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Altec Lansing 846B Valencia


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Recently asked to look at restoring a vintage set of Altec Lansing's, I had seen photos and it was evident that they were past restoration which is what I'd normally recommend. I prefer to make the originals as good as they can be and defy their age if possible.

 

The cabinet damage was more than superficial so a full rebuild was called for 

 

IMG_0741.thumb.PNG.c65fae84d139fa248e38790fe77ef365.PNG

 

IMG_0742.thumb.PNG.72f7252006f448dc4eba8f797ab45bbf.PNG

 

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I had to test them, as you would, and they definitely rock n rolled. 

 

IMG_0740.thumb.PNG.75e8194ace506fa086ef6cd81be119d3.PNG

 

Dampening cloth had been added not so long ago which I salvaged for the new boxes

 

IMG_0744.thumb.PNG.b5c3a36c69e56996b1cee36e679dae46.PNG

 

We knew the drivers were good and the crossovers had been gone through by another SNA member who may want to chime in on what was done.

 

IMG_0746.thumb.PNG.d67989d8e8e6a34b330d6ce64eae6930.PNG

 

Original cabinets were made by Hill Crest MFG a quick google gave limited info but further digging suggests a Southern Californian company who built for Altec and JBL, must have gone broke or changed names. There was a hit for Hill Crest furniture but they only established in 1989 and in Mississippi so thinking they are not related.

 

IMG_0745.thumb.PNG.d52116ee4288b93b3b6dad3cff0b64d6.PNG

 

Veneer is American Walnut - Crown cut and laid on 3/4" partical board - I ordered the same veneer but laid on 18mm MR MDF 

Was not over the moon with the strong straight book matching on the center of the board or at the bottom of the sheet. This is where a bit of thought will be the difference between an OK and f yeah end result.

 

IMG_0747.thumb.PNG.b9bab1cabb3ec22babd26626bdbd0be5.PNG

 

First cut - up the affending grain match which totally calmed the whole situation. I made the not so nice end of the sheet the unseen bottom and book matched the end grain over the top. I flipped the other half of the sheet and repeated the process so we would be left with a mirrored pair of gain matching cabinets. 

All the sizes had to be worked off the internals so the original baffles and covers would fit

 

IMG_0748.thumb.PNG.3edf5802c0c682b807847f4dc64ce0ea.PNG

 

I rebated the rear panels flush as per originals but used MR MDF instead of chipboard

 

IMG_0749.thumb.PNG.61d558878de265828fce56209b0316aa.PNG

 

Assembled like a big origami box, no exposed fixings. We added extra 18 x 18 cleats to the inside corners, glued and screwed and matched a diagonal brace to the rear panel 

 

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Repaired the Horn Tweeter baffles

 

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Book matched end grain 

 

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The originals had veneer to the front edges, this is a weak point and I have replaced with solid 10mm Walnut clashing strips.

 

All ready for a sand and stain tomorrow,  watch this space 

 

 

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39 minutes ago, Powerglide said:

Recently asked to look at restoring a vintage set of Altec Lansing's, I had seen photos and it was evident that they were past restoration which is what I'd normally recommend. I prefer to make the originals as good as they can be and defy their age if possible.

 

The cabinet damage was more than superficial so a full rebuild was called for 

 

IMG_0741.thumb.PNG.c65fae84d139fa248e38790fe77ef365.PNG

 

IMG_0742.thumb.PNG.72f7252006f448dc4eba8f797ab45bbf.PNG

 

IMG_0743.thumb.PNG.d9b957c6c933677f42a1a29535bb83a5.PNG

 

I had to test them, as you would, and they definitely rock n rolled. 

 

IMG_0740.thumb.PNG.75e8194ace506fa086ef6cd81be119d3.PNG

 

Dampening cloth had been added not so long ago which I salvaged for the new boxes

 

IMG_0744.thumb.PNG.b5c3a36c69e56996b1cee36e679dae46.PNG

 

We knew the drivers were good and the crossovers had been gone through by another SNA member who may want to chime in on what was done.

 

IMG_0746.thumb.PNG.d67989d8e8e6a34b330d6ce64eae6930.PNG

 

Original cabinets were made by Hill Crest MFG a quick google gave limited info but further digging suggests a Southern Californian company who built for Altec and JBL, must have gone broke or changed names. There was a hit for Hill Crest furniture but they only established in 1989 and in Mississippi so thinking they are not related.

 

IMG_0745.thumb.PNG.d52116ee4288b93b3b6dad3cff0b64d6.PNG

 

Veneer is American Walnut - Crown cut and laid on 3/4" partical board - I ordered the same veneer but laid on 18mm MR MDF 

Was not over the moon with the strong straight book matching on the center of the board or at the bottom of the sheet. This is where a bit of thought will be the difference between an OK and f yeah end result.

 

IMG_0747.thumb.PNG.b9bab1cabb3ec22babd26626bdbd0be5.PNG

 

First cut - up the affending grain match which totally calmed the whole situation. I made the not so nice end of the sheet the unseen bottom and book matched the end grain over the top. I flipped the other half of the sheet and repeated the process so we would be left with a mirrored pair of gain matching cabinets. 

