cabinet
Questions
1. Passive or active crossover... I'm an analog guy so I kind of cringe at the idea of an electronic or even a digital crossover. But for the sake of the project I like the idea of an active crossover to be able to experiment with the crossover point... so many people vary on the the XO frequency I hate to lock myself into a fixed passive crossover.
2. How would standing the 816 cabs on their sides affect the sound, if at all? I like the idea of having the horns mounted at 30ish inches hight rather than way down at 22ish inches high.
any ideas? thanks!
Q1) I understand the need to find a better cross. We always managed passive, it just took a little longer between goes. Don't forget to do your calculations and measurements in between or it's just guessing.
Some like to find their cross using an active filter, then convert it to passive, and follow up with a little overall EQ.
Q2) What is the layout of the box?
Some like to find their cross using an active filter, then convert it to passive, and follow up with a little overall EQ.
Q2) What is the layout of the box?
Hey Allen, you pretty much laid out my plan... get an active crossover to find out what frequency to use... then build a crossover to match. Originally I was just going to use 1200hz as the crossover given I like a friends Model 19 and it seems to be a popular crossover point for those using the 811b's. Its that or experiment with an active crossover /biamp.
Not sure what you mean by layout... It's a horn loaded bass / reflex cabinet 21 3/4" x 30" x 26". Not supposed to get very low, I can supplement with subs. Here is the official spec for the cabinet:
https://greatplainsaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Altec-816A-Enclosure.pdf
if the horn flares aren't optimal on the side so they flare vertically, I'll use them as intended and build stands to get them up higher. Just thought it would be cleaner if they okay to operate them standing on their sides.
Not sure what you mean by layout... It's a horn loaded bass / reflex cabinet 21 3/4" x 30" x 26". Not supposed to get very low, I can supplement with subs. Here is the official spec for the cabinet:
https://greatplainsaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Altec-816A-Enclosure.pdf
if the horn flares aren't optimal on the side so they flare vertically, I'll use them as intended and build stands to get them up higher. Just thought it would be cleaner if they okay to operate them standing on their sides.
I suspect the difference won't be as much as it appears. Of course it would be better to see H and V polars to compare, but I think it's worth a try as is.
Is there maybe room for a roundover for the top of the Altecs that extends to become a tweeter baffle..
Is there maybe room for a roundover for the top of the Altecs that extends to become a tweeter baffle..
Allen, "As Is" is a pile of components. The cabinets had been used (before sitting around unused for years) as a bass guitar system. The cab only has the 1/4" jacks in the back and no existing crossover.
This brings up the practical question of how to set up the cabs for Bi-Amping with an active crossover? I know I'll need a terminal plate set up for bi-amping. But how do you wire it given the Horns will be externally mounted?
I'm half tempted to just get the Model 19 crossover from GPA at 1200hz and call it good. But, I know I'll probably wonder how the sound MIGHT improve with a different XO point now that I have read about other preferences for varying frequencies.
as for the Round Over... you just introduced yet another variable! I hadn't come across this in my crash course to diy horn speakers yet. I'll have to get back to you on this one.
This brings up the practical question of how to set up the cabs for Bi-Amping with an active crossover? I know I'll need a terminal plate set up for bi-amping. But how do you wire it given the Horns will be externally mounted?
I'm half tempted to just get the Model 19 crossover from GPA at 1200hz and call it good. But, I know I'll probably wonder how the sound MIGHT improve with a different XO point now that I have read about other preferences for varying frequencies.
as for the Round Over... you just introduced yet another variable! I hadn't come across this in my crash course to diy horn speakers yet. I'll have to get back to you on this one.
Haha, sorry about that. A horn that is different H and V should not have a flat front. OK, I know most do anyway, it also depends on how you use it. The narrow vertical would ideally be taller and deeper, compared to the sides.
Just an opportunity, is all.
Just an opportunity, is all.
hahaha... I just understood your question! didn't realize H and V were refering to the cab being horizontal or vertical. ok, now that we are on the same page, the top and bottom of the horn has no slope (it's flat), only the sides are sloped when horizontal. So vertical, the top and bottom are taller and deeper given the sides are flat.
I'll try both and see if there is a difference, and which way works best. Standing vertically cuts down on the space a little, which is always nice.
I'll try both and see if there is a difference, and which way works best. Standing vertically cuts down on the space a little, which is always nice.