Altec 19
- Thread starter joel
- Start date
beathunters
Tamalpais high-at about3
please, give me - and the missus - some time to adjust... the living-room is for now a non-lp zone thanks to the kids, but we'll take care of that don't worry
gortnipper
loose nut
Nice! Did you end up rebuilding the xo?
When M19s came out, they had a foam insert that surrounded the horn. Replacing this smooths out the response somewhat.
See info on the Altec users forum, and here is a quick link, but there are many others that go into more detail.
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700/176609-model-19-foams.html
and this one talks about density
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700/172038-model-19-foam-surrounds.html
When M19s came out, they had a foam insert that surrounded the horn. Replacing this smooths out the response somewhat.
See info on the Altec users forum, and here is a quick link, but there are many others that go into more detail.
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700/176609-model-19-foams.html
and this one talks about density
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700/172038-model-19-foam-surrounds.html
beathunters
Tamalpais high-at about3
xo seem great, just needed some dusting from old age and humidity. the paper-oil condos are ok but need many hours of playing to break down again. and re-cabling could help too. i'll check about the foamy thing, thanks for the link! they're already amazing but will need adjustments and i kinda start a whole new set-up around them
gortnipper
loose nut
You're welcome!
Just do some reading on the Altec forum about people who have re-capped their M19 xo's, and the results they saw!
And then get a nice PP valve amp!
Just do some reading on the Altec forum about people who have re-capped their M19 xo's, and the results they saw!
And then get a nice PP valve amp!
beathunters
Tamalpais high-at about3
thanks for the advice about recapping, i'll check it out
i'm actually pretty much set on valves and will try different options i'll report here...
friday update:
altecs are my first 15"s and what strikes me first is that these mighty 99db aren't in fact that easy to boogie down properly, compared to easygoing 94db Tannoys corners with whom imaging and perfect soundstage are an instant gift.
i had previously noticed at a friend's place how his great VOTT's had quite a "narrow" sweet point and depended on the size of the room. when you're too close to them there's an "in yer face" effect that kinda bothered me, excpet when listening to mono.
and that's why i experienced here at first: huge sound, incredible presence (some volume is requested too to enjoy it) but... not as magical as expected.
note that my room is probably among the worst acoustic nightmares : bare walls xcept for a few paintings, panel windows with no drapes, tiled floors, very few furniture... that's a way of living i won't sacrifice for music as i'm not alone here.
finally- and what previous experiences with speakers led to: the quality of the source is crucial. "shit-in, shit-out" is a great nineteen signature and it will narrow my cd collection worse than Ls35a already have in the past. this came as a surprise as i blindly assumed the high-efficient altecs would be more cd-friendly.
so here's the amp overview so far:
- sugden 21a: un-listenable, awfully bassy, muddy... i knew that the pre-section wasn't that great - fine with the Tannoys but unbearable here - and needs to be bypassed to cope with the Tecs asap. or not. but then it will collect dust on the shelves xcept for Tannoy bonding. it's reversible, though.
- smsl 50w chip/cheap amp: well, let's say that for a mere 35£, it's waf-friendly perfect and great for easy listening in the family room but it has its limits. there's way enough power but it doesn't image very well. it's a little better used as full power amp with a small qed passive preamp but still miles away from nineteen spirit
- mitsubishi DC-15C+ DP10 preamp. measured at 2x200w (announced at 2x175w), there's plenty of current, juice and drive to rockn'roll but still, i wasn't impressed with what i heard, compared with their match in heaven with kef 105.2.
- seventies DIY EL 84 SE. its 2x3,5w were not happy and neither was i. as the nineteen project was aimed at playing low-wattage SE triodes, i began to wonder what the heck was going on here...
- at last, heathkits MA-12 monoblocks were plugged. hinchley transformers, PP EL-84 tubes with bourne pots and plenty of gain. used to hummmmmmmm a little on the tannoys so such was expected.
clic, click > play
the amps were dead silent and pure nineteen magic occured finally... soundstage, imaging, bass, groove, life, as never heard here before. it was astounding to witness such musical experience, bad room acoustics included. i then listened to all my usual suspects for the rest of the afternoon, smiling stupidly, except for a few rubbish cds (miles' CBS remastered 90's series are particularly lame - much better on the late full-disco boxset) took a few pics and thanked myself for the 15 hours-drive roundtrip i did last weekend that still aches in my lower back.
it's just the beginning of a new musical journey here. there will be other amps, better or worse ones but the small heathkits are here to stay. it was expected but i'm glad they
do the job once again. and of course, my choice of no-turntable area is questioned, big time.
pics on the way later.
i'm actually pretty much set on valves and will try different options i'll report here...
friday update:
altecs are my first 15"s and what strikes me first is that these mighty 99db aren't in fact that easy to boogie down properly, compared to easygoing 94db Tannoys corners with whom imaging and perfect soundstage are an instant gift.
i had previously noticed at a friend's place how his great VOTT's had quite a "narrow" sweet point and depended on the size of the room. when you're too close to them there's an "in yer face" effect that kinda bothered me, excpet when listening to mono.
and that's why i experienced here at first: huge sound, incredible presence (some volume is requested too to enjoy it) but... not as magical as expected.
note that my room is probably among the worst acoustic nightmares : bare walls xcept for a few paintings, panel windows with no drapes, tiled floors, very few furniture... that's a way of living i won't sacrifice for music as i'm not alone here.
finally- and what previous experiences with speakers led to: the quality of the source is crucial. "shit-in, shit-out" is a great nineteen signature and it will narrow my cd collection worse than Ls35a already have in the past. this came as a surprise as i blindly assumed the high-efficient altecs would be more cd-friendly.
so here's the amp overview so far:
- sugden 21a: un-listenable, awfully bassy, muddy... i knew that the pre-section wasn't that great - fine with the Tannoys but unbearable here - and needs to be bypassed to cope with the Tecs asap. or not. but then it will collect dust on the shelves xcept for Tannoy bonding. it's reversible, though.
- smsl 50w chip/cheap amp: well, let's say that for a mere 35£, it's waf-friendly perfect and great for easy listening in the family room but it has its limits. there's way enough power but it doesn't image very well. it's a little better used as full power amp with a small qed passive preamp but still miles away from nineteen spirit
- mitsubishi DC-15C+ DP10 preamp. measured at 2x200w (announced at 2x175w), there's plenty of current, juice and drive to rockn'roll but still, i wasn't impressed with what i heard, compared with their match in heaven with kef 105.2.
- seventies DIY EL 84 SE. its 2x3,5w were not happy and neither was i. as the nineteen project was aimed at playing low-wattage SE triodes, i began to wonder what the heck was going on here...
- at last, heathkits MA-12 monoblocks were plugged. hinchley transformers, PP EL-84 tubes with bourne pots and plenty of gain. used to hummmmmmmm a little on the tannoys so such was expected.
clic, click > play
the amps were dead silent and pure nineteen magic occured finally... soundstage, imaging, bass, groove, life, as never heard here before. it was astounding to witness such musical experience, bad room acoustics included. i then listened to all my usual suspects for the rest of the afternoon, smiling stupidly, except for a few rubbish cds (miles' CBS remastered 90's series are particularly lame - much better on the late full-disco boxset) took a few pics and thanked myself for the 15 hours-drive roundtrip i did last weekend that still aches in my lower back.
it's just the beginning of a new musical journey here. there will be other amps, better or worse ones but the small heathkits are here to stay. it was expected but i'm glad they
do the job once again. and of course, my choice of no-turntable area is questioned, big time.
pics on the way later.