George Roland Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Hi all. I scored a nice pair of Altec 511B horns on e-Bay to try out with my K-horns. I have a set of the adapters to put on the end of the Altec horns to screw in my K-55V drivers, but what else do I need to make this "tweak" work? Are there some kind of gaskets, o-rings, washers, etc I need to get? Can these thing be homemade or, if they need to be purchased, sources would be appreciated. Right now, I was planning to just set the The 511B's on top of my k-horns and use my current crossover and tweeter in the k-horn's top section. Any suggestions/experiences for making the most of this combo would be much appreciated. I am anxious to hear the results. Horns should be here in about ten days. Thanks, guys, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 All you need in addition is a brace to attach to the rear of the horn to prop it up in the correct listening position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Fritz is right. Electricly, just go for it! You may need to adjust the level to the squawker driver somtime later. The Altec horn will sound a lot better and different enough that you may want to adjust it to your taste. Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenu Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Hi, George, you are on the right track in this. I made this modification a year ago to my satisfaction. I sold the original horns on eBay. In order to fit the 511B in the original enclosure, you need to elevate it exactly 3/4" because the 511B is that much taller. I did this work in my living room, so you could do that too. Horn needs an L-shaped support or bracket on the rear so it won't stretch the screws on the front.The way I did was that the horn's ribs and baffles are not covered by the black grill clothes, rather they stick out in the front, this way leaves more room on the rear for JBL LE85-s, and they need that. This way the whole speaker system looks meneacing but I wanted them to look impressive, and seeing the 511B-s face to face is really cool. What more could you do that I did not, is to place the tweeters next to the 511B, meaning the 511B must be off-centered. I like my horns sitting in the middle, but it is something you can consider.Now the JBL 2404H-s must sit on top.Let us know how you proceed. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 The best tweak for those 511B horns would be to get rid of the K-55V drivers and getting a pair of Altec 902 drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Not if you're running Klipschorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Roland Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 What are the pros and cons of these two drivers--K55-V and Altec 902 8B's in the setup I"ve proposed to try? Can the 902-8B's work without crossover modifications? I've kinda been looking for a pair on e-Bay, but they seem rare as hens' teeth. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 Nice to talk to another PA klisch guy. Welcome to the forum. I recently found a pair of Altec 511 with drivers. They need repaired just not sure if they will work with my ALK crossovers. Looking for help also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted August 29, 2006 Share Posted August 29, 2006 What are the pros and cons of these two drivers--K55-V and Altec 902 8B's in the setup I"ve proposed to try? Can the 902-8B's work without crossover modifications? I've kinda been looking for a pair on e-Bay, but they seem rare as hens' teeth. George The K55-V drivers were originally designed for PA use. And when I say PA, I mean as in this... They were never intended for reproducing music, at least not in a good way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Altec 902 drivers (as with all of their drivers) were designed for sound reproduction in the recording/mastering studio, pro-audio, live sound and movie theaters, hence they were designed with sound quality in mind. To use a pair of 902-8B drivers, you will have to use a different tap on the autoformer to get the desired output. However, if you can find a pair of 902-16B drivers, then you wouldn't have to modify anything. Just mount them to the 511B horns and let'em rip! Also, if you do get the 902-8B drivers, you can always buy new 16ohm diaphrams for them if you don't want to modify the networks. You can replace the diaphrams yourself. It's very very easy to do. In fact, most Altec compression drivers were designed to be easily serviced in the field without special tools or any trouble. Whether your speakers be Khorns, Scalas, Cornwalls, whatever, the 902 drivers WILL make a big improvement over the honky K55-V drivers. And yes, I have a good idea of what I'm talking about since I did exactly what the two of you are wanting to do... Look familiar?.. BTW, those are modified Type B Cornwall networks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted August 29, 2006 Share Posted August 29, 2006 As a side note, I have now removed the passive networks and am now using a Rane active crossover and bi-amping the Cornwall cabinets and 511B/902 topend. This is the ultimate tweak that can be done using this kind of combo. The Technics amp is powering the K-33E woofers while the small Crown amp is powering the Altecs. And here's a couple shots of the diaphrams... Also, if you can, try to find a pair of the 902s with the "Tangerine" phase plugs as these are desired ones. I believe that most of them are anyway. This is a pic when I had the diaphrams out (obviously), and I was cleaning out the magnetic gap with a piece of masking tape (sticky side out) to pick up any dust/debris that might be in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwc Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 What are the pros and cons of these two drivers--K55-V and Altec 902 8B's in the setup I"ve proposed to try? Can the 902-8B's work without crossover modifications? I've kinda been looking for a pair on e-Bay, but they seem rare as hens' teeth. George I have a pair of 902-8B's and about 5 K55v's and a pair of the newer Atlas provided by Bob. I have switched the 902 and the k55 in and out of the 511. My conclusions are this: The 511 is good. Very hard to beat. It mates well with the K55 as far as sound goes. The 511/k55 combo "retains the Klipsch sound". Now please notice I put that in quotes. It's not meant to start a war. Now what makes something "no longer a klipschorn or not"..., I don't know. The 902 with the 