joergkoch Ja, das glaube ich gerne. Wenn der Bass nicht ganz so tief sein muß, reicht 612 völlig. Die 620 sind schon ganz ordentliche Klopper. Die 612er sind optisch die eleganteren. Klasse 👍
Yes the Beatles used Altec up until George Martin went to the states and discovered JBL Studio Monitors ....that was the last time Altec was used in the Beatles recording sessions
To make a ling story short: There are a lot of stories and fairytales out there in the web. In fact, you are right, EMI certified the Altec 605. It was a question of availability and costs to introduce the 605 chassis. I haven´t been in the studio with the Beatles so I´m not able to proof if they used the 605 with any recording in studio 2. We all know the studio´s photos and perhaps the book "Recording the Beatles"... The 605 became quickly after the first release unliked by the music professionals of that time period, they were used to "604" over decades. Concerning my DIY building project it was not important if the historical correct 605 or the improved 604/ 604E would be the speaker of my choice. It´s a recreation - not an original. It was simply a question of ability on the actual market... Regards, Joerg _____________________________ " Following the 604C came the short-lived 604D, which was soon replaced with the 605A. The 605A was supposed to be an improvement over the 604, but it was poorly received, partly because it was an attempt to make it cheaper to build the 604, but mostly because the name, "604", had become a widely recognized industry standard, and people didn't WANT a 605 - they wanted a 604. So, Altec relented and released the 604E SuperDuplex."
@@joergkoch8448 I see no reason to doubt "Recording the Beatles". Their research is extensive and exhaustive and not from the web. If you prefer the 604 for your project that's your right and totally fine. It was ok to refer to Beatles and EMI's use of Altec Duplex monitors but it would have been good to simply point out EMI had gone with the younger sibling of the 604, the 605. In this era of "stories and fairytales", historically correct is preferable. I actually did get to hear Beatles studio outtakes played on 612 cabinets (with presumably 605a drivers but I could not examine them) at Abbey Road in Studio 2 in July of 1983. It was a truly wonderful experience.
@@nedhoey From time to time there is the opportunity to get into the studios. The last event was on two weekends last november. www.abbeyroad.com/lectures While pandemic restrictions it was impossible to travel to London. I´m quiet interested to visit one of the future events. I could imagine that you had been quiet impressed. All the best, Joerg
@@joergkoch8448 I had seen there was the event in November. Other than that I wasn't aware they started doing openings and lectures occasionally since 2012 which I think must have been the first since the 1983 "The Beatles at Abbey Road" presentation. At that time they insisted there would not be any other public openings. Of course that's something that could change eventually and it finally did in 2012. It's great more people have been able to go. Very unfortunate it wasn't possible for you to attend. I hope you get another chance. Based on posts and a UA-cam video, the recent events are much bigger than in '83. More gear on display and more people in the room. I assume the lectures include playing some Beatles but I haven't seen any mentions of it. And they don't use Altec 605a/612a anymore. ;)
I dont´think, it will be a good idea to post a private home adress, mailadress or phone number via a public website. If you have a look on ebay.com you will find Cliff with his seller´s identitiy " projectorcollector". Actually he has some different Altec cabinets for sale. Best wishes, Joerg
Oh, I see - please excuse my misunderstanding. Well, the carpenter who built the raw version of my 612 cabinets had the order to built them as near as possible to the old construction plans of Altec Lansing - you will find these construction plans in the web. These braces are included - guess they are to get more stiffness. Even if these braces may not be necessary in my own enclosures that were build of some heavier birch plywood panels , it makes a good emotion to get as near to the original - but I do not have an accoustical comparison with vs. without these braces. Maybe it is too much...?
Hello, Mark. There was no need to recone or remagnitize the 604E´s. I bought them in fine condition. The lack of deep bass is a problem of any Altec Lansing chassis ( even the 416 or 515 bass-speakers will not go deeper than about 50Hz. Is you want to go deeper an additional subwoofer is the way. Actually I am testing a 12" Ripol Sub (by Axel Ridthaler), driven by the XTZ subamp 1. That´s a smart & decent add-on to Altec´s 604´s. If you want to stay historically correct, you will have to accept the specific lack of deep bass and you will be limited to music that does not need deep bass ( classic Jazz, chamber music, vocal music e.g.). Some guys experiemented with more volume enclosures, Altec 620 up to Onken 360 l - more enclosure volume may be a proper way to get more deeper but you´ll get other problems in sound. I think, the Altec engineers knew what they did and why they gave suggestions which chassis may be matching to which of their cabinets. Happy X-mas days, Joerg
@@joergkoch8448 spot on.. love your response. I have a pair of Altec 604Cs in original 606 corner cabinets. They sound fantastic. I'm a bit prejudiced, but I think that this is one of Altec's best combinations of Speaker and Cabinet. I also have a pair of 604D in custom built for me 620 style cabinets.. another awesome combination. I've never had the pleasure of auditioning 604e in 612 cabinets.. but as you said if they were good enough for the Beatles/Abbey Road they had to be good.. Thanks for sharing.
