TBrennan Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Drove up to Ann Arbor and picked up some Altec Boleros from the original owner, $100, they're like new. These use a 10" woof that uses the 9lb magnet structure and 3" voice-coil of the Altec 414; VERY serious 10"er. A passive radiator helps the woof and a horn tweet works above 2000hz. Bass is considerably deeper than the Heresies and quite solid and well-damped. Highs are smooth and extended; very good detail. But the mids, you ask, what about the mids friom that 10" cone? Well the mids are very good; palpable with Altec fullbodied robustness and no strain or cry, not at my levels anyway. The cones are strange with a 2-stage profile; first straight sided and the about 1/2" past the dust-cover they become curvo-linear, odd and unusual and a sign of some serious effort at the engineering. Altec knew how to get good midrange from larger cones than this, as any 604 or 605 lover will attest; I imagine that the Altec engineers thought it no big challenge to go to 2000hz with a cone, provided it was built to the standards of their 15s! Anyay the speakers sound very good and have the Altec "technicolor" sound. I didn't know I could get that sound in such small speakers (in the photo attached you can see the Heresies for scale). I'm pleased. I'm thinking that if one wants to take a cone to 2000hz and THEN go to a horn this would be the best way to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Ah, I'd love to find a K-horn center channel in about that form factor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Congratulations on the find! I'm sure that you will give them a good home, rather than ending up in a dumpster, or on a garage sale table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Nice 'bookshelf' speaker, almost appear they were meant to be set horizontally, vis-à-vis verts.. eBay pair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Tom: Incredible! 9# magnets on 10s? That is amazing. I don't believe I've run across any 10s with magnets that large. They certainly look like an excellent find! I see that you drove UP to Ann Arbor. I assume Ann Arbor, Michigan? I live about 30 minutes east of Ann Arbor in a little town named Allen Park. May I ask what area you are from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Nice Tom. I think that the JBL L46 pair that my son, Invidiosulus, has, with only an 8 in. woofer have deeper bass that the Heresy. These kinds of things are a steal when you can find them. The L56 (10 in. woofer) pair that I have crosses over at 2k, but the mids aren't there. Maybe it is the age or fatigue on the cone, I don't know. The L46 actually sounds better. You've got too many books, and are suffering from shelf bend! Looks like my house. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted June 27, 2004 Author Share Posted June 27, 2004 Picky----Here's a photo of one of those 10s, the model 906. The magnet is Alnico and so more powerful than the size and weight would suggest were we talking ferrite magnets. That is one robust 10" woofer. I think the strong magnet and 3" voicecoil, thus making a VERY powerful motor, are what allow this cone woof to make such nice midrange. I used to live in Allen Park, on Colwell, went to Riley School. My Dad moved from Chicago to there in 1952, when I was 3 years old. We went back to Chicago in 1961. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted June 27, 2004 Author Share Posted June 27, 2004 Marvel---Yeah, those IKEA bookcases look cool and are nice and cheap but they do suffer from the bends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Lovely rare find! That is some interesting Altec engineering. Enjoy! Michael 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Tom: What are the odds that you lived in the same town that I do? Wow! I know Colwell very well. I grew up on Reeck Road near Wick and now live on Dasher. You are fortunate to live in Chicago: Detroit hasn't built an IKEA yet! Although, I have read that one may soon be in the works for Novi or some other location. Thanks for the additional photo. That is one, SCARY speaker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Hello Tom - I am interested in what you think about that horn/driver - in discussions on the other places I saw some small (very) concerns that they were a tad shallow on the top. Also some folks talked of repair difficulties, but when it works that doesn't matter much. Also (my apologies if Imissed it earlier in the thread), what about the bottom of the frequency range? Very nice looking find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 Henry---The early Bolero, 890B, used the 3000 tweeter, a tweet crossed at 3000hz that was used with a couple of diferent horns; a radial and a multi-cell. This tweeter used a 3/4" Altec "lipstick" microphone diaphragm and only one fella supposedly can fix them. This I learned from Todd White at the Altec forum. However my Boleros, 890C, use a 2000hz tweeter that is described only as "new" in the Altec literature I've found so far. Nobody at the Altec or Lansing forums knows much about this tweeter. Don McRitchie pointed out that Altec classified it as a unit to be replaced rather than fixed. Looking at the tweeter the diaphragm and phase plug are behind a bug-screen. Then there is a short, conical horn section integral to the driver, just as with a regular 1" Altec compression driver. Then there is an aluminum horn flare. I considered removing a tweeter to get a look but they are glued in as well as screwed and I don't feel like messing around with that. I may switch the passive and woofer around in one speaker to mirror image the pair; if so I'll then get a good look at this Mystery Tweeter. The tweets perform well with airy, detailed and subjectively extended highs. There are 3-position switchs for setting tweeter level and I have them on the low setting. Bass is fairly well extended, somewhat deeper than my Heresies with a more robust and natural tonal balance. And the bass is well-damped and not at all boomy or tubby. Very good bass given the compromises inherant in a small enclosure. TS theory tells us that for a given box size and efficiency a vented speaker can give deeper bass; compared to the Heresey that seems to be the case here. This shows an advantage that Altec, with it's experienced engineering staff and resources to build it's own drivers to it's own particular needs, had over Klipsch at that time. As bookshelf speakers go these are on a par with Heresies. The Heresies are going in the closet or out on loan. For the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Bass reflex will go lower for the same box size, but acoustic suspension designs typically have a bass that's more articulate. To get both you have go with some crappy Chinese anodized woofers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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