Altec and open baffle

Altec Open Baffles, etc.

Altec and open baffle

Postby arnoldc » Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:43 am

let me start by saying that i believe my speaker journey has ended, just last night.

having been living with flea powered amps (45, 2A3, 300B) and a commercial 89dB speaker since i got back to the hobby, was like a marriage on the edge of divorce :D

at the start it has been a mismatch - 3wpc amp + 89dB sensitivity, but was enjoyable, and it gave me a lot of room to learn about tweaks, speaker positioning, and room treatment.

the hunt for the appropriate speakers started after completing my 45 amp which is 1.8wpc at most, and it obviously is losing dynamics driving the Kappa. so i went on a journey to find a new "wife" which almost led to a divorce :D

but now, there is a new "girl" in the house :D the Altec 406-8Y on an open baffle. there is a very kind person who offered these for sale, and i know that he is now left with a heavy heart after parting with these speakers. but he is so generous and even had an open baffle prototype made for me. mabuhay ka patispetrus!

the 406-8Y rolls off at 4kHz and obviously needs a tweeter. for that duty i thought i can use my Kappa's tweeter with picks up from 3kHz to 27kHz so i hooked it up.

after about three hours of listening, i have achieved the sound that had been a reference since coming from jadis' place and heard his magnepans.

the music is so lush, warm, big sounding, very dynamic, and with true "you are there" experience. with a measly 3wpc driving it, i cannot crank my preamp past 10 o'clock as it is loud already. now, my 45 amp will be extremely happy :D

thanks to the following for the support -

joseph esmilla, joel (setup2), tristan (plasticman), and of course nilo (patispetrus)
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You are most welcome!

Postby setup6 » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:21 am

Am glad that you are happy with them.

I was supposed to only have my repair man use MDF for your prototype but ended up using wooden ply.

Joel explained to me that the upper horizontal board is a tuning thingy. All the while I thought that the guy misread the plans.

I have not had experience with open baffles except in Joel's. But am very intrigued now. Will try it with a couple of other drivers when i get myself to it.

Congratulations!
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Postby BonD » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:23 am

Sir Arnold,

Congrats! :)

Sayang wala pa yan last saturday....pwede ba bumalik? :D
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Postby arnoldc » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:35 am

thanks nilo, i hope to find a suitable tweeter soon as the current tweeter is too expensive at 30K (the Infinity Kappa :D)

handyman, by all means. si red76 balak din pumunta sa bahay. kaso as usual, pwede kayo mag sauna uli sa init :D
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Postby setup2 » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:04 am

Hello Arnold,

Your welcome and glad to help anytime.

When you find the matching tweeter for that, your next journey will be to make a proper crossover for them... good luck in your hunt!

Regards,
Joel
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Postby camotecue » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:04 am

sir arnoldc,

how's the bass with the open baffles? i am intrigued co'z i'm now using this 10" philips alnico driver in a voigt pipe. plenty of bass with the voigt but i'm still intrigued by how my drivers will fare in o.b. design. planning to make open baffle also using j.e.'s design on the web.
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Postby arnoldc » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:13 am

hi joel, daghang salamat! dami ko tanong sa inyo ni nilo, newbie na newbie ang dating :D

larry, let's qualify yung bass. if we're talking here of mid bass, it is plentiful and very dynamic. i already tried REM's Beds Are Burning and i'm pleased. if we talk about low bass (read: Erasure, Information Society) i have not tried them out yet. although i don't have high hopes on that area. the Infinity can do that job coupled with my Pentode amp. but right now, the mid bass to vocals to highs (c/o the Infinity tweeter) is extremely fulfilling for me right now. none of the commercial speakers, including my favorite Coincident Triumph, and Fostex-based single driver speakers i have tried in my room comes close to what i have now.
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Postby camotecue » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:29 am

thank u very much. i may try this o.b. route also in the future.
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Postby dogears » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:50 am

o, kelan open baffle - este open house mo para marinig naman namin :D
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Postby zetroce » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:09 pm

Immortal Arnold,

Baka puedeng pumasyal sa iyong kaharian. Makikipakinig lang naman. :)

Congratulations!
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Postby vintage_dog » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:14 pm

congrats arnold.

i could almost smell who's now surfing for 406-8Y to match his 50 amp hehehe :lol: :lol:

sorry, these 2 pairs are now taken:

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Postby setup1 » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:24 pm

Hi Arnold,

I'm glad you're satisfied with the results! If at some point you find your Infinity tweeters sound a bit less efficient than the 406, there are horn tweets that can x'over properly to those woofers. Of course my preference are vintage units which are hard to come by back home. But if you're into eBay, try some ElectroVoice T35s or T35Bs [alnico version], not quite as extended as Altec 3000s but just as sweet and airy. You won't hear the top end roll off unless you compare them head to head. Just scored a pair from battered EV LT12s.

Regards,

JE
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Postby zach » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:24 pm

congrats man! you got pictures bro? :)
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Postby Killer Mike » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:39 pm

Congrats Arnold :D totoo na ba yan? :)
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Postby arnoldc » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:46 pm

zetroce, yes you can have a listen, bring your favorite LP for a new experience :D partida, i haven't used the oracle yet because i can't access it anymore! (nakaharang yung OBs)

francis, wow sayang!

joseph, i will again be patient and try to see if i can get those. i can live with the infinity's tweeters for the meantime, but they're obviously not efficient.

zach, pictures will reveal a mess :D i'll try to tidy up my room first

mike, mukha ba kong nagbibiro ;)
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Postby iceman90a » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:57 pm

inaabangan ko pa naman kung ano kukunin mo Sir, dahil di tayo magkalayo sa taste sa music... kaso di ko magagaya yan :cry: :cry:

ps - parang ganito ba itsura ng OB?

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Postby arnoldc » Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:05 pm

ice, yes. those pictures are definitely OBs. the first picture is setup2's OB - kainggit yung horn nya. hornyng horny :D
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Postby dogears » Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:27 pm

arnold, yun bang kahoy sa office mo yung ginamit mong baffle?
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Postby s2kov » Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:39 pm

congrats arnold.... are you also familiar with altec 515? someone offered me this speaker....
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Postby arnoldc » Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:46 pm

s2kov, if i were you, i'll get it. it's a 15 incher with 113dB sensitivity with 35watts input form 500Hz to 1kHz. its frequency range is from 20Hz to 2kHz and you will need a horn tweeter from 1.5kHz up. best to use a mid range and a super tweeter.
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