All the sizes had to be worked off the internals so the original baffles and covers would fit

 

IMG_0748.thumb.PNG.3edf5802c0c682b807847f4dc64ce0ea.PNG

 

I rebated the rear panels flush as per originals but used MR MDF instead of chipboard

 

IMG_0749.thumb.PNG.61d558878de265828fce56209b0316aa.PNG

 

Assembled like a big origami box, no exposed fixings. We added extra 18 x 18 cleats to the inside corners, glued and screwed and matched a diagonal brace to the rear panel 

 

IMG_0751.thumb.PNG.a191a00b5ce5b2a6ab25d2bc4d53e39b.PNG

 

IMG_0752.thumb.PNG.77abb6820a17561e64c639e9a99a1ef7.PNG

 

Repaired the Horn Tweeter baffles

 

IMG_0750.thumb.PNG.fd7379cf564b7d01aab98905a0e935b0.PNG

 

Book matched end grain 

 

IMG_0753.thumb.PNG.bf118135a8ac7deb7ce51cb7636a0431.PNG

 

IMG_0754.thumb.PNG.74f2cc6d30bee161a8e7c5bc4ca971ae.PNG

 

The originals had veneer to the front edges, this is a weak point and I have replaced with solid 10mm Walnut clashing strips.imageproxy.php?img=&key=6052995cfa95af68

 

All ready for a sand and stain tomorrow,  watch this space 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing them finished. 

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Reminds me very much of making a wooden ashtray in woodwork at school--only took me about 6 months. I salute the handymen/handywomen of SNA! Maybe for me in the next life I will be able to cut something properly....

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When I had these Valencias, both crossovers needed attention.  The capacitor values were all over the place and two of the inductors were way off spec and the third one open circuit.  Capacitors were replaced with Russian hybrid PIO K75 and bypasses were with Russian teflon caps and also Mundorf. 

 

Wiring was replaced with Duelund and some Western Electric 10 awg.  

I wanted to keep the external crossover plates and pots original.  And they were working without issue.

 

The fibreglass damping was replaced with felt by Ben the previous owner.

 

Drivers went from Altec 806 to 902 for added highs and the woofers with original cones, being AlNiCo needed a recharge, which was done at Speaker Hospital in Sydney.

 

At this stage, the speakers sounded great but looked very shabby.  That is where Alan of alcojoinery.com came in with this restoration.  Looking great Alan!

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Final stages of this build 

 

sealer coat over the stain 

 

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sponge sand back and coated - 4 times 

 

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installed the dampening wadding and crossovers 

 

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Owners brief was to reuse the original baffles, these could use a little sugar soap to spruce them up and some nicks need a spot of touch up paint or even just a black texter. They look quite presentable but Lansing had intended them to be used grills on so went for function over form with exposed screws and some fairly robust face fixed nutserts. For cosmetic reasons only, the baffles could be replaced quite easily in the future.

 

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rear view 

 

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made some angled plinths from 25mm birch ply, clear sealed the raw material and Matt Black finish to the seen faces.

 

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back and rocking just as loud wearing a new suit and shoes, sad to see them go. 

 

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Edited by Powerglide
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Great to have the Valencias back. Alan has done some excellent work on the cabinets as is evident in this thread. With the pictures only going so far in showing the quality of final result. When purchased from MGO recently on here the cabinets were serviceable but clearly not the selling point. At the time he mentioned he new of a craftsman if I wanted to do something with them. He was not wrong. Beginning to end from advice on approach to work done Alan had it covered. Props to the workplace sound system too.             

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Brilliant work Alan!!

Good to see another fine Altec brought back to life.

Lucky  cccrchairman, you are stoked to own these I bet. 
Happy listening times ahead. 

Edited by MarcAL
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Thanks MarcAL. Yes very happy with how it has turned out with these speakers not having owned or really heard much of this type of loudspeaker before. I have them setup for near field listening in the office (my wife is awesome but having these bad boys in the living room is a no go). A bit of fine tuning to find their happy place but when dialled in a very engaging sound. After hearing them pumping in Alan's workshop I realised the sound just keeps scaling up to 11. I gotta build a bigger room.    

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 26/06/2020 at 12:43 PM, MarcAL said:

Brilliant work Alan!!

Good to see another fine Altec brought back to life.

Lucky  cccrchairman, you are stoked to own these I bet. 
Happy listening times ahead. 

Thanks Marc, ready to do your work when you are, looks like Mark is getting itchy feet again ?

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Hey Alan, I have been looking at the angled plinth idea and it is brilliant in many ways.

 

One, you can hear the Valencias without having to sit on the floor.

Two, you don't have to compromise the original Altec cabinet design in any way.

Three, there is no place for condensation from drink containers or over watered plants to sit on.

Four, they are easy to fit or remove later down the track.

Five, can be made higher to hide castors underneath without seeing them.

Six, neat place to mount enhanced crossover networks that can be tweaked without removing any drivers.

Seven, protects the base of the cabinet from violent vacuum cleaner heads.

Eight, etc...

 

I shall definitely consider them on my next build. ?

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