Choosing Woofers?

[E Biddy]

What can you base your choices on looking at the specifications without ever hearing it?

I'm interested in coverage up to about 1k, to be able to handle about 80 to 100W.

[Andy_G]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

What can you base your choices on looking at the specifications without ever hearing it?

I'm interested in coverage up to about 1k, to be able to handle about 80 to 100W.

IMO, its not so much choosing any particular driver, but choosing a set of drivers that will work together.

I assume, from your request that you want a bass driver. Also your 1k x-o would lead me to think you were looking at a 3-way speaker. If so, what mid and tweeter.

Try to start to think of a speaker as a whole, a combination, not just as individual drivers.

[E Biddy]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

I have a pairl of altec 511b horns that I'd like to actively crossover somewhere between 500 and 1k. I was thinking about combining them with a pair of 12" speakers similar to an altec 9844 but I'm not interested in spending the money on the altec woofers.

I'm after that visual, not necessarily that sound.

[Andy_G]

Paging Bill Fitzmaurice or others... re PA drivers etc

I have a pairl of altec 511b horns that I'd like to actively crossover somewhere between 500 and 1k. I was thinking about combining them with a pair of 12" speakers similar to an altec 9844 but I'm not interested in spending the money on the altec woofers.

I'm after that visual, not necessarily that sound.

Ok, you are after a PA style driver. I would suggest an Eminence of some sort.. but I am down under , so driver availability is very different

Hopefully Bill or one of the other guys will be able to point you in the right direction.

[E Biddy]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Thank Andy,

I'm not actually interested in a PA.

A lot of these were used in the 60s - 80s as the high frequency units in home and studio monitors. That is similar to what I'm trying to recreate. I know that there are limitations to that sound, but I have the horn and I want to play with it.

[Andy_G]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Thank Andy,

I'm not actually interested in a PA.

A lot of these were used in the 60s - 80s as the high frequency units in home and studio monitors. That is similar to what I'm trying to recreate. I know that there are limitations to that sound, but I have the horn and I want to play with it.

You still need a PA type driver, just to get a sensitivity somewhere in reach of what the horn can do.

Back "then", amp generally didn't have the grunt some amps have now, so high sensitivity was a good thing (and still generally is)

There is nothing wrong with using PA drivers in the home, many people do it.

Its all in the implementation.

I mentioned Eminence.. Somthing like a Beta 12 or Gamma 12 would work ok in house and aren't nasty to work with.
There are bound to be several other options as well.

[Mark65]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Listen to Andy.

He knows what the hell he's talking about.

Mark

[Andy_G]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Listen to Andy.

He knows what the hell he's talking about.

Mark

But I can't help much with appropriate drivers. If I give driver advice, I would probably miss a very obvious choice.

[Andy_G]

Crickey, I just realise how big that sucker is !!!

I have a pairl of altec 511b horns that I'd like to actively crossover somewhere between 500 and 1k. I was thinking about combining them with a pair of 12" speakers similar to an altec 9844 but I'm not interested in spending the money on the altec woofers.

I'm after that visual, not necessarily that sound.

would make a single 12" look like a flea !!!


quote from AJ on chat "I think i'd sell the horns... they're probably worth a pretty penny"

[Mark65]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

If someone can't be presented with a range of drivers that would apply to his/her situation here, and go from there, they should be doing something else.

Individual drivers have far too many subjective (even if they are measurable) differences to be offered up as the choice of "here's the one you need".

That's only my opinion, of course, and take it FWIW. I have nothing like the knowledge necessary to recommend ANYTHING, let alone a specific driver to fit his app. Wolf might have something to offer, as he's forgotten about more drivers than I know of in the first place.

Mark

[AJ]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Well, Andy said my first thought above (sell them) but if you want to build something with these horns, do like the JBL design and use one or two 12" PA woofers. Use the Eminence Beta 12", or if you want to spend more money go for the Kappa series.

[wlb]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

You can defiantly use those horns for a home high fidelity system if you have the right drivers hooked up to them. Altec 802-8A or 902-8A are good but if they are 808 or 908-8As then they are for a PA setup. Andy G is right about the high sensitivity. You will probably need a pro woofer to keep up with those horns or you could biamp them. I had a set of Altec lansing voice of the theaters in my living room with those horns in it for over 20 years and loved them. Big sound though, and you could blow you ear drums out with just a boom box hooked up to them.

[E Biddy]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Thanks for all the input.

I was looking at dual 12" with that horn something like the altec 9844.

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/...akers/9844.htm

Would something like the Dayton Classic 12" be OK?

They will be biamped.

[Wolf]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

Thanks for all the input.

I was looking at dual 12" with that horn something like the altec 9844.

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/...akers/9844.htm

Would something like the Dayton Classic 12" be OK?

They will be biamped.

The Classic 12" probably doesn't play high enough to meet your goal in Xover frequency. If you go Eminence, and don't mind a bit of spending, the Definimax 4012HO can be used full-range and utilize its natural rolloff to about 2kHz. If you can swing the money, this driver is a monster. IMPACT/SLAM are what they do well, even if extension isn't much below 40Hz.
Later,
Wolf

[wlb]

Re: Choosing Woofers?

You know you can cross those horns as low as 500hz. I would cross them at 800hz with two 12" woofers, almost any woofer would work then. And if you biamp them you could even use a sub woofer with lower sensitivity, and keep the horn amp down low . I love the sound of the mids on those horns ,if they were not so large I would probably still have a pair.