The Vintage Altec Codex

[junker]

You could always play around with some Mundorf SGO's, Jupiter Copper, Duelund CAST or something... not saying you should! haha But a comparison would be interesting!

I'm rocking some Duelund CAST Silver Bypass caps on some Russian PIO caps right now and breaking everything in. So far, so good.

Originally Posted by Idler

I suspect you are right on regarding the bypass cap. Thanks.

[fjn04]

My carpenter is ready to build my stands. Just not sure I'm ready with my measurements. This is my thought. Mid-horn is 22.5" from the bottom of the cabinet. I sit on an adjustable zero gravity chair, generally my ear is 31.5" off the ground. So if my stands are 9", that would put my ears @ mid-horn level. My table (top surface) piece of Baltic Birch Ply is 3/4" thick…. If I have him make the legs 8 1/4", that gets me the 9" off the ground. Mmmm- perhaps just have them made 10"???? The thought being, I could always have them trimmed. Many have just gone 12", but they could be sitting in a chair that has their ears 2-3" higher. System is WT Amadeus GTA w/ EMT Tsd-15 SFL, Homage T2, V/R, Dy'quem's, Lignolab rack. Any thoughts. P.S. Backs are fully foamed, sounding great (at only 7 1/2" off the ground), and photos coming soon. Cheers, Don

[fjn04]

The link below has about a dozen new photos, the rest I have posted before.

Untitled

[junker]

Oh nice! Looks like you are making some good progress. Did you not get the denim insulation or is that it? It looks perfect for that purpose whatever you have.

Have a chance to listen to them with the new crossovers? Can't wait to hear what you think!

[fjn04]

Thanks Josh. Yep-that is the recycled denim like Bill from Great Plains Audio uses. The crossovers have around 20 hrs. I am really impressed with them. More alive, better PRAT, more organized, yet not Hi-Fi sounding at all. Really no negatives that I can hear. Then the stands made quite an impact after that…. More composed and relaxed than my 3 Encyclopedia's under each corner (-: I was expecting an improvement from the stands, but not quite the improvement they have made. I'm very happy!

[chipchas]

Originally Posted by fjn04

Thanks Josh. Yep-that is the recycled denim like Bill from Great Plains Audio uses. The crossovers have around 20 hrs. I am really impressed with them. More alive, better PRAT, more organized, yet not Hi-Fi sounding at all. Really no negatives that I can hear. Then the stands made quite an impact after that…. More composed and relaxed than my 3 Encyclopedia's under each corner (-: I was expecting an improvement from the stands, but not quite the improvement they have made. I'm very happy!

Congrats! You have them looking great! Love the backs. Have you tried insulation on all sides?
How do the Vals compare to your Devores now?

[junker]

I'm starting my next Altec journey... finally found a nice pair of Altec 604D and am starting this build project including building a large cabinet and crossover closely following guidelines in the 1967 Altec Speaker Enclosure guide and building N-1500 crossovers. I'm really looking forward to this.

[fjn04]

Congrats Josh- So you will like these better than the Valencia's. (-:

[junker]

Hard to say yet. But it's fun building 4 x 12 cubic feet cabinets with my friend. At first I might put the Flamenco LF driver in the cabinet and the flamenco horn on top to test out while building the 604 crossovers. It's quite possible I'll put the Flamencos in another location like each side of the bed, or just in separate locations. I have them so dialed in that it might be better to go with a 2nd system... Maybe a Zen SET... hmm

[junker]

The only problem with Valencia / Flamenco / Malibu is the limited cabinet volume (5-6 cubic feet) where 10-12 cubic feet cabinets is more ideal despite being quite a bit large. They also don't require additional tables and effectively have about the same volume as Val-Flams on tables. I'm sure they'll look much large visually thought. I'll post pics up when we have the cabinets assembled.