Rebuilding An Altec Studio Monitor For The First Time

Want more? Here's a different edit of this video that is 3 times as long! • Altec 604-8G Rebuild E...
In this video, I completely rebuild an Altec 604-8G Studio Monitor with new parts from simplyspeakers.com. Full disclosure: I make some mistakes in this video. If you're looking for a better rebuild guide for a DIY project, watch the extended edit version. I highly recommend you also watch this video from the Simply Speakers KZbin channel: • JBL Speaker Repair and...
Links to parts:
Recone kit: www.simplyspeakers.com/altec-...
New horn diaphragm: www.simplyspeakers.com/altec-...
Need more tools? Here's a video showing what I use (with links!): • Must-Have Tools For Wo...

[@stevemarch5463]

I like the fact that you’re willing to show the screw ups as well. I think everyone that tinkers likes to see how to get around and fix our screw ups as well as what goes well. Sometimes we learn more from that.

[@tuady2958]

0p

[@reinkansman1081]

That looked extremely tedious, I am glad you enjoy it and have the patience to see it through. Your customers appreciate it I am sure. Best line, "not now Sadie!"

[@Silent-Lucidity]

Those are some serious speakers! It was brave of you to use those as your first rebuild, but if you're gonna go, go big! Cheers, sir! Nice job!

[@billdang3953]

Serious and classic speaker drivers, these demand a top notch amplifier and program material.

[@terrym1065]

AH👍👍 Most people wouldn't even attempt this type restoration, very involved and delicate work without the proper alignment tools the factory has. They have it easy but you not so much, your determination and dedication warrants praise. Thanks for the great video and patience to see the job through, well done. Enjoy!

[@FingerinUrDaughter]

it would have been much simpler if the guy had half a brain, and removed the magnet assembly from the basket via the screws on the magnet, and then took a wire brush to it for cleaning instead of a razor blade like a moron. and cleaning the magnet gaps should have been with compressed air, as all a piece of paper is doing is pushing anything in there down further in.

[@quad1000]

Simply Speakers has great customer service to boot! A+ company.

[@eiddie4108]

Love the channel and work you put into this vintage gear!!!

[@donaldchamble6897]

I must say that you are amazing I love the way you educate us and the audio community thank you for your time and help.

[@ericschleppegrell4467]

Interesting results using the shims. I have never trusted them in any of my rebuilds and have only ever used active alignment. Great recovery!

[@wayman10]

Very interesting rebuild. The sound is very clear and detail through my headphones. I hear good amount of bass.

[@MichaelYates]

Very nice rebuild, they sound quite nice on the track you played. Good Work as always

[@collinwood60]

Nice job Aiden! I have replaced the foam covering a woofer on a few pairs of Advent speakers before, but have never tackled what appears to be a complete rebuild. As always thanks for making and sharing these videos. Go Sadie!!

[@chylimzbydzi]

Nicely done, fantastic speakers!

[@leukostad1592]

Congratulations on the repair, I think those are some good loudspeakers!

[@benlopez4788]

Props to you for doing a speaker repair for first time. I use a cd with different frequencies to do the alignment and to let it self center. Once again props to you.

[@johndrx165]

Quite a task and great end result!

[@tuckermichael24]

Thanks Aiden for the video. Very interesting as all you're videos are entertaining indeed.

[@petenamlook18]

These speakers are worthy of a custom cabinet build. You could certainly make them taller an narrower to have better driver height while still maintaining cabinet volume.

[@dougg1075]

I love projects like this. Nice

[@sudha4128]

Great job!

[@miguel--rush]

Excelente trabajo estimado. Gracias por compartir..!

[@tenettttt]

Sounds great. Good job.

[@ReferenceFidelityComponents]

Good job for your first try. I’ve rebuilt many Tannoy drive units now and it takes practice before confidence is built up. It pays never to rush centring a voicecoil so I was surprised you rushed ahead with assembly after realising it was out, but you’ve learned for next time. Neat work though so well done.

[@blueovalOdell]

Wow. Sounds pretty good

[@noahbrock5350]

Definitely try them with some tubes. Altecs pair really, really well with tubes.