511 will sound better to some. There is a different sound there. Yes this is the Top end of a VOTT...not a Klipsch. I personally like the sound but I can conclude at this point that there may be some that would think it is too "in your face or too open". I really can't find the right words for it. It's kind of a "sparkle" sound. I daringly took this combination to Hope. Yes.....tough decision. But this answered a lot of questions for me. When played I got a lot of compliments that the Midrange was "better". Now I realized there were some that didn't like it and wouldn't tell me personally and I understand that. I got those conclusions indirectly. I didn't really take them to show off Altec or something like that......it was a personal quest as well as I wanted people to hear my dbb's. I also have the opinion that there are those that have listened to the Klipsch Heritage sound for so many years that a different sound to them may not "sound right". Here is where all that "subjectivity" comes into play. So I say...try any combo and stick with what you like. Then lt us know what you think. jc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 Chops, what kind of power do the 902s take? If I remember back thirty years, we babied the 902s compared to the 802s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 My conclusions are this: The 511 is good. Very hard to beat. It mates well with the K55 as far as sound goes. The 511/k55 combo "retains the Klipsch sound". Now please notice I put that in quotes. It's not meant to start a war. Now what makes something "no longer a klipschorn or not"..., I don't know. The 902 with the 511 will sound better to some. There is a different sound there. Yes this is the Top end of a VOTT...not a Klipsch. I personally like the sound but I can conclude at this point that there may be some that would think it is too "in your face or too open". I really can't find the right words for it. It's kind of a "sparkle" sound. jc I find this rather interesting. You feel that the K55/902 drivers sound very similar to eachother on the 511B horn. I on the other hand heard a vast improvement switching over to the 902s. Sure, the K55s sounded much better on the 511B horns then they ever could on the K-600 or Pyle Pro horn (which is supposed to sound like the K-400 horn), but the K55/511B combo in no way compares to the sound quality of the 902/511B combo... at least not in my system and to my ears. The K55s just have a harshness to them that makes the midrange very hard and painful to listen to at high volumes. And even at lower volumes, they tend to have a hint of that hollow, honky tone to them. Not very pleasing at all, and definately not natural sounding. The 902/511B combo seems to do just about everything correctly. There's certainly more detail to be had, the extended HF range is a big plus (for 2-way operation only), they're cleaner, smoother and more open, they have never gotten harsh or hard sounding when pushed to high volumes. However, to achieve high volumes means only giving them about 1 very clean strong watt of power. Now I know that the harshness mainly comes from having a small 1" throat, but I have yet to hear any of that come from the 902/511B combo. Maybe it's the way the 902 loads the horn, maybe it's because the 902 driver was designed to work optimumly with the 511B horn, I don't know. The fact that I'm now bi-amping this setup with the Rane x-over, powering the horns with the ultra-clean Crown D-75A, and using the Behringer DEQ-1024 to help on the topend a bit, and tame just a very slight bit of midrange between 1kHz - 2kHz, the entire system measures flat as a ruler. Everything has a very natural, open, airy sound to it. Imaging and soundstaging I find simply amazing due the sheer large size of these speakers in my somewhat small room. Anyway, that's my view on it. The only thing I regret is not finding out about all of this earlier, so I wouldn't have had all of this time and money wasted on other speakers over the years. Oh well. The only thing left to do now is build custom bass bins and buy 2 new 15" drivers, most likely the new cast aluminum basket ones from Bob. Or maybe 4 new ones, I haven't completely decided yet, not for more low end, but more efficiency. Not that I really even need that either, but it would be nice just for the heck of it. As it is now, the Technics amp only read a MAX of about 7 watts to the K-33E woofers while blasting the heck out of the system (about a steady 105dB in the sweet spot 13' away). Yeah, I'm having a fun time with my system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Chops, what kind of power do the 902s take? If I remember back thirty years, we babied the 902s compared to the 802s. IIRC, the 902-8B is rated for 15W while the 902-8T is rated for 30W. Even as loud as I play my system from time to time, and at how little the "Signal" LEDs light up on my Crown amp powering the 902s, I highly doubt they're seeing 1 full watt, probably 3/4 of a watt at most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 "The K55s just have a harshness to them that makes the midrange very hard and painful to listen to at high volumes. And even at lower volumes, they tend to have a hint of that hollow, honky tone to them. Not very pleasing at all, and definately not natural sounding." I think it comes down to compatibility. I know that 511s are an improvement over the K400s, K500s or K600s, but to my ears, even 511s and 811s have certain limitations at higher volumes that can be revealed with certain more forward drivers, like the K55. I think Bruce Edgar may have realized this because he was not the biggest fan of the large Altec horns. Don't get me wrong though. With Altec drivers, which have a sweeter sound overall, Altec horns sound great at all volumes, at least to my ears. On the other hand, the K55 does very well with Al's Trachorn. Clarity and natural sounding without any harshess whatsover, even at insane volumes. And a real smoothness I frankly did not expect out of the K55. Since I run Altec drivers in the rear (with 811s), I toyed with the idea of pairing up 806s or 902s with the Trachorns in the front. The more I listened to the K55s with the Trachorns, however, the more I loved the sound. So, while I guess that K55s may not load well with the large Altec horns, they do very well with at least one other horn. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 component Synergy is .... everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.