I am sending you some photos of my system with little note.
1. Living Room Sets
Since I met the Altec Voice of Theater speaker early 1980s I was attracted by its unique horn sound and decided not to look back or to search for other speakers. Also I can't afford to swap new fancy audios. Altec VOT speaker is used for Movie theater as name said and I guess none of them is on duty in theater these days, all retired I think. When I was kid only limited number of movie theater in my home country may have that American sound system so part of excitement is the fact that I can have those professional unit for myself.
But an Altec VOT speaker is not easy to use at home because it is designed to be used in a movie theater behind a screen. It has an extremely high efficiency horn driver since at that time it was hard to build a high power amplifier. The horn driver I am using is Altec 288-16G with Tar filled 8 cell horn repainted which is 109dB SPL by Alnico magnet. Woofer unit 515B has 98 dB SPL, both units have high SPL but the Horn driver has a lot more. This is a source of problem I guess and I felt it is like a wild horse.
One reputable Youtuber mentioned "no bass on 15" woofer?" and poorly reviewed Altec speakers compare to Tannoy. I understand him but I still think Altec to Tannoy is like a pro to amature. If we put flat source to Altec VOT we feel no bass because the horn driver is way more efficient. Even if I put 2 woofer and used additional JBL crossover for JBL 075 bullet driver in series to attenuate horn unit I still felt lack of bass. So I made table top sized subwoofer with 2 Altec 15" woofer unit and drived by SAE 400 watt amp. But it was too much hassle. What I finally did is put the subwoofer away and just use tone control. I always thought real/serious audio systems do not use tone control but I decided not to stick to this theory. Using a tone control(boost bass 2-3 step) is using MSG when cooking. I know there might be some unbalance on certain frequencies but I am happy with it's result.
I built as a vertical twin style(inspired by JBL K2) with 2 Altec 515B woofer and a Altec 288-16G driver with 8 cell Tar filled horn with Altec F500c Crossover then added JBL 075 Bullet tweeter with JBL crossover connected series. Living rm3 photo shows Lowther PM2 in a Medallion enclosure which I built in 1998 and placed as a side speaker but now it is dormant. Lowther is a good speaker but not for everyone in my opinion, it is very good at chamber music.
LP player is Linn LP12 but has not been used often for 20 years since I broke the Ortofon MC cartridge. Like most Audio lovers of my generation I used all kinds of Shure cartridges and replaced many styluses. Since I have Garrard 301 turntable I am planning to build its plinth with hardwood.
Digital source is Sony Bluray and recently I added Denafrips Pontus II and was very impressed so I even ordered a second one for my bedroom set.
Main Power Amp is WE300B based single ended tube amp. I built it from a kit by Welborne Lab using a Magnequest Peerless Output transformer around 1994. Westerrn Electric 300B tube in use is NOS built sixties. I got those NOS tubes before Ebay but I can't afford NOS Western tubes any more because it's ridiculous over price these days. WE300B Amp is just 7W per channel but since Altec speakers have high SPL it has no problem to fill the whole house with sound.
Sub Power Amp is a Michaelson Austin TVA-1 copy of KT88 PP tube amp which I built 1985 from a kit by S, Korean vendor with Magnequest Peerless output transformers. Chassis is Mcintosh clone stainless steel. I named Marantosh which is Marantz and Mcintosh using a famed name without permission.Every thing is copied here, KT88 tubes used are second hand Genelax and have typical KT88 PP sound but l can live with but still has noticeable ac hum noise. Not as good as commercially available hifi so I wanted to try Willsenton R8 KT88 PP amp and I ordered last February and am still waiting.
Source is controlled by Rotel pre and it goes through Marantz 7 clone tube preamp before power amp just to add the taste of a vacuum tube. The Rotel TR power amp is connected to the pre but I do not even remember the model name used just for comparison.
2. Bedroom System
From time to time I want to hear music with a cup of coffee when reading a not serious listen. I alway feel Altec is good for listening to individual instruments but when it comes to orchestra it is too loud. I want to be in the listener's position, not at conductor's position. So I decided to build Tannoy Autograph Enclosure 2 years ago and it took two full months to complete it.
I built a pair of Tannoy Lancaster enclosures with 15 inch Monitor Gold Units but it sounded just too soft for me. So many people rated very highly about typical British sound Tannoy speakers which is a big in big enclosure. I gathered drawings for Autograph from the internet and after 2 full months of hard work with a table saw and router I finally completed and the sound difference is night and day even with the same units.
Power Amp is another WE 300B based Single Ended Tube amp with again Magnequest Peerless output transformers. I built this around 1991 and I did not copy the shape of the unit, I mean I thought it is my original which I put chassis over wooden base but I found it is so common. The WE300B tubes used are the 1988 version.
Preamp is built from Jadis JP200 copy kit by a HK based company.
Audio source is Panasonic Bluray and waiting for Danafrips Pontus II DAC.
As sencondary unit Lexicon Pre and Rotel TR power is in cabinet.
Thank you and Best Regards,
Harry K. in New Jersey U.S.A.
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