Dylanl Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 The sound seemed much smoother without the harsh edge. I have the 802 drivers ( At least I think they are ) that go with the 511s but they need serviced. Is the crossover point the same on the Altec 802 as the stock Alnicos? If I did have Great Plains repair the 802s what should I expect in sound difference? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 Should I have placed this thread in the MODS FORUM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I,m gonna get it in the neck from some of my Altec friends...But Here goes... About 30 years ago a friend of mine (JOE) had a pair of Altec 511 with 802 on top of his Khorns,,, They sounded Klangy and harsh,,,No matter what he coated them with,,,God Awful sounding contraptions..I invited him over to hear my JBL 375 Smith horn modifications.. He agreed it was a better match to the Khorn... Since then dozens of others in my area did the modifications.. Others as far as Calif. and as far as Germany and France have done the same... At times i have switched back to the Altec fiasco or even the K55 & K400 to prove me that ive taken the right road... I still dont like the 511,,,, leave it in the stadiums and movie theaters... but for home use its awfull... Ive laid down the GAUNTLET so be it !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 I am just using the horn with the Alnico driver for the moment. Thanks for the opinion though. Anywhere I can read up on the mod you are describing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Look up Lansing Heritage. org and on the forum type in Smith Horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I assume you meant you put the K55s on the 511s? What crossovers do you have in your K'horns? If you did put the 802s on the K'Horns you would either need to run them two way or be using crossovers that roll off the midrange. The 802 won't rolloff like the K55s so it would be too bright just dropping them into something like a Type A or AA. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I dunno...maybe it all depends on the installation. My brother modded our dad's '79 Cornwalls to an active, biamped 2-way design built around the Altec Lansing 511B horns with Altec 902-8B high frequency drivers powered by a Crown D-75A stereo amp. The Cornwall's original K-33E woofers were driven by a Technics SU-8099 integrated amp; his Rane AC 22B active crossover was set at 600Hz, and EQ was provided by a Behringer Ultragraph Digital DEQ1024. All I know from extensive listening is that the 511B/902-8B combo was the most neutral sounding horn I've ever heard, as opposed to the original squawkers and tweeters. Bright and shrill they never were...open and dynamic they were instead with loads of detail, and they'd image like bookshelf monitors IMHO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Yup! - I say bring that 'Voice of the Theater' or Stadium in your home. This was the single best improvement in over 40 years of Audio that I have ever done! Replacing the Khorn Midrange with Altec 1005Bs and 288-16K drivers. Dean helped me Mod the type 'A' crossovers a bit to tame the brightness. The improvement was stunning! - I have heard that the 511 can suffer from a bit of ringing, but the idea is very sound. (pun intended). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I,m gonna get it in the neck from some of my Altec friends...But Here goes... About 30 years ago a friend of mine (JOE) had a pair of Altec 511 with 802 on top of his Khorns,,, They sounded Klangy and harsh,,,No matter what he coated them with,,,God Awful sounding contraptions..I invited him over to hear my JBL 375 Smith horn modifications.. He agreed it was a better match to the Khorn... Since then dozens of others in my area did the modifications.. Others as far as Calif. and as far as Germany and France have done the same... At times i have switched back to the Altec fiasco or even the K55 & K400 to prove me that ive taken the right road... I still dont like the 511,,,, leave it in the stadiums and movie theaters... but for home use its awfull... Ive laid down the GAUNTLET so be it !!!!Sure, Maron's Smith horns sound great. But, take his comments with a grain of salt. His ears are mush................ Plenty others of us that can get great sound out of 511s and various Altec drivers without having to go to that "silver spoon" JBL stuff......... Dylanl, you might feel differently once you get your drivers back from GPs. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 I am running ALK crossovers. I guess the question is will the altec drivers sound better than the Alnico Klipsch drivers? Is it worth the repair costs? Last, would I still run them 3 way? So far I like the sound mcuh better than the k55 not so harsh much smoother. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 Carl its not my ears thats turned to mussh,,,,Its my brain... Carl your playing your system too loud, I can hear it all the way up here,,,It sound too Klangy & ear piercing harsh,,,,Silver spoon???? CRAP i skimped and saved all my life for those JBLs and TADs,,,worked my poor fingers to the bone,,,My wife went with out shoes,,,My dog Tippy ate what ever scraps off the floor. And you deny my last hours on this planet a "silver spoon" audio system? Well I guess i,ll have to change my will,,,,Dave gets everything !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 On second thought I know what I,m gonna do with that Silver Spoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 Uh what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 Well, all I can say is I swapped the the K-400's with the 511B's using the stock K55 drivers on my La Scala's and it made a huge difference! I too am using mine with ALK Universals and the combination sounds great to my ears. Q-Man and I did a comparison with a couple of different horns and the K55, and the 511B's sounded as good as any of them, and far better than the K400. I would try them in a 3-way with the K55's first and see if you like them (you should). Then try them with the Altec drivers, but like Shawn said you will need to modify the networks to get them to sound right. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 Thanks Mike, that makes sense and it sounds great so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwhaples Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 I have the 511's on my Cornwalls.I borrowed one from a Forum member to try,ended up buying a pair along with the one I borrowed.I have three Corn's so it worked out good.I used the K55's until another member had three Altec 731 drivers up for sale.I had already bought a pair of Dean's networks and had him build me a thrid.I don't feel the need to change anything with my setup.Enjoy! Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 "Then try them with the Altec drivers, but like Shawn said you will need to modify the networks to get them to sound right. " The ALKs should work with the 802s just may need to change attenuation on the driver. The ALK is a bandpass on the midrange so it will roll off the 802 at the tweeter crossover point. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 The bottom line is ...Always get rid of the K55/K400....Better horn drivers are available....Also the K77 tweeter should have been retired along time ago. But the ""origional"" Khorn is there ancient Heritage speaker... But a new kid is on the block the JUBILEE....Why pour money down a rat hole when this speaker solves all the old Khorn problems???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 Rat Hole? Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 I have the 511's on my Cornwalls.I borrowed one from a Forum member to try,ended up buying a pair along with the one I borrowed.I have three Corn's so it worked out good.I used the K55's until another member had three Altec 731 drivers up for sale.I had already bought a pair of Dean's networks and had him build me a thrid.I don't feel the need to change anything with my setup.Enjoy! Larry [Y][] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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