Is it true that the Altec 288C plays almost flat from 500 Hz to above 15 000 Hz with support of only a flat baffle? I can hear some notes that resonate a little but I suppose this is due to the sharp angle to the free air create turbulence something that not happen with a horn attached to it.
I got a pair of these speakers, purchased by my father in 1988 in Hong Kong. They still look amazing and sound perfect (at least to me). I wonder what their price tag was - I could not get my hands on the receipt unfortunately.
I have two pair of the 808 A for my speaker system. All 4 have the diaphragm loading caps .I do not recall Altec making them optional as they are an integral part of the compression system so that the diaphragms can compress the air column and endure higher wattage input levels . The symbiotiks handle more power but sacrificed upper range , mine use Pascalite aluminum alloy. Without the caps in place the driver will exhibit an improvement in response at the higher frequency range of their response ...the penalty is power handling ...that they protect the diaphragm form the wires is purely accidental but a nice bonus . Incidentally the wires can be changed and secured to the dust cover ...so as to make damaging the diaphragm less likely .One of my pairs is set up exactly for that purpose....extended highs in a two way system ...but the play loud enough, at low wattage input anything above 5 watts most people`s ears will bleed from their output at 20 feet away .
Speaker drivers like this are what make me love hifi ❤ I love whizzer cone drivers more I use some Phillips From the 60s as I love jazz and that just does it for me ❣️ just need to build a nice tube amplifier for them as I want something similar to the time but love the video 😁👍
I was thinking is it possible to convert the tube amp out of an old console radio record play all in one things and yours it as q stand alone until as a standard amp ps i drool over all the nice drivers and amps you have just got my self a Phillips 8inch with alnako magnet's 😊
I got a set of these, and have just hooked up some tweeters with them. They sound good in a two way, but noticeably better in a three way. The tweeters are cut at 7000, and man did the808s smoothed right out. As good or better than fortes.
Hey great video on these amazing speakers. I'm looking for another model 6303 which is impossible to find here in europe . I have a single one in perfect condition but it only got here because it was imported in the early 60s. There is something amazing about how well they sound and are constructed.
University speakers have very strong midrange (at the expense of smoothness , in many cases). Keep looking, my advice. 6303 is not totally uncommon over in USA. Make sure it's got the original cone and is the same color / finish / scheme, so it matches roughly your unit.You can get it at low cost in USA, and have it shipped. Big problem is the poor packing procedures most sellers practice. It's a shame. If you can't get one, enjoy it as a mono. HiFi was was exclusively "wide range" and monophonic, well into the early-mid 1950s... the golden era of all HiFi when some many good amps and loudspeakers were made :)
@@HiFiTown Really looking forward to it, I've just inherited a DIY hifi build that has a lot of the altec lansing drivers that you've featured on your channel, the information has been invaluable so id love to see more content from your channel. Thanks for all the videos you've made so far.
Hola! Tengo la serie !00 UC 153 original es muy excelente pero el se destaca con Marantz 1150 muy hermoso estoy en CARACAS lo que quisiera saber como lo destapo para ver su distribución interna es especial para el Jazz agradesco tu video
If those are the factory red wax seals, how do explain that the seals are too shallow and not embossed with either JBL or the Lansing Signature script L? This does not pass the smell test.
@@edgewound Gee Ken, I'm terribly sorry my video offended you - - but I'm afraid you're about nine years too late. Those went out of here to a very happy customer long time ago and I never heard anything back, other than positive comments (I sold several sets like those).... Once again you're failing to correlate the red wax seals - - with the actual diaphragm itself. That is a huge point of disagreement we seem to have? If I could make a do-over video, I guess I would crack into this to "prove" originality, but that's not a good idea on the 075. To truly know if any work has been done you really do have to take them apart and study the terminals, coils and aluminum, and the numbers and markings... and other materials inside. The red wax seal was a good idea, but remains a cosmetic detail, a nicety if it actually stays intact over the five decades - - which is often not the case.. I don't work on 075 drivers and I don't want to disassemble them - - so I can't tell you how exactly to date the interior parts. I rather date them when possible from the location they were recovered at, or from an exterior date code. If the prior location was undisturbed (aka a sealed cabinet or HiFi install) -- that has not been disturbed, this helps tell me the components have not been out for service for a long time, if ever.... thus was the case for these... I estimated 1960s at the time... now I would reframe that to be 1967~1975 ---somewhere in there for JBL. I also get things through and all sorts of condition and I don't often have control over what's been done to them prior. Cosmetically, sometimes I do clean and polish things especially 10 years ago when I was feeling a bit more youthful. On those, I can't recall. "Gleaming condition from the 1960s" (lets say a buffed show car?) does not preclude an exterior cleaning *OR* polish. In fact I've been asked about that by others - - mostly wanting to know how the sheen can get on there - - as the factory brushed is not allways that loved. I do take some offense at you calling me some sort of crook... and dishonesty etc, which is a little slanderous - just for selling clean, tested, working units -- that were confirmed to be old and not just from some slap-dash shop or bench? I say, "no fair". And what have you "discovered"? Please elaborate... was the DCR not to your liking, or is it all about the red seals ? I've been able to maintain better than 100% feedback on more than three accounts and on several online sales platforms (ebay, Reverb, my own site and others) - - for many decades (online since about 1998) -- selling antique audio items and tubes, it's not easy -- lots of testing and judgement is required. Not sure how long you have been at it - - but I have a good reputation and definitely don't appreciate being attacked by a stranger who may have never done business with me. Either way - - when buyers come to me with grievances based on originality or some other failure of representation (super rare); I'm always more than willing to go the extra mile to make it right. I am sure you do the same. For a good several years now I have instituted a 30 day return policy on most everything. Is that about what you offer on your items? JBL is a specialty area of Audio - - and I appreciate that you are trying to spot irregularities. You will however find many more grievances with other sellers (please check the bad actors on Reverb, I could use some help!) - - who care even less and know even less and are actually selling rough merchandise. I don't like to replace diaphragms in 075 or 077 units and I doubt the spares sound the same, save for NOS.. BUT, if I had I would certainly have noted it in the sales description. I only sell original such units, if at all possible (and that includes non-working bodies for repair (at some point)..
