Altec Mantaray Original or Diy?

[Urubamba]

My daughter was in a bookstore where they have this sound system. She sent me these photos knowing that I was going to like her, it is a system of my youthful years.
But although I recognized the Altec Lansing Mantaray 604 8H speaker, I had a question.....next to the tuning slot there is an unused hollow space.....it seems that there was a wire rheostat for the treble there, which is gone, but there is no Altec-branded plate on the front...
So, is it a Diy enclosure or an original cabinet? Only for curiosity ....

Altec 604 8H 15 inche Speaker Driver with Mantaray Horn Excellent Shape Take A Look - Photo481826

www.usaudiomart.com

 

[mhardy6647]

I believe that would normally hold the crossover and an HF level adjustment. That is, I believe (?!) an Altec Eighteen (or possibly Stonehenge III) enclosure.

source: https://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/home-speakers/model-18.htm



source: https://flic.kr/s/aHskySYz9T
(I really do need to re-scan these pages!)

 

[Urubamba]

¡Lo has clavado! , es el modelo Dieciocho original, pero por alguna razón han quitado los controles de tono alto y medio.
Tengo un JBL LE14 C antiguo (entre otros) y el reóstato de control está dentro de la misma caja con el cruce. Seguramente Altec Lansing construyó lo mismo, (los recuerdo, escuché el modelo Nineteen y el Santana, pero nunca me aventuré en el set xover-reóstatos) así que aquí creo que estamos ante un audio "purista" que prefirió eliminar los controles... probablemente haya una red cruzada mejorada en el interior... hmm, pero un cartucho Shure M95ED (MM) no necesita un transformador elevador para MC... supongo que tendría que hacerlo dirígete allí y echa un vistazo más de cerca. ...

 

[Urubamba]

Wow, looks like I should have enlarged this photo, that's not a step-up transformer for MC cartridges, - on the left - looks more like a Technics turntable power supply! My mistake, sorry.

 

[Vuki]

Where is that bookstore?

 

[Urubamba]

I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, my daughter in the capital (CABA) about 25 km away. I will ask him for exact information from that site and I will tell you.

 

[mhardy6647]

Wow, looks like I should have enlarged this photo, that's not a step-up transformer for MC cartridges, - on the left - looks more like a Technics turntable power supply! My mistake, sorry.

Yes, the tt, which I believe is an SP-10 (maybe MkII?) has a separate power supply.

It looks like you recognized that the Shure cartridge on the tonearm doesn't require an SUT.

 

[Urubamba]

Where is that bookstore?

FALENA

www.falena.com.ar

 

[Urubamba]

Yes, the tt, which I believe is an SP-10 (maybe MkII?) has a separate power supply.

It looks like you recognized that the Shure cartridge on the tonearm doesn't require an SUT.

Yes, because I first saw the photos on the smartphone and hence the error, then on the PC I enlarged them and examined them better.
Another thing that led to my mistake was that I saw an Ortofón headshell, and I thought that first they would have an MC, then an MM and what I thought was a SUT was deprecated......
Well, what can you tell me about the Altec Eighteen? I am a lover of big speakers and "the sound of the west coast" ....

 

[fpitas]

Seems that after the flirtation with the Mantaray, Altec went back to an exponential horn:

https://greatplainsaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/604_8H_III.pdf

 

[fpitas]

Well, what can you tell me about the Altec Eighteen? I am a lover of big speakers and "the sound of the west coast" ....

If somebody grabbed the crossover, you'll definitely need that. Frankly, if you intend to buy it, make sure the treble horn works at all.

 

[mhardy6647]

Yes, because I first saw the photos on the smartphone and hence the error, then on the PC I enlarged them and examined them better.
Another thing that led to my mistake was that I saw an Ortofón headshell, and I thought that first they would have an MC, then an MM and what I thought was a SUT was deprecated......
Well, what can you tell me about the Altec Eighteen? I am a lover of big speakers and "the sound of the west coast" ....

I am, too. The Eighteen was, I presume, essentially a domesticated (consumer-oriented) version of the Duplex monitors. I've never encountered one in the "flesh", and my tastes run towards the earlier Duplexes, but they should be excellent.

