Intact Audio Speaker Autoformer + Lycan3R WP12024 Horn

I ordered the Intact Audio speaker autoformer with a -6dB to -15.5 dB/0.5dB attenuation range based on the fact that my Altec 802 drivers are about 12dB more sensitive than my 99 dB/1W/1M Altec 414A woofers. Other than that, I went into this project hoping that Google would be my friend, only to find out it wasn't!😉

Since I use external crossovers for my Altec 753C, disconnecting (and reconnecting for comparison purposes) the Altec 32C/802 horn/compression driver is a breeze. The 753C-style cabinets essentially serve as bass bins in which the 414A woofers operating in wide range mode (unfiltered) + the 20275 diaphragmed 802 compression drivers mounted on the Lycan3R WP12024 horns are perched on top!

Lycan3R WP12024 Horn

A couple of months after I blogged about the 3D printed prototype of the WP12024 horn, Trieu sent a pair of these beautifully finished cast aluminum production versions. Included in the package was a set of parts for a horn stand patterned after the Western Electric original I've only seen in Stereo Sound Tube Kingdom.

OJAS 529B Horn

During my visit to the OJAS listening room late last year, Devon asked me to evaluate a pair of horns OJAS developed in collaboration with Lycan R&R. The OJAS 529B is a 500 Hz horn rescaled from the large format Altec 329A for use with 1" format Altec/GPA compression drivers.

  This horn was designed with a throat inspired by the Western Electric 32 horn to avoid the harshness and distortion I (as well as others 😉) associate with the Altec 811 and 511 horns, 

For more details about this horn's evolution and construction, please click here.

A Cousin's Listening Room

 

This is a hifi system I built for a cousin who loves music!

JP's Western Electric WE757A Remake

 

Those were the words of the late Walt Bender in Part II of his Olden Golden Components article in Issue 51 of The Absolute Sound (TAS) in the Winter of 1988. This was my first exposure to Western Electric audio equipment. I eagerly awaited TAS's promised feature of Walt's Western Electric-based audio system but that never materialized. I let my TAS subscription lapse and replaced it with Glass Audio, Sound Practices and Vacuum Tube Valley. 

My only encounter with an original WE757A was a single unit being tested on the tailgate of a Honda Civic hatchback at a ham fest in the early 90s. Keep in mind that this speaker system predates the stereo era by at least 10 years, thus, they were never available in stereo pairs.

KS12027 Horn

The KS12027 horn perched on top of my repurposed Altec 861 cabinet loaded with an Altec 414A woofer should actually be residing inside a ~ 4 cubic foot slanted cabinet with a Western Electric WE713C compression driver  bolted to its throat + a WE728B 12" woofer = Western Electric WE757A monitor speaker system.

I was honored to host this KS12027 horn and provide more modest accommodations for a couple of weeks courtesy of my audio preservationist buddy John Piro.

Altec 753C

JE Labs Hi-Fi Man Cave 2018

  From Attic Hi-Fi to Hi-Fi Man Cave

Altec 2-way XO Redux

This is an update on crossovers I use for the Altec 2-way speakers.

JEL N1600 Crossover

JEL N1600C + HF EQ
optimized for the 802 driver fitted with the original
16 ohm 20275 diaphragm

2017 Update: Hi-Fi Room

One year progress report

(Re)building a Hi-Fi Room

ca. 2006

Eight years ago I vacated this space, not knowing that I would be back someday...

Late Spring 2016

Listening Room - JE Labs

Hi-Fi Lounge, late 2008

I started this blog in 2011 and overlooked the fact that I haven't posted details of my systems. Visitors who remember the defunct site will be familiar with most of the components apart from a change in venue.

Altec 2-way XO update

The Altec N1600C series crossover has been a significant constituent in the evolution of my Altec 2-way horn speaker system. C. G. McProud's 1947 article on page 101 of Audio Anthology, Volume 1, was my first encounter with series crossovers although Western Electric was already using the topology in the 1930s. As an aside, my knowledge of electronics is basic. I don't even own a circuit simulation program and rely on my collection of audio electronic textbooks, old magazines plus what my ears tell me as reliable internet sources for "techie stuff."

Altec 2-way horn system redux

Truth be told, I was never fully satisfied with the performance of the Altec 2-way which is why I never uploaded the old article in the Arkiv.