sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 4, 2021
- #1
I picked up a pair of these. They are in rough shape but usable for sure. Someone before me purchased the compression drivers. Im not sure what most of them came with but im seeing some with 288c. The cost of those just takes all the fun out of it. Does anyone know any other drivers that will get me up and running. These will not be used for hifi or any critical listening at this point i just want them to be funtional. I might actually use them in my garage of i can get them going.
Nyjblbob
Hooked on Horn's and Tubes. Go big or go home
- Dec 4, 2021
- #2
There are many adapters out there to use most 4 bolt 2" drivers, 1"ers and even screw on's to the 1.4" 3 bolt Altec bolt pattern's.
That is if the horns you bought have the Original Throat adapters.
sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 4, 2021
- #3
Nyjblbob said:
There are many adapters out there to use most 4 bolt 2" drivers, 1"ers and even screw on's to the 1.4" 3 bolt Altec bolt pattern's.
That is if the horns you bought have the Original Throat adapters.
They do not have throat adaptors. I looked at some old altec literature and it says this horn doesn't require a throat adaptor. The horns have 3 bolt holes where thr motors bolt on.
sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 4, 2021
- #4
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bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
- Dec 5, 2021
- #5
What's your budget?
Are you willing to drill the flanges to accept a 4 bolt pattern?
Too many good 1.4 inch throat drivers out there to justify using adapters and 1 inch drivers.
sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 5, 2021
- #6
bowtie427ss said:
What's your budget?
Are you willing to drill the flanges to accept a 4 bolt pattern?
Too many good 1.4 inch throat drivers out there to justify using adapters and 1 inch drivers.
My budget on these is prolly smaller then it should be but i cant justify too muchbas these will most likely end up in my garage. I would prolly swing a couple hundred bucks to get them working. I dont mind drilling the flanges one bit.
sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 5, 2021
- #7
Somthing like this would be realistic. I just dont know much about these drivers. There seems to be so many options.
Reading the description it seems these are only suggested to do down to 1500hz. Ive read these horns were crossed at 300hz and i shouldnt really go below 500hz. The couple sets of horns i have are my all time favorites for the time being. I shouldnt be even going down this rabbit hole but we all know how that goes.
BillWojo
AK Subscriber
Subscriber
- Dec 5, 2021
- #8
Altec 288 drivers get stupid expensive but the newer ceramic magnet 291-8K or 291-16K are not to far off on performance. You can replace the diaphragms with better ones and they turn into a very cost effective alternative.
BillWojo
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bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
- Dec 5, 2021
- #9
I would avoid titanium like the plague.
There's a pair of Radian 835's(used) on ebay right now for like 250 + 70something shipping. You'll be hard pressed to buy a pair of Altec diaphragms for that entry fee.
Or you can get new 745's for 235 each.
merdy
AK Subscriber
Subscriber
- Dec 5, 2021
- #10
The 203 b is a very good horn for home audio although you will need a hf horn driver to play above 8k as they drop very fast around 10 k
As for drivers you just have to pony up or get lucky as together with the right altec driver they are magic,288g,h then c b ,also 291 are good but not as silky,the 290 works but drops of at 4 k
I have tried every 1.4 inch and the ok listenable ones with the similar exit angle are the radian but it sounds more modern
While the horns are 300hz they still play best at 500 hz,
I have had and have every altec horn and did many experiments 20 years ago many with the 203 as they were cheap
You also must have some decent lf boxes as they are big sounding,and you will be rewarded
Here is an old picture
analog addict
Glory or Death!
- Dec 6, 2021
- #11
merdy said:
The 203 b is a very good horn for home audio although you will need a hf horn driver to play above 8k as they drop very fast around 10 k
As for drivers you just have to pony up or get lucky as together with the right altec driver they are magic,288g,h then c b ,also 291 are good but not as silky,the 290 works but drops of at 4 k
I have tried every 1.4 inch and the ok listenable ones with the similar exit angle are the radian but it sounds more modern
While the horns are 300hz they still play best at 500 hz,
I have had and have every altec horn and did many experiments 20 years ago many with the 203 as they were cheap
You also must have some decent lf boxes as they are big sounding,and you will be rewarded
Interesting. I have a pair of 203s sitting around, and I've never used them since I was led to believe that they need a significant amount of space to overcome a beaming effect since they only have 2 cells.