@@seeburgm100a thanks- seems as you are best equipped with vintage Altec stuff! Congrats - the 604c and especially the old original cabinets are extremely difficult to find in europe... Another thesis: I´ve heard a lot of different configs with Altec duplex chassis. Most owners thought, the Altec engineers that times were not clever enough when they constructed cabinets of relatively small volumes. Believe me, they were no stupid idiots! None of these enourmous bigger volume custom cabinets produced something like an optimized sound by magnifiying the cabinet´s volume. The only effect was a more present but kind of thickened bass, that stayed, no doubt, not deeper or faster, just the same as potted in the original cabinets, but with more & unnatural bass volume. So, in some ears that might match well. In my ears it doesn´t. A more clever way to result a deeper Bass is to add a non-dominant, decent subwoofer or two of them while keeping the Altec duplex sound as is. To whom it may concern: I´m tolerant, do what you like, measure what you want - it´s not my beef... in my ears... Just my 2 cents...
I ordered samples from tube town store in Germany. They have pretty nice historical matching materials. Have a look here: www.tube-town.net/ttstore/bauteile-10662/tolex-kunstleder-bespannung/frontbespannung/
Wonderful! Looks good, sounds good, a very very fine Music-Machine
I am quiet happy with these recreations.... ;-)
joergkoch Ja, das glaube ich gerne. Wenn der Bass nicht ganz so tief sein muß, reicht 612 völlig. Die 620 sind schon ganz ordentliche Klopper. Die 612er sind optisch die eleganteren. Klasse 👍
@@rumo201 It´s all JAZZ!
Gorgeous!!!
Yes the Beatles used Altec up until George Martin went to the states and discovered JBL Studio Monitors ....that was the last time Altec was used in the Beatles recording sessions
Right!
The Beatles never used Altec 604 drivers. EMI Studios only used the 605 driver. Very similar.
To make a ling story short: There are a lot of stories and fairytales out there in the web. In fact, you are right, EMI certified the Altec 605. It was a question of availability and costs to introduce the 605 chassis. I haven´t been in the studio with the Beatles so I´m not able to proof if they used the 605 with any recording in studio 2. We all know the studio´s photos and perhaps the book "Recording the Beatles"... The 605 became quickly after the first release unliked by the music professionals of that time period, they were used to "604" over decades.
Concerning my DIY building project it was not important if the historical correct 605 or the improved 604/ 604E would be the speaker of my choice. It´s a recreation - not an original. It was simply a question of ability on the actual market...
Regards,
Joerg
_____________________________
" Following the 604C came the short-lived 604D, which was soon replaced with the 605A. The 605A was supposed to be an improvement over the 604, but it was poorly received, partly because it was an attempt to make it cheaper to build the 604, but mostly because the name, "604", had become a widely recognized industry standard, and people didn't WANT a 605 - they wanted a 604. So, Altec relented and released the 604E SuperDuplex."
@@joergkoch8448 I see no reason to doubt "Recording the Beatles". Their research is extensive and exhaustive and not from the web. If you prefer the 604 for your project that's your right and totally fine. It was ok to refer to Beatles and EMI's use of Altec Duplex monitors but it would have been good to simply point out EMI had gone with the younger sibling of the 604, the 605. In this era of "stories and fairytales", historically correct is preferable.
I actually did get to hear Beatles studio outtakes played on 612 cabinets (with presumably 605a drivers but I could not examine them) at Abbey Road in Studio 2 in July of 1983. It was a truly wonderful experience.
@@nedhoey From time to time there is the opportunity to get into the studios. The last event was on two weekends last november.
www.abbeyroad.com/lectures
While pandemic restrictions it was impossible to travel to London. I´m quiet interested to visit one of the future events. I could imagine that you had been quiet impressed.
