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New cross overs needed for Altec Lansing 1203

T

Trentreed12

New Member
I have a set of altec Lansing 1203 powered speakers but when I got them the power amps had been removed so since the cross overs were built into the amps I need to find a good quallity set of cross overs to replace them for use with my home stereo. Does anyone know of any that would work good for these speakers? 1679568034751272136223474332874.jpg
 
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The 1203 speakers have a 422 woofer and 807 horn driver right? Both 8 ohm.

Here are some Altec options. Some have binding posts and the others have 1/4” jacks

Altec N801/809 (800hz crossover point), or Altec N1201/1209 (1200hz crossover point).
There are also Altec N1285, which are selectable between 500/800/1200. Though with the 811 horn I would use something 800hz or above.

IMO I’d go with 1200hz. I think the 811 horns sound their best at that point or higher.

There are lot of used Altec crossovers online (eBay/reverb). Also GPA builds new N1201 crossovers.

There are also some cheaper, non Altec options. Something from parts express between 800-1500hz.
Altec xovers used to be like 50 bucks. Now they’re hundreds for a pair. And you still need to recap them.

If you’re using them for home stereo, I would also consider changing out the symbiotik diaphragms for GPA or Radian.
 
Is there a schematic around for the crossovers? If so, you might be able to build your own.
 
There are schematics available for all the crossovers I listed out there in Google land.

I’m curious what the OP has in mind for the speakers. Then maybe better recommendations could be made.
 
elitopus said:
I’m curious what the OP has in mind for the speakers. Then maybe better recommendations could be made.
Click to expand...

He said he wants to use it with his home stereo, so he probably wants the equivalent crossover in a passive arrangement so he can hook it up to his receiver/amp.
 
These were 800hz xover from the factory. And the spec sheet says they have 4 ohm drivers. So ignore all the recommendations I listed above in my first post. All those are 8 ohm networks.

You probably gotta build some networks.

56D86FA4-C44A-4653-A1FB-4A80D6BF6373.jpeg
 
elitopus said:
The 1203 speakers have a 422 woofer and 807 horn driver right? Both 8 ohm.

Here are some Altec options. Some have binding posts and the others have 1/4” jacks

Altec N801/809 (800hz crossover point), or Altec N1201/1209 (1200hz crossover point).
There are also Altec N1285, which are selectable between 500/800/1200. Though with the 811 horn I would use something 800hz or above.

IMO I’d go with 1200hz. I think the 811 horns sound their best at that point or higher.

There are lot of used Altec crossovers online (eBay/reverb). Also GPA builds new N1201 crossovers.

There are also some cheaper, non Altec options. Something from parts express between 800-1500hz.
Altec xovers used to be like 50 bucks. Now they’re hundreds for a pair. And you still need to recap them.

If you’re using them for home stereo, I would also consider changing out the symbiotik diaphragms for GPA or Radian.
Click to expand...
I am really not sure on the ohms there is no diagram and have not taken them apart I just know they used to be self powered and no longer have the amp that contained the crossover on the back of the cabinet sorry I don't really know more about them. I will see if I can download a manual and getore info.
 
elitopus said:
The 1203 speakers have a 422 woofer and 807 horn driver right? Both 8 ohm.

Here are some Altec options. Some have binding posts and the others have 1/4” jacks

Altec N801/809 (800hz crossover point), or Altec N1201/1209 (1200hz crossover point).
There are also Altec N1285, which are selectable between 500/800/1200. Though with the 811 horn I would use something 800hz or above.

IMO I’d go with 1200hz. I think the 811 horns sound their best at that point or higher.

There are lot of used Altec crossovers online (eBay/reverb). Also GPA builds new N1201 crossovers.

There are also some cheaper, non Altec options. Something from parts express between 800-1500hz.
Altec xovers used to be like 50 bucks. Now they’re hundreds for a pair. And you still need to recap them.

If you’re using them for home stereo, I would also consider changing out the symbiotik diaphragms for GPA or Radian.
Click to expand...
Are the diaphragms inside the horns? And yes I was going to use the at home with an old sansui amp
 
elitopus said:
These were 800hz xover from the factory. And the spec sheet says they have 4 ohm drivers. So ignore all the recommendations I listed above in my first post. All those are 8 ohm networks.

You probably gotta build some networks.

View attachment 2837126
Click to expand...
I'm lost how would I go about building networks? Vintage in cool but I thought it would be an easy route to a monster stereo
 
elitopus said:
There are schematics available for all the crossovers I listed out there in Google land.

I’m curious what the OP has in mind for the speakers. Then maybe better recommendations could be made.
Click to expand...
I am planning on hooking them up to a sansui amp along with a set of cerwin vega317 P's in the man cave and shake my house apart or something like that
 
If these were typical 8 ohm Altecs there would be quite a few different options. Both Altec crossovers and generic. With them being 4 ohm drivers (per the spec sheet I posted above) there are less options.