Also, as an aside, if you have had all the Altec horns, what is your experience with VITs/VIRs? I have VITs as well, but also haven't used them since again, they supposedly require more space than I have...
sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 6, 2021
- #12
bowtie427ss said:
I would avoid titanium like the plague.
There's a pair of Radian 835's(used) on ebay right now for like 250 + 70something shipping. You'll be hard pressed to buy a pair of Altec diaphragms for that entry fee.
Or you can get new 745's for 235 each.
How do the radian 835 you mention compare to the
Radian 835pb neo?
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bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
- Dec 6, 2021
- #13
I have no hands on experience from which to comment beyond the basic differences which are that one is a conventional ferrite motor, and the other uses a neodymium magnet. Certainly the latter is lighter, and may have some heat dissipation advantage. It's also possible that the physically much smaller neodymium magnet requires a different motor structure, all of which will come at a higher entry fee vs. little if any difference in overall sound.
Many of us here do have positive experience with Radian diaphragms in other name brand compression drivers.
sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 6, 2021
- #14
bowtie427ss said:
I have no hands on experience from which to comment beyond the basic differences which are that one is a conventional ferrite motor, and the other uses a neodymium magnet. Certainly the latter is lighter, and may have some heat dissipation advantage. It's also possible that the physically much smaller neodymium magnet requires a different motor structure, all of which will come at a higher entry fee vs. little if any difference in overall sound.
Many of us here do have positive experience with Radian diaphragms in other name brand compression drivers.
Gotchya. Well i did buy the last set of the ones you were talking about on ebay. I figure for the cost i can get an idea of how the 203bs sound. And im guessing these drivers will fit a few other altec horns aswell. Im pretty exited to give them a listen.
merdy
AK Subscriber
Subscriber
- Dec 6, 2021
- #15
Sansuibutch you are going to have fun let us know of your experience
Analog addict the vit are more of a Electra voice designed altec horn and yes the dispersion of them are limited to home hifi as it has a fairly narrow horizontal output i have only heard them in churches and large venues on their own without helper woofers etc
I have and occasionally use my home theater version which I found beamy till I used a smaller ev driver from the sentry 4
They would be perfect for your live jazz club
You got to try the 203 ,the only other ev horn that is a bit better is the white whale
twiiii
Lunatic Member
- Dec 9, 2021
- #16
A 288C crossed at 800Hz is a great driver. But at 500 Hz it is easily damaged by destroying the diaphragm surround. So when used with a 203 you want the Symbiotic diaphragms for performance if crossed at 500 hz. Now the 203 was designed to be used with the 290 driver which reaches down to 300 HZ with high efficiency. But then you need two or preferably 4 MR 902 -16HF tweeters to reach the highest frequencies crossing over around 6 KHZ. With todays Diaphragms from Great Plains audio you can cross at 500 hz and almost reach the highest frequencies using the 203 horn. But you wont get the loudest levels of the 290 driver. For outdoor I used the 203 with the 291 driver using the symbiotik diaphragm and by EQ ing reached 12 000 HZ which is all you need for out doors and large venues. 203's were my favorite horns, till the mantarays and VIT and VIR horns came along. Then the MR-64 became my favorite horn. Though it did not reach as low as a 203 the coverage control was much superior. For home I would be looking for 311-90 horns for your 288C. They are much bigger well damped versions of the 511 and 811 sectorial horns with a larger throat for the 288C. Then you'll need 817 Boxes with two 416 each and with a little Eq placed against a wall or near a corner will reach below 40 Hz easily. Then you will need to bi amp of course with the woofers needing 2 to 4 times the power of the horn assembly. Say 20 watts for the top and 1000 watts for the woofers. Thats 124 db at 4 ft for sure.
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sansuibutch
Super Member
- Dec 23, 2021
- #17
Well the drivers i purchased fell through. The guy didnt have two working drivers left. He gave me stories for three weeks bla bla bla. So im back to square one.
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bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
- Dec 23, 2021
- #18
donprice
Wound up workin' at a gas station....
- Dec 24, 2021
- #19
I know nothing about Altec horns but I've been tempted to give this a try on some JBL cd horns.
https://www.parts-express.com/Emine...treme-Compression-Driver-8-Ohm-4-Bolt-290-888
Not cheap but PE does have a nice return policy.
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