Seems like there is confusion and disagreement within the organization.
I'm not sure Bill is in charge there anymore? I don't think Bill would decide to increase prices fourfold, which is what happened 3-4 years ago.
I spoke to Bill on the phone two years ago regarding recharging of Altec drivers. They recharged mine, but already back then Bill said they would not be doing this anymore. I did not speak to Bill last week, but a guy called Santos. He was VERY clear about the new policy, no repairs or recharging of Altec drivers.
I will be looking for alternatives to Altec as a consequence.
What is the basis of suggesting Bill is not in charge? He answered the phone on the second ring when I called, I did not ask for him. You seem to be quite interested in spreading your baseless guesses about the business.
It more than strains credulity to suggest that some in the company are claiming that they don't do the thing that their business is created around, and which is the subject of several pages of their website, without the knowledge of the guy who started the company and is at least involved enough to answer the phone.
It sounds like you're disgruntled about their prices. Ten years ago their 604 cost $950, today it costs $1799. Hardly 4x, another falsehood. If it's too expensive for you, don't buy. Don't spread falsehoods.
Keep this thread factual and stay away from personal attacks. You have agreed to the RULES, please obey them.It appears you are emotionally connected to GPA. I'm not interested in arguing with you about this.
But please refrain from insinuating that I am lying about my conversations.
"Ten years ago their 604 cost $950, today it costs $1799. Hardly 4x, another falsehood."
Cherry-picking the one that only doubled in price? Their most popular items, the 414,416 & 515 all had close to a 4 x price increase. This has been mentioned by others in this this forum as well.
"It sounds like you're disgruntled about their prices."
I am not, but my concern is that people will loose interest in their products. That would be a shame, because they make some great products.
I wish nothing but a bright future for GPA. Also I said earlier that I prefer Altec to GPA, so I am not in the market for GPA drivers. The same has been said by others about GPA 288 vs Altec 288.
If that is true, then I must say the communication from GPA is confusing to say the least.
Did you make Bill aware that one of his employees recently said the opposite? It would be great if someone at GPA could make a statement about this, to clear the confusion.
I will only relate to my direct contact with GPA concerning the truth in this matter, so the thread title will not be changed.
Did you make Bill aware that one of his employees recently said the opposite? It would be great if someone at GPA could make a statement about this, to clear the confusion.
I will only relate to my direct contact with GPA concerning the truth in this matter, so the thread title will not be changed.
As a consequence of my findings, i'd like to ask for recommendations for drivers similar in tone and character to Altec 416-8B and in particular Altec 515B.
The usual suspects are Faital 15PR400, Acoustic Elegance TD15M, Beyma SM-115/N, TAD 1601/02/03..
I've owned the first two, and while very good, not quite at the level of 416 IMO wrt midrange quality.
The usual suspects are Faital 15PR400, Acoustic Elegance TD15M, Beyma SM-115/N, TAD 1601/02/03..
I've owned the first two, and while very good, not quite at the level of 416 IMO wrt midrange quality.
Hi martyh, wasn't it the first version of 515 that had this paper surround? I vaguely remember a post by GM about this..
Just now got off the phone with Bill. He was the one who picked up when I called. He still services Altec. He will not send Altec recone kits to most requests as he has had too many complaints that the kits were no good when in fact they failed due to improper installation. He still services Altec !
Thanks for this info Hearinspace. It seems the info provided by one of his employees was wrong, since two members of the forum have talked to Bill after hearing about this. I'm very pleased about this, I will contact them again about the 515B's! The Altec legacy lives on
I don't think Radian makes them for the medium format drivers. 288, 299, 291 ect. I have switched my systems over to JBL large format.
It apparently depends on which version of 515B since it's my understanding that over time they consolidated the basic diaphragm kit and GPA could only do what was being made by EV at the time they quit, which apparently is basically a lower tuned 416A, which in turn has been 'modernized' for the worst based on one forum member's GPA experience; so for me the 515's 'magic' would be but a fading memory with only its AlNiCo motor of any worth and frankly, I'd rather have the superior power, etc., of the latest n' greatest performing motors as the 515 was in my youth.
