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ALK Universal


mojomc

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Good day!

 

I recently purchased an ALK Universal XO built by DeanG off of the garage sale. I've always been interested in trying some out and when they came up for sale I figured, why not. 

 

They were installed in my '77 LSI's in the early AM this morning. After 6 hours of listening so far we all agree (myself, wife and kids) that we much prefer the original recapped AA's. What we're hearing is instruments are being pushed WAY back, especially guitar riffs when singing is involved. I'm not sure that I would call it anemic but definitely not what I expected. I've rechecked all connections and everything is right and tight and positive and negatives leads are correct.

 

Favorite music that's been played today includes AC/DC, Joe Bonamassa, Dusty Springfield, Etta James, Jeff Healey, Samantha Fish, King Crimson, you get the idea.

 

I'm using the same setup that has changed very little since I inherited the LSI's back in 2016 and includes a dual mono SET amp from forum member Maynard, tubefanatic, being fed by a SONOS ZP90 running through a Schiit multibit DAC so differences in are readily apparent. 

 

The tap being as used is tap #6. 

 

I'm wondering if anyone with any experience with these XO's has any helpful advice or if this is an expected difference between the AA and ALK Universal?

 

Thanks for any and all replies!

 

Brent

 

 

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1 hour ago, mojomc said:

 

I recently purchased an ALK Universal XO built by DeanG

 -you may want to raise the taps by 3db until you find a sweet spot , the taps are unsoldered on both ends

 

4E085EED-9B77-49E1-A336-DD72D7D69B9F.jpeg

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12 minutes ago, mojomc said:

So there is no change to capacitor values when changing transformer taps?

here are the specs on the ALK -web site page --------the squawker and tweeter  can be adjusted

  • A specially designed autotransformer having low DC resistance (0.382 Ohms) and tight coupling provides taps to allow squawker level setting changes by the customer. The choices will be 1 to 18 dB in 1 dB steps, Attenuation is selected without soldering by push-on terminals and without cryptic setting tables. The attenuation settings are clearly written by each tap in dB units. The normal setting will be 6 dB. This adjustment will also allow the use of 8 or 16 Ohm squawker drivers without modification. NOTE: Any transformer that is larger in size is a waste of money. It will handle 50 Watts of power without batting and eyelash with virtually no loss, That is already extravagant considering the power levels through the midrange in a Klipsch loudspeaker will generally be less than ONE Watt!
  • A stable 2, 4, 6 or 8 dB plug-selected L-pad is included to adjust the tweeter level.
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I'll admit I'm very outclassed by the knowledge on this forum and perhaps I jumped further out of my depth than I intended. I've learned much from perusing this forum and I'm thankful for both the goofiness and the typically thoughtful sharing!

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Hey, I don't design them, I just build them.

 

Even after doing this for 15 years, it's very hard to predict what someone is going to prefer.

 

I tried the Universal several times and always went back to the Type AA.

 

Right, no adjustable l-pad for the tweeter. Most run the stock the tweeter or the B&C de-120, so you don't really need it.

 

The swamping resistor allows for adjustments without requiring the need to change the value of the primary capacitor.

 

On the autotransformer, there are three input taps. Make sure the wire is attached to the tap labeled '0'. 

 

Then use output tap labeled '3'.

 

Report back.

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I do not have a chart or anything.

 

The transformer is the same as in the pic provided by Budman. I didn't pay attention to both side of the transformer but I seem to recall a 3, 6, 9, and 12 on one side with 6 currently being used.

 

I neglected to note what was used on the opposite side.

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From reading an older post by DeanG, related to the 3619-ET, to calculate the level of attenuation I would subtract the input tap setting from the output tap setting.

 

Output tap setting - input tap setting = Attenuation

 

At this time I do not know what input tap is being used but this is information easily gathered by uninstalling a network and taking a look. 

 

I'll report back when I have a chance to do this. If any of the above is incorrect let me know.

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The networks used to belong to Budman -- he was the original owner.

 

Move the wire that's on 6, and put it on 3. This will be close to the stock setting.

 

If you want 5db of attenuation, leave it on 6 and move the input wire to -1 (because 6 -1 = 5).

 

If you want 4dB of attenuation, leave it on 6 and move the input wire to -2 (because 6 -2 = 4).

 

The other choices are for those who use more sensitive drivers than the K-55.

 

So, for example, if you wanted 7dB of attenuation, you would have to use input tap -2 and output tap 9 (because 9 -2 =7).

 

So on and so forth ...

 

 

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