Modern speakers vs Vintage speakers
- Thread starter thomask
- Start date
I'd love to see a picture of your full system. It really looks well thought out.Thank you. I will pass your compliment to the Mcs.
Times are changing and McIntosh fabricate what the customer is willing to buy, but sometimes it means "back to the roots" (see re-issue of the C22 / MC75)
Volker
Hello from the South-West of Germany
Hello to all of you. My name is Volker, born in 1953 and living in south-west Germany near to the French Border. I am addicted to analog audio for over 40 years and I am listening mostly to jazz music using tube amplifiers and small horn speakers fabricated in Germany
www.whatsbestforum.com
Hi again S, No worries--much appreciate the offer but not necessary--the legendary blackburn ecc83 saw the light of day in Blackburn in 1961, and in the first two years of production the British were very proud of their tubes. they have labeled their tubes with this label. From the third year of production, the demand was very high. Due to the close relationship with Philips, production was outsourced to meet demand.
Unfortunately, I only have one ecc82 of the type. serves as an example of what they look like.
View attachment 84089
from then on it becomes very opaque to recognize originals, because of the close relationship to Philips who later bought Mullard. the last tube produced in Blackburn was E 813CC. A simpler ecc 83 from the construction.
View attachment 84090
I'm trying to identify your tubes, where your tubes come from. But I can't promise anything, I have to find the book in my chaos first.
I merely wanted to mention the numbering--I was told it was a Blackburn product.
Thanks again but all cool and we can move on.
BruceD
Hi Again S, Ah Ok I presume you are addressing me
?--this is all I can see at bottom.thank you,
BruceD
if the code is correct, because handwritten then that means the following the top row only gives the type of tube.Hi Again S, Ah Ok I presume you are addressing me
thank you,
BruceD
View attachment 84181
R2G2
If its a 4 character code, the valve was produced post 1960
The first character gives the production site
B : - Mullard, Blackburn
D: - Valvo, Hamburg (Germany)
G : - Mullard, Fleetwood
J : - Mullard ( British Tungsram), Tottenham
R : - Mullard, Mitcham
X : - Philips, Sittard (Holland)
Y : - Philips, Sittard (Holland)
9: - Philips, Heerlen, (Holland)
The second character
0: - 1950, 1960, 1970
1: - 1951, 1961, 1971
2: - 1952, 1962, 1972
3: - 1953, 1963, 1973
4: - 1954, 1964, 1974
5: - 1955, 1965, 1975
6: - 1956, 1966, 1976
7: - 1957, 1967, 1977
8: - 1958, 1968, 1978
9: - 1959, 1969, 1979
The third character gives the month of manufacture.
A : - January
B : - February
C : - March
D : - April
E : - May
F : - June
G : - July
H : - August
I : - September
J : - October
K : - November
L : - December
The fourth character gives the week of manufacture
1: - week 1 of month
2: - week 2 of month
3: - week 3 of month
4: - week 4 of month
5: - week 5 of month
That means your tube was produced in Mitcham in the second week of July 1962
Wow-thank you Stephan for the synopsis of the venerable Mullards--
Much appreciated!
Good Listening,
BruceD
Much appreciated
!Good Listening,
BruceD
Yep the 604 definitely holds its own even today...you wouldn’t really need more...
Am looking at buying some vintage A7 VOT from someone who says they are original, however the compression drivers (902-8b, "tangerine driver"?) have ferrite magnets and the bass drivers Alnico. Were they put together like this, or is this a Frankenstein creation? Will it still sound good or should I offer lower without the treble speakers and buy re-pops from Great Plains audio. He is holding so if anyone can help please respond soon.
You will never know if an Altec sounds good or not until you hear it. Their stock crossovers were not known to be good, this is also mentioned on JC Morrison's blog.
The Ferrite midrange drivers deteriorate less than the Alnico ones.
Drivers with the tangerine plugs had more extension.
Will it sound good? Can't say. Replacing with GPA alone is not magically going to change anything
Take a look here in the library:
It's quite possible that they are original with a ferrite and alnico mix. Depends on the system age, in the 70's there was a cobalt shortage that forced the conversion from alnico to ferrite. JBL had the same issues at the time and mixed systems were also common from JBL from that time period. Perfect example is the JBL 4430 monitors which when originally released used ferrite 2235 woofers with alnico 2421 compression drivers. They changed over to all ferrite over time.
Rob
if the woofers are in good shape and the cabinets too it could be worth it to buy anyway, even if the crossovers and *maybe* the comp drivers get changed eventually...
Mr Chung, my vintage guru recommend me to avoid ferrite driver with Altec A7.
If possible, you had better audition it yourself, before pulling the trigger.
His opinion is that driver with ferrite magnet does not sound as good as one with Alnico.Why??
Rob
True, but with time Alnico midrange driver loses magnetism as compared to ferrite
Yes alnico does loose mag but it is mostly woofers as it is power dependent. Compression drivers are typically immune from this. With JBL the new SFG ferrite magnets actually lowered distortion. Comparison of 3 magnetic assembly types referenced.
Dons post post Greg's thoughts
The Great Alnico / Ferrite Debate
The subject of Alnico vs ferrite magnet drivers comes up fairly regularly on our site. The following is my attempt to clarify some of the issues involved. Before I get into a discussion on the merits and disadvantages of each magnet type, it is important to separate fact from fiction. To...
www.audioheritage.org
Rob
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