I don't know what the situation is in GPA but I called them a couple of weeks ago and Bill picked up the phone. It's little embarrassing but I bought their 288c diaphragm replacement around 10 years ago, put them in the drivers and never used them except the test that they work. I just played opera singer on the bare drivers laying on the table. My ex was floored Well, I just made adapters for DuKane /Vitavox CN157 horns to use the drivers. I measured them with DAts and the resonance frequency of those big old Altec 288C with GPA dias was around 500Hz. Ou of curiosity I pulled out original (Heathkit version) 1" Altec 802D and its resonance frequency was 390Hz. I called to ask Bill what resonance it should be. He seemed confused and said that it supposed to be 2kHz and it depends on horn. I think he has an honorary role in GPA nowadays. I bought quite a few re-cone kits form them over the years and sent a tone of drivers to recharge and the service was always first rate.
Well, I just made adapters for DuKane /Vitavox CN157 horns to use the drivers. I measured them with DAts and the resonance frequency of those big old Altec 288C with GPA dias was around 500Hz. Ou of curiosity I pulled out original (Heathkit version) 1" Altec 802D and its resonance frequency was 390Hz. I called to ask Bill what resonance it should be. He seemed confused and said that it supposed to be 2kHz and it depends on horn. I think he has an honorary role in GPA nowadays. I bought quite a few re-cone kits form them over the years and sent a tone of drivers to recharge and the service was always first rate.Nice horns Limono, reminds me of Altec 329A and RCA 9595..I don't know what the situation is in GPA but I called them a couple of weeks ago and Bill picked up the phone. It's little embarrassing but I bought their 288c diaphragm replacement around 10 years ago, put them in the drivers and never used them except the test that they work. I just played opera singer on the bare drivers laying on the table. My ex was floored
I assume you measured Fs with a horn attached, as this is how the driver is meant to operate. Very surprising that Bill claimed the resonance frequency of 802D to be 2khz, this is not correct. The resonance frequency should always be outside the operating frequency band of the driver, which is 500-22khz for the 802D. So your 390hz meaurement sounds correct to me.
However 500hz is too high for the 288C, I would try to realign the diaphragm. Misaligned diaphragm will result in higher Fs, distortion and lower efficiency.
I measured 310hz Fs on my 288-16G's without horn attached. With horn (JMLC 270) attached the resonance is around 250hz.
No , I measured with and without horn and the resonanse frequency of big altec 288c with GPA stays around 500 Hz . The small altec 1" 802D measured a whole 100 Hz lower than the big one at 390 Hz .Replacement GPA diaphragms on the 288c sits tight on guiding pins and there is not much to align except the torque of the securing bolts. Both drivers measure roughly the same.
Bill actually said that the resonance of big altec 288c should be in a range of 2000 Hz that's why I didn't continue with the conversation.
Bill actually said that the resonance of big altec 288c should be in a range of 2000 Hz that's why I didn't continue with the conversation.
288 resonance should be almost an octave lower when horn loaded. Try realigning the diaphragm. One of my 288G's has an uneven coilgap, requiring careful alignment of the diaphragm. You may have to remove the alignment pins if this is the case, or if there is slight variation in the width of the coil. Play a sine tone and listen for coil rubbing in the coilgap, very easy to hear. Tighten screws when aligned and run a measurement sweep in REW, look at the distortion tab and confirm that it looks okay. I should have said clean coilgap first
Thanks for this info GM!
Question; If your 515B's failed tomorrow, what would you replace them with? Are there any modern equivalents?
To be honest I don't think would be an easy task. One would think that 60 years of evolution would produce better sounding drivers, but not necessarily so. Todays higher power requirements mean heavier coils, higher inductance and so on. Not many modern 15" around with low MMS and 25hz FS.
This is the driver/horn combo's mean resonance for a 500 Hz XO point or viewed another way, its ~reactance annulling tuning, the way the pioneers originally designed horns since highest technically possible acoustic efficiency was the primary goal, i.e. = sqrt(500*8000) = 2000 Hz, so 'old school' like me.