My own are (were) 604E Duplexes installed in "reimagined" 620 cabinets (see link below) with MasteringLabs crossovers. They are very, very, good -- lacking only in treble dispersion (small "sweet spot"). I have switched, at least for the time being, do different drivers and horns using the same cabinets -- but the 604Es and the crossovers are still here and will remain so.

Billforts Audio Obsession

 

[Urubamba]

If somebody grabbed the crossover, you'll definitely need that. Frankly, if you intend to buy it, make sure the treble horn works at all.

I am not interested in buying them, my current system exceeds that configuration, although I should make an exception with the TT, if you have the PSU separately, it is an indication that it is a good device, designed not to induce any type of noise and rotational stability optimal.

 

[fpitas]

I am not interested in buying them, my current system exceeds that configuration, although I should make an exception with the TT, if you have the SPU separately, it is an indication that it is a good device, designed not to induce any type of noise and rotational stability optimal.

Probably just as well. Vintage equipment is a crap shoot at best, and for some reason vintage Altecs are molested very frequently.

 

[Urubamba]

I am, too. The Eighteen was, I presume, essentially a domesticated (consumer-oriented) version of the Duplex monitors. I've never encountered one in the "flesh", and my tastes run towards the earlier Duplexes, but they should be excellent.

My own are (were) 604E Duplexes installed in "reimagined" 620 cabinets (see link below) with MasteringLabs crossovers. They are very, very, good -- lacking only in treble dispersion (small "sweet spot"). I have switched, at least for the time being, do different drivers and horns using the same cabinets -- but the 604Es and the crossovers are still here and will remain so.

Billforts Audio Obsession

Excellent room, "old fashioned", large space and carpeted floor. We had a similar room in the basement of an audio store, the walls covered with cork... well, REW is used now, but I have resisted wasting my time measuring and adjusting.....

 

[Urubamba]

There are things that puzzle me, for example, I built a project by Troels Gravesen ( DTQWTII ) and I'm happy with that sound. But, some comments from TG have got me thinking. For example, Seas released a small coax (I think it was an 8") and he considered it "promising" to make a good cabinet out of a coax. Seas eventually discontinued it and I never read anything of it again.
Perhaps a company of that caliber, with optimal instrumentation to measure CSD (which did not exist before, nor did computer programs or TS parameters), qualified engineers, etc., can regret their development and go back? Because ?
That speaker was similar to my vintage JBL LE14C coaxial (rara avis that I still enjoy mated to a NAD 3020), the hornless concentric tweeter (which many people say interferes with the sound radiated from the main cone, causing turbulence and hence the preferences for the Tannoy Dual Concentric ) . Troels diagnoses the Tannoy DC as "impressive sound", but with very high peaks in its mid FR zone that he considered necessary to "tame". I would have liked to compare my LE14C with a Tannoy, but I couldn't.
I know people who have Tannoy Canterbury but are unwilling to relocate, although I think they would welcome a visit from other speakers.
Only my thoughts, personally, I keep the "defects" of large speakers and boxes, and not with the "pure and undistorted" sound of a small box type AR and / or others. The sound is also small, of course, there is no dynamic range to emulate a "live" musical performance. At least for me, but having been "in the business", I've listened to hundreds of speakers, of all kinds. Yamaha, Infinity, Celestion, Altec, JBL, Phase Linear, etc. which has given me some training. We had made a console with relays to switch between speakers to compare, that experience is the unequivocal confirmation that "there are no two brands of speakers that sound the same", and that each of us got used to our sound at home, and that makes us quite partial when we listen to other speakers at another time and place....
Well, my English is lousy, I hope you understand...

 

[Urubamba]

" Page not found "
21-03-2014

 

[Urubamba]

Regardless of size, aren't they similar ?

 

[Thermionics]

Yes, the tt, which I believe is an SP-10 (maybe MkII?) has a separate power supply.

It looks like you recognized that the Shure cartridge on the tonearm doesn't require an SUT.

Yup. That's an SP10 Mk2 alright, Mark.