Altec 290-16K drivers on e-Bay

[George Roland]

Hi,

I am offering these drivers on e-Bay in a no reserve auction with a starting price of $50.00. Auction number 190137592922. If you have been looking for a pair of these to try as a midrange driver, this is a real nice pair.

George Roland

[Joe Auwen]

George, What diferences did you hear between the tratrix and 311-60/290-16k? I've been looking to try a few horn/driver variations on my khorns and had been considering both set-ups you've had.

[Duke Spinner]

i would'nt go for the 60*

[George Roland]

Hi Joe,

I had the Klipsch K-55V stock driver on the K-400 horn, the Altec 511B horn and the ALK Trachorn. I would say they performed better in that order. Either the 511B or the Trachorn outperformed the K400--less honky, smoother, greater detail. The difference between the 511B and the Trachorn was more subtle, but I think the Trachorn was smoother and more detailed. I certainly thought it sounded better. I never damped the 511B horn but it was bolted securely to a baffle, which some say is all that is needed to eliminate any ringing. The 311-60s are, of course, coated with "aquaplas" dampening and a rap on them with a knuckle produces a dead thunk--no bell-like ringing.

I had heard that Altec drivers were better than the K-55V. I managed to listen to a friend's Altec Model 19s, and did think the mids were smoother and more detailed than anything I heard from the K-55V on ANY horn, so I set out to find substitute mids. The 311-60 horns and 290-16K drivers are good down to 300Hz, so they mate well with the 400Hz cutoff of the K-horn's bass bin.

To answer your question directly, I found the Altec 311-60, 290-16K combination far better than ANYTHING I heard before. The mids were smoother, revealed more detail, seemed better dispersed (less honky) and more relaxed. They had a big, open, generous sound. The lower part of the mids provided cleaner upper bass, someting I didn't expect, but it was certainly noticable! For me, the acid test in sound reproduction is upper strings (violins) at loud volume and the human voice--opera singers, choruses, etc. Acoustic music. Here the 311-60, 290-16K combo was clearly superior. Well recorded violins maintained the slightly gritty texture of a rosined bow on strings and the sounds of those strings were separated and distinct, not homogenized together into a steely screech. Background singers' voices were not lost in the mix, solo voices were smoother and more natural. Articulation of words--consonants--were very clean. In complex instrumental passages, like a Mahler symphony where the soundscape is huge, the delicacy of inner instrumental voices, the ability to hear deeper and more cleanly into the mix, the ability to distinguish what instrument is playing, was noticably improvedr. I really liked what I heard a LOT better!

Based on my experience, I would encourage you to try some different mids. It's a worthwhile pursuit. I would like to have been able to compare a 311-90 horn to the 311-60, but I have not seen a pair for sale recently. Several respondents, who had experience with both horns, told me they thought the 311-60 was better in a narrow room. That is my situation, so I deciede to try them until 311-90s might be available for comparison.

What aspects of your K-horns' mids are you not satisfied with?

Best,

George