Here are some units from Parts Express. Both their own branded xovers (about $10 each), and Dayton branded xovers (about $18 each). I didn’t see a 800hz 4 ohm complete crossover there, but they do have the individual LF and HF sections. You would need to wire it up to some binding posts in the back of the speaker.

Dayton Part #260-1786 (high pass)
Dayton Part #260-1788 (low pass)

Parts Express Part #266-470 (high pass)
Parts Express Part #266-448 (low pass)

Yes the diaphragms are in the horns. Once you get the speakers up and running maybe just listen to them first and see what you think.
 
elitopus said:
If these were typical 8 ohm Altecs there would be quite a few different options. Both Altec crossovers and generic. With them being 4 ohm drivers (per the spec sheet I posted above) there are less options.

Here are some units from Parts Express. Both their own branded xovers (about $10 each), and Dayton branded xovers (about $18 each). I didn’t see a 800hz 4 ohm complete crossover there, but they do have the individual LF and HF sections. You would need to wire it up to some binding posts in the back of the speaker.

Dayton Part #260-1786 (high pass)
Dayton Part #260-1788 (low pass)

Parts Express Part #266-470 (high pass)
Parts Express Part #266-448 (low pass)

Yes the diaphragms are in the horns. Once you get the speakers up and running maybe just listenfirst and see what you think.
Click to expand...
I wanted to thsf uhh u ut to thank everyone else for their time and Infowars kinda at a loss on where to go with these things I got them home and realized there were no crossovers. Bhh
 
Trentreed12 said:
I wanted to thsf uhh u ut to thank everyone else for their time and Infowars kinda at a loss on where to go with these things I got them home and realized there were no crossovers. And have been chomping at the bit to try them out seems now I got direction to aim for. Thanks again
Click to expand...
 
I must have still been asleep when I wrote that basically it says thanks for everyone's time and effort getting the info out to me I can't wait to get them up and running
 
Shure used to sell active electronic crossovers for pro loudspeakers. Two of these Shure 106 active electronic crossovers could be just the thing for your Altecs. They have a number of selectable crossover frequencies, including 800 Hz.

For more info about the Shure SR 106, see page 5 of this:
https://content-files.shure.com/KnowledgeBaseFiles/cjrhnpk380syn0189omkw3mwc/1976_20SR_20Professional_20Sound_20Reinforcement.pdf

Active crossovers work between a pre-amp or receiver with pre-amp output jacks, and a separate 2-channel amplifier. They also require electric power, the usual 120V 15A wall plug-in.

I see people selling SR 106s on eBay, asking $50 each. I believe you'll need two of them, one for each speaker.

There is a trusted regular on Audioholics, TLS Guy, who has a supply of those Shure 106 crossovers that he bought a number of years ago. His are still new in the boxes they came in. Shure no longer makes them. You ought to contact TLS Guy, as these electronic crossovers are no longer commercially available. Tell him the details about your Altecs. They might very well be what you need to improve those aging Voice of the Theater speakers. If so, he'll be glad to sell you two of them. He's an experienced DIY speaker builder and designer – he knows his stuff.

Check out this recent thread on Audioholics. You'll see TLS Guy's post.
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/upgrade-a7s.126912/#post-1593741

If you don't want to bother logging in at Audioholics to contact him, send me a PM. I can give you his email address.
 
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I was hesitant to bring up biamping, only because it is more complicated than just plugging in some speakers into a receiver.

There are a bunch of pro style active crossovers out there. You can get them for around 100 bucks, and and many of them have a subwoofer out as well.

If your Sansui has a pre-out, and you have a couple extra amps you could try biamping.

With that being said, if the OP is planning to run his 4 ohm Altecs and Cerwin Vegas at the same time, he’ll most likely need two amps or receivers anyways.
 
elitopus said:
I was hesitant to bring up biamping, only because it is more complicated than just plugging in some speakers into a receiver.

There are a bunch of pro style active crossovers out there. You can get them for around 100 bucks, and and many of them have a subwoofer out as well.

If your Sansui has a pre-out, and you have a couple extra amps you could try biamping.

With that being said, if the OP is planning to run his 4 ohm Altecs and Cerwin Vegas at the same time, he’ll most likely need two amps or receivers anyways.
Click to expand...
Right. Active crossovers, such as the Shure 106, require two amplifier channels, one for the woofer and one for the tweeter. For two speakers, the OP would need four amplifier channels.

Bi-amping is more complicated, but so is building a passive crossover network, especially if you lack DIY experience. At this point, I don't know what the OP thinks is too complex.
 
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