lovetube Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 you now need something's like the 802 or 806 driver for these . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 On 10/5/2015 at 11:41 AM, Tax said: Hi Newman, I am not fully abreast of the physics involved but here is a cut and paste from the German designer of the Axiom tonearm on Agon where he describes the HSIU in a post discussing the Micro Seiki. "Each and every bearing with a shaft - i.e. with a lateral bearing - being addressed by a string pulling towards the motor in order to apply any tension on the medium (string, belt, tape) spinning the platter will benefit from the elimination of that one-side force. Lesser noise - lesser friction - lesser wear." The HS80 weighs 18 Kgs. I was not prepared for the size and weight of it. Nor was I prepared for the improvement in sound it brought to the system. I am still scratching my head as to how a mechanical application can have such an influence on what is happening at the stylus to LP interface. Cut and paste from my email to Thank ALF "I am lost for a cohesive and coherent description as only one word items popped into my head... these were (in no particular order) Fark Explosive Big Depth Organic Flow More of everything (hold on that is three words)" Hope this sums it up. Hi Tax, The yellow high-lighted text refers to "elimination of that one-side force". So is the HSIU a second motor and belt pulling from the opposite side of the spindle (to the first motor)? If so then I can absolutely agree with your comment "Fark / Explosive / Big / Depth / Organic / Flow / More of everything" ... as that is exactly what I heard when I added a 2nd motor & belt to my SkeletaLinn (on the other side of the spindle to the 1st motor). Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 16 hours ago, lovetube said: you now need something's like the 802 or 806 driver for these . Yes, on the way from Adelaide Hills. Should arrive before next weekend :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 15 hours ago, andyr said: Hi Tax, The yellow high-lighted text refers to "elimination of that one-side force". So is the HSIU a second motor and belt pulling from the opposite side of the spindle (to the first motor)? If so then I can absolutely agree with your comment "Fark / Explosive / Big / Depth / Organic / Flow / More of everything" ... as that is exactly what I heard when I added a 2nd motor & belt to my SkeletaLinn (on the other side of the spindle to the 1st motor). Andy Hi Andy, The HSIU (high speed inertia unit) is a flywheel. Some Walker users and other users are using two motors to counteract the force of the first motor. Great that you found improvement when you added your second motor :-) More discussion of motors, flywheels, friction etc at this link on Agon https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/tables-that-feature-bearing-friction#27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) The new babies arrived this evening :-) You can never win with women, she took one look at these and said I much prefer the German horns you have now to these ugly boxes... fark! you can't win can you???? Edited September 5, 2016 by Tax typo 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I'm with your wife Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 I need some advice please. Negotiation with SWMBO on "these BIG UGLY boxes" is progressing. 24 hours of these sitting in between her kitchen and the dining room and I say to her over a glass of wine and steak..."I am thinking of making them a bit more contemporary" would a colour like Red work?" She goes.."that would be better than some big brown ugly boxes". So I need your advice.. Ferrari Red, Porsche Red or some other red??????????????? With the intent that the drivers and the horn flare will still be black. Would this work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 No. You don't want your speakers to look better than her lipstick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 3 minutes ago, Newman said: No. You don't want your speakers to look better than her lipstick. You have given me a great idea Newman...I can say "red the colour of your lipstick" while I am o'gling my speakers :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 How about some pop art Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_W Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Taks, just paint them gloss white. Red is too much. But if you MUST go for red, I think Ferrari red is a little too blood like. It might work on something with as many curves as a Ferrari, but for a box it would look absolutely horrible. Some things are just not meant to be painted red. Imagine a Mercedes in Ferrari red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 17 hours ago, davidro said: How about some pop art Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Like these? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 12 hours ago, Keith_W said: Taks, just paint them gloss white. Red is too much. But if you MUST go for red, I think Ferrari red is a little too blood like. It might work on something with as many curves as a Ferrari, but for a box it would look absolutely horrible. Some things are just not meant to be painted red. Imagine a Mercedes in Ferrari red. Thanks KW! Would this look work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_W Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Horns red, box piano gloss white Just IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 15 minutes ago, Keith_W said: Horns red, box piano gloss white Just IMHO. I see what you mean. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 4 hours ago, Keith_W said: Horns red, box piano gloss white Just IMHO. Nice, Thanks! On reflection I have lived with White horns for the last 8 years, and White and Red for that matter is going to make the speakers stand out as BIG. Look at how one speaker covers up the width of a 8 seater dining table? After dinner discussions tonight is slowly edging towards veneer, oiling or Black so they disappear.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klackto Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I reckon work on the veneer and timber finish. To me they're quite beautiful as they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 On 9/9/2016 at 7:52 AM, klackto said: I reckon work on the veneer and timber finish. To me they're quite beautiful as they are. Thanks Klackto! Had a cabinetmaker take a look at it yesterday and the easiest, quickest and cheapest option is to lightly sand them back and give them a coat of matt black in the horn flare and a couple of clear coats of varnish on the veneer. I can always add some grill cloth of a different colour later if required. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 A bit apprehensive this morning as the day of Altec reckoning has arrived. Waiting for @nevillekapadia to arrive to give me a hand to move them into the main rig and fire them up for the first time. The crossovers had to be removed for transport so I am in the process of remounting them on the back. Here is what a 1970 vintage Altec XO looks like inside. 46 years old..hope it has survived. Everything is potted to keep it in place and for anti vibration I guess. Capacitors look like they have a cardboard wrapper much like the Duelund and new Jensens. Some sort of double winding where the two caps share the same body. Parts count minimal. looks like the bare essentials so I am guessing that there will be room for improvement via a better custom made outboard crossover in the future. Better get back to wiring the speakers. Hopefully I can give you my initial "listening" impressions later today 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 11, 2016 Author Share Posted September 11, 2016 It was a lot of fun with the Altec's yesterday. Neville came over around 10.30 and did not leave till close on 3pm. We hauled the speakers into the main rig and had a listen to them as was with the Emilar bowtie 800 horns. They sounded nice. Neville thought having the woofer sitting up off the ground would make the sound more coherent. We checked this by laying on the floor and listening to what information the 515B driver in the bass horn was passing through. So after hauling them out of the room again we got to work in dismantling the 802D from the back of the Emilar Horn. I then modified the 802D's by taking of the plastic loading caps and lining the rear chambers with felt (given to me by local Sydney Altec aficionado James who sold me the 511B horns). We then hauled the boxes back into the room and turned them upside down so the 515B were at the top rather than close to the floor. We then hooked the 511B's topside and had a listen to one speaker (had not modified the other as yet) and it sounded quite good. Once we had both speakers going we were a bit taken aback as the good sound had thinned out. We then shut down the amp on the left channel and opened the rear of the speaker and checked the connections and changed the phase on the 515B woofer and vola we had great sound. Surprising how good the 46 year old crossovers still sound. The felt pad mod on the rear chamber worked a treat. Much more organic sound without the shoutiness at certain frequencies that the A7 is known for. I was very happy that my Koshka 6C33C amplifiers drove these with great ease. Even more magic happened with the vinyl front end playing. The set up was quick and dirty as we did not want to mess with the Avantgardes and their placement. You can see in the photos the cardboard stuffing in the ports where we were trying to "um scientifically" discern what the port size was doing. All in all quite an enjoyable time, and Mrs Tax had a light lunch and refreshments ready to cap off a wonderful morning. Thank you @nevillekapadia ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetube Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 pay attention on the port Tax. i used to use one pair of the A7 and i have tuned the port dia and it does indeed tighten up the bass . enjoy your new adventure Duc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevillekapadia Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Had fun with the Altec's, Tax. Always a good learning, and to see technology as advanced as that a good 40-50 years back. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 Gutted the cabinets yesterday and removed the drivers. Intend to get the cabinets sanded and refinished. Will keep the horn flares matt black and the trim and sides of the boxes in the same Tassie oak veneer. The 515B's had some small Styrofoam stuck to the Altec goop from the many years of storage in the previous owners garage. I surgically removed these with a set of fine tipped tweezers I use for my phono cartridge clips. They came out quite well. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 Cabinets slowly progressing at my cabinet maker. New slit ports done. Bottom (now the new top) veneered. Hopefully I get them home before x'mas. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest atilsley Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I built 3 port fittings for the A7's I built for Fred...he's opted for the "middle" size port for best bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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