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Altec 511b horn and K55V driver combo ??


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Well, I just picked up the the 511B's and they are huge! They barely fit just sitting on top of my La Scala's. Even if I wanted to, it doesn't look like the cabinet could be modifed to fit these babies.

The guy spray painted them a flat black and they look pretty good, but I may touch them up some. Is there a spray paint that might be recommended for this type of thing?

I went ahead and ordered the driver adaptors from Parts Express... I sure hope they are the right ones. As it looks right now, I should have these hooked up by the weekend and will let you know what I think of them...

Thanks for everybody's help,

Mike

This message has been edited by Mike Lindsey on 09-18-2002 at 03:03 PM

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btw, when you ever do get around to getting a quality SET, you will flip your hat. The difference can be quite profound, depending on setup, music, etc.

But when I get a bit more room, I am going with some different horns and drivers as well. Right now, room so tight, I dont have much space to try things like VOT or other options.

kh

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This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 09-18-2002 at 03:20 PM

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Just about everyone who has tried the Altec 511B with the exising K-55 has said it is much better than the K-400/401 (Khorn/La Scala), K-500/K-501 (Belle) and K-600/601 (Cornwall) that Klipsch currently uses.

I will try this combo and give you my honest opinion of it. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how you would do this with your Cornwalls. Your drivers and network are in an enclosed cabinet. Mine are not, so I can place the Horn on top of my cabinet (it should be easy to toe as well).

I'm with you on the SET, but this was just a $130 mod and I figured if I didn't like it, I could get my money back on them...

Mike

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The adaptor you want is available from Atlas (www.atlassound.com). Atlas part number is: DA-FH, on page 38 of their 2002 catalog.

Mike....they will definately fit in the La Scala upper cabs. Just need to jockey a bit. If they fit in my Belle's.....you will probably have to do something similar to what I did. Well....on the other hand, are La Scala uppers removable? Now that I think on it I guess probably not. However, I think you will still have enough room if you remove the top and bottom mounting flanges.

------------------

Ed

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Thanks djk! That's the same adaptor that AL recommended. Will the one I ordered (#1881) still work if I drill another hole in the Altec?

Edward - I think I am just going to sit the 511B on top of the cabinet for now. Q-Man just ordered me some bronze smoked tempered glass that will sit on top of the La Scala's. The horns will then sit on top of the glass.

Mike

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After taking a closer look at my 511B's, they have the 2 holes that came from the factory but they also have 2 others that were drilled by a prior owner, just slightly off axis of the other 2 but closer together.

When I try and line up my 3 hole adaptors (which just arrived in the mail today), only one of the holes lines up and nothing else. Also, Tom had mentioned that the driver side of my adaptor has a 1.4" hole in it and the K-55 driver has a 1" throat. Does this mean this will not work and I am going to have to order the adaptors mentioned by Al and djk? I think I can get around the hole issue by either drilling a hole in the adaptors, or 2 more in the horn. I'm not so sure about the 1" driver versus the 1.4" hole however...

Mike

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Tony - That figures, huh?

Tom - here is the Selenium HM25-25...

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?Did=7&PartNumber=264-312

That doesn't look like the right part either.

My only hope is that Q-Man can work his magic and get the adaptor's I have to work. If not, I will try and make some like AL did...

Mike

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Mike--There are 2 different 3 bolt patterns; 1" JBL and 1.4" Altec. It's not uncommon to see 511s drilled with extra holes to also accept 1" JBL drivers, I drilled such extra holes in my own 511s. Most 1" (save those actually made by Altec and JBL) horns and adaptors are drilled to accept both Altec and JBL 1" mounting.

Trying to cobble the 1.4" adaptors you now have to the 1" 511B horns will lead to a huge suck-out in the response and higher distortion. EV covers the results of such adaptor exit to horn entrance mismatches in their literature.

You need an adaptor that has a 1" "screw-on" female thread on one side and a flange with a 1" hole on the other. They can be ordered from Image Communications in Rockford Illinois. They have no website but an 800 number and an excellent catalog that every horny should have. Their number is 800-552-1639. Order part PC-25, code number 305-50104 "adaptor converts horns to screw fitting" Get a catalog too, lots of cool stuff---Radian, Beyma, PAudio, EV, Selenium, Eminence and McCauley

I got that Selenium part number from Selenium's website, perhaps I misread it.

www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org

This message has been edited by TBrennan on 09-20-2002 at 10:39 PM

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quote:

Originally posted by edwardre:

Mike.....I too like the exposed horn look. The only problem I encountered was the inability to effectively dampen the bejesus out of the 511 and still maintain the WAF......
Smile.gif

Edward - Did you end up rope caulking the 511B's? Did you find it was necessary? If so, what was it that you were hearing?

Tom - Thanks for the info on the adaptors. I will call them Monday morning and see how much they are.

I also looked up the adaptors that Edward mentioned (Atlas DA-FH) and it says compression driver adaptor for flange-terminated sound projectors. 1 3/8" - 18F to 1" throat bolt-on. Is this right? If it is, I will check the pricing on both. If not, I will go ahead and order the adaptors from Image Communications.

As it is, I'm already out $23 on the Selenium adaptors. Anybody out there have a need for them?

Thanks for everybody's help here...

Mike

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Mike---The 1" screw-on threading is 1 and 3/8" by 18.

511 horns benefit from damping and from screwing down to a sturdy baffle if possible. The most important areas to damp are the "lips" that extend outward from the mounting flange and the vanes. Later 511Bs did not have the vanes welded together, instead the joint where the vane halves meet was filled with silicon. With welded vanes cutting the welds with a sawzall and filling the kerf with silicon is a worthwhile mod.

Other worthwhile mods down the road would be replacing the K-55 and K-77 with an Altec 902 and replacing the Klipsch bassbin with an Altec 515 or 416 in an 825 cabinet. :-) Just kidding. I'll bet you eventually get there though, once the Klipsch "spell" is broken you can go anywhere with horns and very well might.

Email me, I can use the adaptors, I'm getting some Altec 1.4" multi-cells and could mount my JBL 2427s on them with the adaptors.

www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org

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Mike - When I got my adapters, I had to contact Atlas to get the number of a local dealer to get them. They cost about $25 each.

The 'ringing' I thought I heard seemed to be more of a quality of the overall sound rather than a 'certain freq' or loudness ring. If you 'ping' the 511 with aomething metel, you can get an idea of the sound I had talked myself into thinking I heard. I thought you wanted to dampen the throat area as well as behind the flanges, but thinking about it, Tom's suggestion seems to make sense. In any event, I'm sure I don't hear ringing anymore....Oh, and 'yes', I did use rope caulk. Stays put but also is easily removeable.

------------------

Ed

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