Zero Distortion: Altec Assault and the Magic of Misho (Audio Antiquary)

[tadas]

Dear, @bonzo75 ,

first of all I am in front sorry, for my silly question..

I love the visual design of Altec 817. I am now working on one project, and would love to use Altec 817, but I need to rotate speaker 90 degrees (only interior design issues) . Like in a attached photo.

Would that be a terrible idea? Would it affect sound like really bad or just a little bad or it does not matter?

I would be very very thankful for any short answer to my stupid question..

 

[bonzo75]

Dear, @bonzo75 ,

first of all I am in front sorry, for my silly question..

I love the visual design of Altec 817. I am now working on one project, and would love to use Altec 817, but I need to rotate speaker 90 degrees (only interior design issues) . Like in a attached photo.

Would that be a terrible idea? Would it affect sound like really bad or just a little bad or it does not matter?

I would be very very thankful for any short answer to my stupid question..

the Altec 815a had a similar configuration of woofers. might require some adjustment as the centre of the woofers is now equidistant from the centre of the midrange woofer. Also 815a did not have the bass vents in the sides of the cabinet. Your dispersion could therefore sound confusing, with midrange, then bass vents below that, then woofers, then bass vents again. I personally wouldn’t do it I will just replicate it as is.

given that cabinet is approx. 1m x 1m I don’t see why you need to do that. You are not saving on space either way.

 

[tadas]

Thank y

the Altec 815a had a similar configuration of woofers. might require some adjustment as the centre of the woofers is now equidistant from the centre of the midrange woofer. Also 815a did not have the bass vents in the sides of the cabinet. Your dispersion could therefore sound confusing, with midrange, then bass vents below that, then woofers, then bass vents again. I personally wouldn’t do it I will just replicate it as is.

given that cabinet is approx. 1m x 1m I don’t see why you need to do that. You are not saving on space either way.

Thank you a lot for your time! It's a needed design decision to have woofers horizontally, not vertically.

Could I use Altec 815a and expect similar sound quality as from Altec 817?

 

[bonzo75]

Thank y

Thank you a lot for your time! It's a needed design decision to have woofers horizontally, not vertically.

Could I use Altec 815a and expect similar sound quality as from Altec 817?

no idea. Many Altecs sound bad. They all have their own modded crossovers, or stock. If you can change crossovers by yourself and are good you will be able to make 815a sound good but if you are copying then I would stick to the exact 817a

 

[tadas]

I

no idea. Many Altecs sound bad. They all have their own modded crossovers, stock. If you can change crossovers by yourself and are good you will be able to make 815a sound good but if you are copying then I would stick to the exact 817a

I would be definitely searching for the professional, pay him a reasonable amount for his experience and time, and ask him to make 815a sound super good Would you know such a person, so I can have contacts?

All I can do by my self is just to find right speaker visual design. Everything else goes to professionals..

 

[bonzo75]

I

I would be definitely searching for the professional, pay him a reasonable amount for his experience and time, and ask him to make 815a sound super good Would you know such a person, so I can have contacts?

All I can do by my self is just to find right speaker visual design. Everything else goes to professionals..

the person where I heard the system mentioned in this thread. He is in Bulgaria though. So while he might build for you if you incentivise him, the cost will go up. You should contact him directly

 

[tadas]

O

the person where I heard the system mentioned in this thread. He is in Bulgaria though. So while he might build for you if you incentivise him, the cost will go up. You should contact him directly

Once again BIG thank you for your time!

 

[Norway]

I tried it once just for the sake of it(as bonzo75 rightly points out the dimension is 1x1 m. So it makes little visual difference). It clearly sounds different and not good at all. I have no picture of the experiment as it lasted
less than 10 min..

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

you end up ruining the idea of different distance to floor from the 2 woofers
in my system I also have different delay on upper and lower midbass to simulate more of a "pointsource pattern" in timing of joining the hf horn

 

[tadas]

you end up ruining the idea of different distance to floor from the 2 woofers
in my system I also have different delay on upper and lower midbass to simulate more of a "pointsource pattern" in timing of joining the hf horn

Do you think it could be re-designed by professionals to meet design requirements, but not to loose sound quality? I attach how I would like it to be

For example I attach one more photo of redesigned 817 with only one vent. It's from Instagram. Done by @devonojas at place called @publicrecordsnyc

I understand that these are silly questions.. and I appreciate a lot that you waste your time to answer them for me.. Big thanks!

 

[awsmone]

Do you think it could be re-designed by professionals to meet design requirements, but not to loose sound quality? I attach how I would like it to be

For example I attach one more photo of redesigned 817 with only one vent. It's from Instagram. Done by @devonojas at place called @publicrecordsnyc

I understand that these are silly questions.. and I appreciate a lot that you waste your time to answer them for me.. Big thanks!

I wonder about the difference with floor bounce effects

it way not be an all or none answer

as floor bounce can be additive or subtractive

I am talking about the twin woofers being horizontal or vertically aligned

 

[bonzo75]

Do you think it could be re-designed by professionals to meet design requirements, but not to loose sound quality? I attach how I would like it to be

For example I attach one more photo of redesigned 817 with only one vent. It's from Instagram. Done by @devonojas at place called @publicrecordsnyc

I understand that these are silly questions.. and I appreciate a lot that you waste your time to answer them for me.. Big thanks!

