Altec 811B Horn + Big Woofer DIY System

Discussion in 'DIY' started by spwath, Jan 8, 2018.

  1. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    Looking at calculations with winISD, it seems it can only get to about 50hrz before a steep rolloff, even with a huge enclosure.
     
  2. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    You should probably keep looking then.
     
  3. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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  4. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Those cabinets look fun.
     
  5. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    6th order bandpass should increase sensitivity quite a bit, but kills extension into higher frequencies. Usually only seen for live sound reinforcement.
     
  6. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    With the right compression drivers, I only need bass unit to get up to 500hz
     
  7. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    You're unlikely to find much of anything that will crossover at 500hz and get out all the way 16khz. And it's notoriously hard to integrate tweeters with these Altec horns.
     
  8. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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  9. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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  10. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Just google "Renkus Heinz SSD 1800-8", it's the first thing to come up.
     
  11. Darren G

    Darren G Friend

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    My father owned a pair of Altec Santiago's for many years, same 811B horn and compression driver as the Valencia, but a different (maybe sealed, I forget) 15" bass driver.

    I'd have taken them except they are monsters size wise. Anyway, stunning sounding horns. I am envious. Enjoy your project.
     
  12. Darren G

    Darren G Friend

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    Someone I read described this well. Instead of the 'you are there' experience, horns can give you a 'they are here' experience. Some enjoy this, some find it irritating. Room positioning, room reflections, and an AMP that delivers that first watt of power in a pleasant way matter. Horn sound is dynamic, thrilling, engaging, but yes, it can also come across as 'shouting'.
     
  13. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    Another thing I am going to want to start thinking about is amps.
    This will be a very efficient system, so I could probably get a nice tube amp.

    Any ideas on how much I would have to spend to get a tube amp worth buying?

    I dont listen at loud volumes, and its very efficient, so I probably dont need much power at all.
     
  14. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I would go with an el84 push-pull amp. Good single ended transformers are very expensive whereas you can get pretty good performance from a push-pull for not a ton of money. el84s are cheap and can supply 5-15w of power. Monoprice has an el84 amp that I'm very curious to listen to.
     
  15. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    how cheap is cheap here, to get a decent one.
     
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    The monoprice one is likely as cheap as it gets. I plan on building an el84 amp and the parts will certainly cost more then the Monoprice amp.
     
  17. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    This? https://www.monoprice.com/product?c...utm_medium=11051853&utm_term=VigLink2-2917105

    I feel like it can be no good with all the added feature like bluetooth and phono pre

    I wouldent be apposed to building my own if there was one that is not extensively complex or expensive.
    Im fairly handy with DIY and soldering.
     
  18. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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  19. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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  20. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    That one has a ton of reviews all over the web, so I think it's ok. But I agree, I don't really want to be a guinea pig with any new Chinese products.
     

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