Altec 19's

GTOJim

Member
I have the parts to assemble a pair of 19's except the crossovers.

Could a pair of crossovers from A7's be used temporally until I'm able to get proper crossovers?

The 416 woofers in the A7's are 8 ohms, same as the woofers for the 19's. The crossover I would like to try is N501-8A. From what I have read, crossover point will be 500mhz, the 811b horns go as low as 800mhz.

Would using the N501-8A crossover hurt anything? Obviously this is less than ideal, if it's even possible.

I am interested in the K19 crossover but lack the knowledge of how to build a pair.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.
 
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I have the parts to assemble a pair of 19's except the crossovers.

Could a pair of crossovers from A7's be used temporally until I'm able to get proper crossovers?

The 416 woofers in the A7's are 8 ohms, same as the woofers for the 19's. The crossover I would like to try is N501-8A. From what I have read, crossover point will be 500mhz, the 811b horns go as low as 800mhz.

Would using the N501-8A crossover hurt anything? Obviously this is less than ideal, if it's even possible.

I am interested in the K19 crossover but lack the knowledge of how to build a pair.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Don't use that crossover for a model 19. The model 19 crossover is a big part of the 19 sound. The 19 crossover point is 1200Hz. The N501-8A has a 500 Hz x-point. This is too low for the 811 under all circumstances.

Be a little patient. Better that you get this right, than to slap anything and everything together thinking that if it has the name Altec on it, it will work. It might all be Altec, but that crossover has no place being used with the 811.
 
There is a thread here & on the Heritage site on a Zilch updated xover for the 19's. I have built several of tem and they are very good networks- especially for the 19's update!
DC
 
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Thanks everyone for your advice.

I hope this is going to be worth the effort. Two weeks ago I was given a pair of A7's, my first Altec's. The cabinets are in good shape but they look ugly. Looks like a door skin was applied to the sides, glued with lots of brad nails, putty covers the brads.

Then I purchased a very nice pair of custom 19 cabinets. I planed to swap the drivers from the A7's into the much nicer looking 19 cabinets but they didn't fit. Original owner said the stock 19's were huge so he built narrower taller cabinets with the same internal volume. From what I've read the 19's are better suited for home use.

Lucky for me I have a very understanding wife. I will sell off the A7's but first they should get a fresh coat of paint.
 
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What components are they? The 802 and 902 horn drivers are really nice. The 416 woofers should have excellent bass in the Model 19 volume, right down to 30 Hz. The Z19 crossovers are outstanding. The 811 horn is not constant directivity, but it sounds good with some damping applied. I think the 511 is basically identical, acoustically.

My friend in SF may want the old A7 cabinets for a project we're planning. I would love to restore them and put new decals on them.
 
What components are they? The 802 and 902 horn drivers are really nice. The 416 woofers should have excellent bass in the Model 19 volume, right down to 30 Hz. The Z19 crossovers are outstanding. The 811 horn is not constant directivity, but it sounds good with some damping applied. I think the 511 is basically identical, acoustically.

My friend in SF may want the old A7 cabinets for a project we're planning. I would love to restore them and put new decals on them.

Components are 416-8b and 802-8g from the original owner. Although one driver is labeled 808-8b but is supposed the have the same L1 diaphragm and tangerine phase plug as used in the 802-8g.

I'm getting some very welcome help on Z-19 crossovers. Really looking forward to getting the 19's assembled and hearing how they sound.

The A7 cabinets seem pretty decent overall, I have new decals for them. They both have enclosures on top to encase the horns. One looks like it's factory made, the other matches but appears to be a copy. I am considering parting them out as I really do not have room for them.
As I said above I'm really lucky to have an understanding wife.

The A7 drivers are, 416-8a, 8 ohm version, read this is rare, 808-8a, and N501-8a crossover. Any estimates on the value of the components with 511b horns?
 
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This kind of reminds me, when I was young, I purchased a pair of Radio Shack kit speakers. Cabinets were completely assembled, drivers needed to be installed and connected to the crossovers. Don't remember if the cabinets already had a finish or were ready to have a finish applied.
I was really disappointed with the sound, they sounded terrible, I only had them for a day or two.

I'm sure this will not be the case with the Altec's.
 
Get a pro audio crossover, they're reasonable if you get a Behringer or a Samson. I have the Samson S 3-way (goes 2-way stereo too, 3 way is just the name). Send it back if you get the genuine article or don't like it before 30 days! You may stumble onto a setting you might like better than the stock one! Who knows without trying? No strings with the 30-day return policy of Musician's Friend, could be your friend too. Just sayin'.
 
Get a pro audio crossover, they're reasonable if you get a Behringer or a Samson. I have the Samson S 3-way (goes 2-way stereo too, 3 way is just the name). Send it back if you get the genuine article or don't like it before 30 days! You may stumble onto a setting you might like better than the stock one! Who knows without trying? No strings with the 30-day return policy of Musician's Friend, could be your friend too. Just sayin'.

Sensible advice. And some active crossovers have EQ to compensate for CD horns that will also serve to extend the high frequency response of the 802-811 combination.
 
Thank you for the suggestions but I'm already getting help with a pair of K-19 crossovers. For now I think it's best if I wait and see how the crossovers work out.

I will defiantly keep these suggestions in mind in the event things don't work out with the K-19 Xovers. Sounds like a very good suggestion.
 
the Zilch crossovers are outstanding. If you can build some. I bought some replica cabs from that guy on the auction site, brand new GPA drivers and Zilch crossovers and I am as happy as a pig in shit.

The most exciting speakers I have ever heard, plenty of "Punch", mids are exquisite and the treble is outstanding.

My last pair of speakers I will ever buy.
 
I bought some replica cabs from that guy on the auction site

Are you talking about Ebay? Ebay is the only auction site I can think of. I've seen a fella selling Model 19 type cabinets on Ebay. Is that fella on Ebay the guy whose cabinets you bought, the Ebay guy?
 
the Zilch crossovers are outstanding. .

It's going to be about 3 weeks before I'm able to listen to the 19's with Zilch crossovers. I'm looking forward to the day I get to hear them for the first time. It will be a long three weeks.

The first night listening to my 19's I hope I'm enjoying them so much it will be hard to turn them off and go to bed.

Thanks for your feed back, glad your getting so much enjoyment from yours. Hope I enjoy them as much as you are.
 
Thought I would post a couple pictures of how the speakers will look.

The cabinets were built 30 years ago by a cabinetmaker prior to becoming a cabinetmaker. He made the cabinets taller with a smaller footprint having the same internal volume as Alec 19's. The cabinets were built using particle board before MDF was available from the advice of his audiophile friends claiming it would be better than plywood. They are covered with an oak veneer with an inset glass top. They weigh 130lbs each without drivers. I will make some speaker grills to help protect the woofers.
 

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I like those cabs alot - you may want some foam around the horn mouth - it seems to contribute to the 19's sound as far I've read....
 
I like those cabs alot - you may want some foam around the horn mouth - it seems to contribute to the 19's sound as far I've read....

Good idea to break up edge difractions......
DC
 
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Cool; keep us updated. I bet you'll love them.

Those cabs are familiar. I think I've seen them on eBay or CL before. Neat idea.
 
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