Both these designs are possible if well done. On the other hand any standard design can sound crap if the guy does not know what he is doing. It is about the chances that you take. For me, I am more comfortable backing something I have heard and know that works. The guy who made it successful would have spent some years designing it and making it work, so why would I start thinking of well, can he also apply himself to another design? Maybe he can, maybe it's a risk. Any new design has to be fine tuned, it does not start sounding good right of the box, so might as well get the one he has already tuned.

 

[tadas]

I really appreciate your answers. I will make my research of suitable professional for making my project. And I will deeply consult with him about possibilities. Thanks again. This forum I so friendly, will spend more time doing my research here

 

[Solypsa]

Call Devon, he may be your professional for hire . It's worth noting that the Public Records pic you show is completely different in total concept than the second pic of what you are after. Is it this exact aesthetic or simply vent to the floor? All those classic 'scoop' back loaded bass bins could work if so...

Any comments on performance goals?

Also might help to mention where you are located in case members have ideas for local resources.

 

[tadas]

Call Devon, he may be your professional for hire . It's worth noting that the Public Records pic you show is completely different in total concept than the second pic of what you are after. Is it this exact aesthetic or simply vent to the floor? All those classic 'scoop' back loaded bass bins could work if so...

Any comments on performance goals?

Also might help to mention where you are located in case members have ideas for local resources.

I think I will try to reach him at the later stage of project development.

Yes, I understand that it's totally different concept. Just trying to figure out, if professional could re-design 817 after my "design goals".

Would love the same view as my second photo. Could be without vent, if it is not needed for speaker to work. I can fake it, if it's not needed practically.

Performance goals - preferably not to loose anything of course comparing to 817 But I guess I would agree to loose some little percentage of sound quality in exchange of my needed visual design.

I am also searching for any other similar alternatives, like JBL 4520 or 815. But as I understand 817 is the best one. SO trying to understand if there is technical possibility to rotate it.. ???

 

[bonzo75]

I think I will try to reach him at the later stage of project development.

Yes, I understand that it's totally different concept. Just trying to figure out, if professional could re-design 817 after my "design goals".

Would love the same view as my second photo. Could be without vent, if it is not needed for speaker to work. I can fake it, if it's not needed practically.

Performance goals - preferably not to loose anything of course comparing to 817 But I guess I would agree to loose some little percentage of sound quality in exchange of my needed visual design.

I am also searching for any other similar alternatives, like JBL 4520 or 815. But as I understand 817 is the best one. SO trying to understand if there is technical possibility to rotate it.. ???

There are people who have change the main 817 design, including putting the drivers at 45 degree angle and using 4 drivers instead of two. And using two midrange units per speaker instead of 1 (to bump sensitivity). Some are unsuccessful but at least one seems very good, though I have not visited him yet. Too far out in Asia. So yes, people can design these things, but you are taking a punt, and if the person does not have an existing design, changing it is asking him to put in much more effort, so he will charge more as he will need to R&D.

 

[tadas]

There are people who have change the main 817 design, including putting the drivers at 45 degree angle and using 4 drivers instead of two. And using two midrange units per speaker instead of 1 (to bump sensitivity). Some are unsuccessful but at least one seems very good, though I have not visited him yet. Too far out in Asia. So yes, people can design these things, but you are taking a punt, and if the person does not have an existing design, changing it is asking him to put in much more effort, so he will charge more as he will need to R&D.

.... and I should be willing to take the risk of unsuccessful project at the end, if I pick up not right professionals to do that. Everything now makes sense, and my question is answered, thanks!

 

[Maril555]

.... and I should be willing to take the risk of unsuccessful project at the end, if I pick up not right professionals to do that. Everything now makes sense, and my question is answered, thanks!

Hi,
Could you explain your rationale for having LF drivers horizontally?
As many here have mentioned, 817 is almost a perfect cube, where the height and width are almost identical and only the depth is less.
So turning it sideways is not going to accomplish anything with regards to occupied space.
As an owner of 817 myself, I'd be extremely hesitant to change any aspect of the original design, with crossover being an exception.
In the end it's development was a result of a significant R&D effort and was done during the "Golden age of audio" time period, and certainly is a time-proven concept.
I'm curious to know what are the expected gains of having it sideways?

 

[tadas]

Hi,
Could you explain your rationale for having LF drivers horizontally?
As many here have mentioned, 817 is almost a perfect cube, where the height and width are almost identical and only the depth is less.
So turning it sideways is not going to accomplish anything with regards to occupied space.
As an owner of 817 myself, I'd be extremely hesitant to change any aspect of the original design, with crossover being an exception.
In the end it's development was a result of a significant R&D effort and was done during the "Golden age of audio" time period, and certainly is a time-proven concept.
I'm curious to know what are the expected gains of having it sideways?

These are 100% only visual design preferences, nothing else. Project is public place. Because of various design elements in a place, woofers must be horizontal, not vertical.

My first question was, if it might be simply rotated - answer is NO.

My second question was - can it be re-designed? Looks like also complicated. Though I should consult proffesionals. But probably NO.

My last third question... My end goal is very high quality sound. But, I need to meet design goals for public place, and I would love to use two woofers horizontally and multicell horn. So I will search for other cabinets that look similar and produce superb sound. Or maybe I should ask professional to design for me something similar like 817? Maybe that's my best option?

If it would be for my personal use at home, I would just use 817 as given in this thread from beginning without any changes 100%, as I perfectly understand it's original value Sadly that's not the case..

 

[Solypsa]

How about a JBL Everest dd67000 look? Or the Kinoshita Warp?