Hi Dan, this is a very old (last decade) video of mine, and henceforth, pretty low res. The metal box...you mean the amp on the stool? That's a circa 1979 NAD 3020 Integrated amp (still a great amp!). I don't use these for testing any longer.. I've decided to do real world tests using SE tube amps whenever possible. Or, do you mean the aluminum plate on the speakers themselves? That's the location of the crossover in these utterly huge Polk SDA's. I had these for sale many years ago. They are very decent speakers, but I sure don't miss the size or power requirements. Better sensitivity and detail can be realized with a tube amp / horn system combo of almost any type...see what you can find out there,. and thanks for the comment.
Radian Audio makes an aluminum Altec replacement diaphragm with a mylar suspension like that of the Symbiotik. Radian diaphragms are made in California and many hornies prefer them. They also make aluminum replacement diaphragms for JBL drivers. They do BE diaphragms too. And they make excellent drivers too, right here in the USA.
Hi Tom, thanks for this info. I really agree, if anyone is unable to repair -- and must have a Symbiotik's hybrid method... Radian deserves much mention. It might be worth double-checking on the origin of mfr for their Altec 1" product. I was always under the impression those were made via Radian's connections in South America -- but I may be confusing that with GPA. I have not had any customers tell me they prefer Radian's to old, original Altec -- but I will certainly keep an open mind. The issue with modern stuff is it's made to be rugged. The original Altec 802, aluminum / aluminum wire/ paper former units (1940s,50s,60s) were made to take less than 1/3 (or less) the wattage expected of most modern diaphragms. This leads to heavy heat resistant Kapton formers, and thicker wire... that slows stuff down needlessly for audiophiles with 3 watt 300B amps.
This is an excellent and most informative video. It's exactly what I wanted to know and have been researching. I found out I have the valuable diaphragm in 1 of mine. I am going to replace them with a more modern one and keep the old one safe. Thanks again. Edit: So the more modern and more available (relatively) 16 ohm diaphragms would be a correct replacement for a 288B with modified spade connectors and shorter screws?
Hello. Someone is selling me a pair of these. They seem to have the original diaphragm but one dome underneath the diaphragm is different, seems plastic and not metal. Will this change the sound quality? thank you!
The dome underneath is a critical component called the "phasing plug". On a quality compression driver it's usually a complicated piece. In the early 1970s, Altec spent allot of R&D effort to redesign this part, which had been essentially unchanged since the 1930s when Jim Lansing's team designed it. The new phasing device was named the "Tangerine" as it was made out of high quality orange colored plastic. The performance was quite good. And it was an independent development alongside the symbiotik diaphragm. Pluses and minuses versus traditional Brass Construction are debated sometimes, but in general it's considered one of only a handful of improvements in compression driver design since the 1920s and 30s. unfortunately if you have one tangerine and the other traditional brass, you have a mismatch - - and yes they do sound different. it's not a big deal, because in a stereo system you'll be hard-pressed to notice unless you listen very carefully. Both types of phasing devices are really nice sounding in Altec drivers -- and it boils down to personal preference. Because the "symbiotik" hybrid diaphragm was almost always combined with the tangerine phase plug in later years, the tangerine plug got a bad reputation for limiting HF, that it should not have received.... Combining an all aluminum diaphragm with the tangerine phasing plug is a good idea and certainly worth your time. I personally prefer the use of older aluminum diaphragms with aluminum windings (1950s) and traditional brass phasing plugs. But it's not a huge deal and you can get good sound out of original Altec drivers of either era....