All the best,
Joerg
@@joergkoch8448 I had seen there was the event in November. Other than that I wasn't aware they started doing openings and lectures occasionally since 2012 which I think must have been the first since the 1983 "The Beatles at Abbey Road" presentation. At that time they insisted there would not be any other public openings. Of course that's something that could change eventually and it finally did in 2012. It's great more people have been able to go. Very unfortunate it wasn't possible for you to attend. I hope you get another chance.
Based on posts and a UA-cam video, the recent events are much bigger than in '83. More gear on display and more people in the room. I assume the lectures include playing some Beatles but I haven't seen any mentions of it. And they don't use Altec 605a/612a anymore. ;)
Very nice. Where in texas is Cliff Anderson and do you have contact information. Thank you ...John Shepherd
I dont´think, it will be a good idea to post a private home adress, mailadress or phone number via a public website. If you have a look on ebay.com you will find Cliff with his seller´s identitiy " projectorcollector". Actually he has some different Altec cabinets for sale.
Best wishes, Joerg
The Abbey Road monitors were actually Altec 605 drivers, not the 604E.
I just wonder what is the benefit of those braces use for while they attached like that??
The steel clamps were the most relaxed way to fix the grille cloth to the grille - did you mean that?
@@joergkoch8448 not the steel on, on 2:39 there are 3 wood braces. so i wonder what is that use for?
Oh, I see - please excuse my misunderstanding. Well, the carpenter who built the raw version of my 612 cabinets had the order to built them as near as possible to the old construction plans of Altec Lansing - you will find these construction plans in the web. These braces are included - guess they are to get more stiffness. Even if these braces may not be necessary in my own enclosures that were build of some heavier birch plywood panels , it makes a good emotion to get as near to the original - but I do not have an accoustical comparison with vs. without these braces. Maybe it is too much...?
What do you think of the Werner Jagusch crossovers? Do you recommend them?
Cool speakers. Did you recone your 604Es? How is the bass end of their sound? I have 604E but they are lacking in bass and I have large cabinets.
Hello, Mark. There was no need to recone or remagnitize the 604E´s. I bought them in fine condition. The lack of deep bass is a problem of any Altec Lansing chassis ( even the 416 or 515 bass-speakers will not go deeper than about 50Hz. Is you want to go deeper an additional subwoofer is the way. Actually I am testing a 12" Ripol Sub (by Axel Ridthaler), driven by the XTZ subamp 1. That´s a smart & decent add-on to Altec´s 604´s. If you want to stay historically correct, you will have to accept the specific lack of deep bass and you will be limited to music that does not need deep bass ( classic Jazz, chamber music, vocal music e.g.).
Some guys experiemented with more volume enclosures, Altec 620 up to Onken 360 l - more enclosure volume may be a proper way to get more deeper but you´ll get other problems in sound. I think, the Altec engineers knew what they did and why they gave suggestions which chassis may be matching to which of their cabinets. Happy X-mas days, Joerg
@@joergkoch8448 spot on.. love your response. I have a pair of Altec 604Cs in original 606 corner cabinets. They sound fantastic. I'm a bit prejudiced, but I think that this is one of Altec's best combinations of Speaker and Cabinet. I also have a pair of 604D in custom built for me 620 style cabinets.. another awesome combination. I've never had the pleasure of auditioning 604e in 612 cabinets.. but as you said if they were good enough for the Beatles/Abbey Road they had to be good.. Thanks for sharing.
@@seeburgm100a thanks- seems as you are best equipped with vintage Altec stuff! Congrats - the 604c and especially the old original cabinets are extremely difficult to find in europe...
Another thesis: I´ve heard a lot of different configs with Altec duplex chassis. Most owners thought, the Altec engineers that times were not clever enough when they constructed cabinets of relatively small volumes. Believe me, they were no stupid idiots!
None of these enourmous bigger volume custom cabinets produced something like an optimized sound by magnifiying the cabinet´s volume. The only effect was a more present but kind of thickened bass, that stayed, no doubt, not deeper or faster, just the same as potted in the original cabinets, but with more & unnatural bass volume.
So, in some ears that might match well. In my ears it doesn´t. A more clever way to result a deeper Bass is to add a non-dominant, decent subwoofer or two of them while keeping the Altec duplex sound as is.
To whom it may concern: I´m tolerant, do what you like, measure what you want - it´s not my beef... in my ears...
Just my 2 cents...
Very nice, thanks for sharing. Could you tell me where you got the grill cloth from?
I ordered samples from tube town store in Germany. They have pretty nice historical matching materials. Have a look here: www.tube-town.net/ttstore/bauteile-10662/tolex-kunstleder-bespannung/frontbespannung/