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The King of Midrange: plus, compact cabinet size & perfect for SETs!

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The Western Electric / Altec 755 series full range drivers. As far as midrange drivers go, this is ROYALTY.
As in the fairy tales, there's always a catch.
755A - best of the lot, quite possibly the best ever midrange driver. Sadly, unobtanium (hyper-rare & silly expensive - 6K$ a pair nowdays - when you find it)
755B-E (later series, "not A") - reportedly not that magical midrange, but will work in small cabinet. (Well, just how well? I have a pair of 755C, will build a cab - probably next year & we will all find out! Until then, peel your eyes open and if you find a deal for one of these then get them!)
Unfortunately the B-E series have also become super expensive (though under 1K$ a pair), so it's not a bargain project no matter which driver you choose. As the letter progresses, the midrange quality lowers. Plus, later models are ferrite, not Alnico.
Earlier the letter, the better the midrange...
The shown Joseph Esmilla page:
jelabs.blogspo...
BTW J. Esmilla is a professional violinist (and an expert amplifier and speaker-builder), so we all can take his recommendation for midrange! ;)

Опубликовано:

23 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 16

@loureda5443 3 года назад

I thought I would add a couple of comments.The doped fabric on the Altecs and the goat skin on Diatone drivers are superb in terms of compliance and longevity unlike modern cheap foam surround which rot away after 15 years. Also, if you look at the Altec 755 you can see the small pleat in the cone which decouples the mid and higher range from the low range of the cone. This feature allows this particular speaker to go to 13khz with out a whizzer or additional tweeter. The western electric /altec engineers were some of the most creative and clever on the planet from the 1930s to 1950s. Unfortunately they all went into aerospace for NASA and Boeing after ww2. Regards Lou

@realworldaudio 3 года назад

Thank you Lou! Indeed, people think that WE/Altec drivers are just a hype, but the reality is that their designers incorporated concepts that are just not found in the audio industry, or just a few aspects recently incorporated here and there. I do not see such know-how concentration and quality of implementation in modern drivers. With a few exceptions, the modern driver production is a huge step back from the Altec know how and quality. Yes, there are promising features here and there, but not the all-encompassing vision and attention to such wide range of aspects and parameters.

@NickP333 2 года назад

Wow, that Diatone driver looks amazingly good and extremely useful with low powered SET amps. They’re still made today? I bought a few Diatone headshells made out of some kind of extremely light but rugged type of magnesium for when low mass is wanted.

@realworldaudio Год назад

Hi Nick, just saw your post ; ) . Mitsubishi does not make the Diatone drivers anymore, but a Hong Kong company is making them. And pretty close replicas indeed! Also, he is making variations on the original drivers, he has a version with oversize Alnico motor! That's on my radar ; ). BTW, those present made Diatones are very very very very affordable, yet reportedly really well built, far above the price point they ask. One of the hidden jewels of audio today...

@bobsmoot8454 2 года назад

According the Joe Roberts via Joseph it’s about the music presentation, not deep bass. Again, quoting Walt Bender, the WE 755a is The Best Speaker from 100-10k. I’ve had a pair of Altec 755a for 30+ years and have tried then in various boxes and baffles that sound presentation changes. JE Labs had a baffle that resemble the dimensions of the Wharfedale and Quad 57, with a bass tab on top, very spacious sounding to me, then I tried a huge baffle that 42” wide by almost 6 feet tall used golden ratio for it. It sounded very nice to me, built 618 cabinet and it was totally different, but the stuffing made a huge difference in the quickness of the 755a. I’m in the process on building the These Silbatone-Joe Rob boxes. If you want more in the lower register do an open back box with an 19” JBL or ??? But as you have so astutely stated before you have to keep the bottom range in synchronized/compatible high range to sound natural and pleasing.

@realworldaudio 2 года назад

Thank you Bob for sharing on the various cabinet experiences! Indeed, adding a huge JBL or Altec woofer for the deep bass is most likely the best solution when one wants to go so low - yet, as you pointed out, integrating them will always compromise the lower midrange to a degree. If I would go that way, most likely I would make the woofer switchable - add it only on demand... ;

@IDontExist14 3 года назад

hello. bro have been watching your videos for a few weeks now , great content keep it up , most RU-vid channels are biased , I can't stand them , I'm currently on my 3rd speaker build , I'm from India , if I can be only help to you , let me know , for my next project I am going to build a horn speaker and tube amp , btw I have never heard tube amp before , can u suggest me how I should design the waveguide , for my current speakers I have ordered a SB accustics satori tw29r. , its a ring dome tweeter , sounding very very good , can I make a waveguide for this tweeter also , thanks btw .

@realworldaudio 3 года назад

Thank you for joining the channel! You have a great start, at your 3rd speakers now, superb! I'll respond with a video on the speakers / tweeter integration / waveguide strategy. Based on your tweeter (92dB,4R) you would preferably want a Dynaco stereo 35 or similar amplifier: push-pull with at least 10W or more. Will start in the near future (later this month) how to start building a single ended triode amp (1.5W per channel) from the start, but that cannot make your speakers play very loud.

@IDontExist14 3 года назад

@@realworldaudio the ones before were with kits , this time I made on my own , and I have been inspired from you to build horn speakers and tube amp by the way , I love jbl synthesis line , one of my fav

@changkang9005 Год назад

Insurance company you from?

@realworldaudio Год назад

That's a good one! 😂😂👍

@ramongomez6720 3 года назад

Ok, I am going to sell my Klipsch heresy iiis and put it towards vintage diy

@realworldaudio 3 года назад

You might want to hold off on that for a little while. The Klipsch are a good foundation to start with, they need a crossover update and you will have superb speakers. What is it you want in sound? If you want dynamics, listen to a lot of pop / rock / jazz, and listen for the impact, the speed, the feel of live event, then the Heresy is a good start. (First, just update internal wires / crossover, then you can build a better cabinet). This is a great route if you feel there is potential in the H., it has what you want but not enough refinement, it's unbalanced - in this case you can get what you are looking for with the mods. However, if you want something very different, then go for the vintage solution.

@ramongomez6720 3 года назад

@@realworldaudio thanks

@pittbrat7963 2 года назад

@@realworldaudio i would do it the other way around. The weak spot of the Heresy(and 95% of the commercial speakers) is the cabinet material. Fix that and then you have smaller differencies that can be solved with crossover adjustment(if even needed)