Kriton Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Hey, I am about to drop a dime on some older Heresys, would anyone care to explain the whole alnico thing, the best years for heritage speakers given the driver changes, and what is preferred Heresy I or II? Also, I have heard alot about Cornwall II beign the better sounding speaker, but the II's have plastic horns as opposed to metal? So are the metal or the plastic better, and what makes the drivers each better than any another? Why are some rarer that others (55 as opposed to 65's)? What are the best crossovers to have, and can no so good speakers be upgraded with better crossovers? I am asking with Heresys specifically in mind, but I would like to hear the scoop on Cornwalls too... Thanks in advance... K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 As you might know, alnico (aluminum-nickel-cobalt) magnets were the mainstay for magnets for a long time. Then the cobalt mines in Africa shut down because of political strife. Alnico does have a tendancy to lose its magnetic properties over time and also if they are dropped. I don't know why this is, particularly the latter. They can be remagnitized with a big electromagnet. The replacement material was the so called ceramic type. It would be formed initially from a slurry. Hence they were called mud magnets. The K-77-M is of that type. I just can't buy that alnico is per se better than ceramic. It would require the magnetic field from one being different than the magnetic field from the other. One thing is different between drivers made from the two types. Reportedly, drivers made from alnico have fewer issues of the magnetic field "fringing" out of the driver and interfereing with CRTs. I don't know why. It may be that they are weaker and this leads to better restriction within the associated magnetic pole pieces which form the gap. My guess is that TVs in the 50s and 60s had unshielded alnico speakers. Then when there was the shift to ceramic, they had to be shielded. I'd think that alnico versus ceramic in sound is mostly imagined. Old and rare always seems to be favored regardless of technical merits. I have heard some different generations of Heresys side by side. Not metal horn models. They sound more similar than different. There is something satisfying, engineering wise, about the orginal Heresy, etc. made out of plywood and metal. They come from a time when phones had dials and cars had fins. OTOH I like my plastic and MDF units too. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriton Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 Thanks for the reply! Now answer me this, when did the Heresy go MDF? I am assuming that you mean that particle board stuff as opposed to the birch plywood of my beloved Cornwalls? Can MDF heresys be finished (sanded and such) if they were "raw birch"?? Is this just a birch skin over MDF? The ones I am looking at have mitered corners (which appears to me to be a definite change form the butt ended Heresy I), but that mitered corner matches my 86-7-8 Cornwalls, and would look like a matched pair...should I look for an older set? What about the crossovers? Are they different from I to II, and if so, how? Thanks again... K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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