[@mikemix1361]

Nice stereo. Good job rebuilding the speaker. I've tried to rebuild a speaker but no dice.

[@sudha4128]

I have a pair, got them free, thank God I have no problems!

[@aarongunter5582]

Good job

[@BadUncleIke]

Good job.

[@BobbyG77]

youre crazy awesome dude!

[@cuoops]

Great video

[@myturkishlife1777]

That was a great video 😁👍

[@williamsarver2491]

Nice job

[@leetingler619]

I used to mix on 604E monitors.a very nice speaker. Great sound 👌 I would of waited to replace the horn diaphragm just to be sure no debrea.

[@hksunchaser1]

good job and a tube amp will make it perfect!

[@jimthvac100]

If these speakers are forward sounding even with other amplifiers then It may need the crossover reworked to provide a more flat response at the listening levels you mostly enjoy.

[@tlister67]

I had some old advents that had a rub and I flipped the woofer 180 after refoaming. That might be why they worked better installed. Fastening them might also have straightened the cage into alignment.

[@AllboroLCD]

Theres outfitters that sell "pre-fab" insert, glue n go re-cone kits for these bad boys. You erred with the adhesive on the surrounds. You want the clear type loctite, it allows you to adjust the centering with just a little heat applied. You cant be faulted and this is a great first attempt trust me! My first few tries were incredibly sloppy with the adhesives. Give er another go and youll get it man!

[@lenbeedle]

Lesson learned. Always tune your surround with test frequencies before the glue sets up.

[@timothykresko1984]

It’s not an amplifier problem it’s a compression driver problem. These are not a good choice for rocking out without scooping 2-4khz with an EQ. I’ve owned many pair, from the OG RWB 604 in 605 cabs to Es in 612 cabinets. They all do this. Power was everything from 300b-Threshold. They just bark when you gas them. I love them at low to med low volumes.

[@morayjames92]

glad you had a good experience but I believe that having Great Plains Audio rebuild your Altec speakers would have been a much better option as they can remag your magnets insuring they match and recone them to as new as no other company can do with genuine Altec parts. Expensive to do yes but the best way to insure the greatest return in your investment and to make sure your 604 continue to impress over the next 50 years.

[@cletusberkeley9441]

Those are rare and wonderful. Had a pair in the late 80s, I built the Altec spec enclosures for them too .....unfortunately they got stolen!😢

[@rodericbest7667]

I had this issue w/ a jbl 2225 reconed it twice at AST Sounds West B-way Mhttn NY. Turns out the pole piece & magnet were out of line. So they gave me a new woofer.

[@jeffdamakedaddy]

Check the capacitors on the untouched speaker to be on the safe side.

[@bobsmoot8454]

I’m surprised you didn’t contact Great Plains Audio, in that they bought all the stock, jigs, and manufacturing tooling from Altec - they are the only ones who can and do remanufacture correct factory parts for Altec speakers. I appreciate you showing how you rebuilt your Altec 604, a great speaker.

[@AHFixIt]

I did reach out to them. No reply.

[@bobsmoot8454]

@@AHFixIt I’m kind of shocked - Bill has always responded , maybe not immediately but he always returned my calls, thank the Lord!

[@AHFixIt]

It's probably because I asked for free parts 🤣

[@bobsmoot8454]

@@AHFixIt yeah, I can totally understand Bill not responding, he has priced their products with very low OH/P markup to help us music nuts out. My personal opinion is their products, both parts and full units, are beyond reproach in quality and price, the BEST DEAL in audio. I subscribed to your channel based on your willingness to undertake the reckoning of a very expensive piece of audio history, the Altec 604

[@rickg8015]

@@bobsmoot8454 yeah, a missed opportunity.. Bill also gives solid advice when restoring stuff..

[@hippydippy]

Sweet! you need to try them with a tube amp. That would be way cool.

[@danprovo8509]

i have similar speakers i removed driver for cabinet refinishing. when i reinstalled it had woofer rubbing because the basket bends if u dont screw in with equal pressure

[@jimcabezola3051]

Wow! I admire your persistence! I wonder, though… You found the scraping sound when you tested the speaker…post reassembly…when it was facing upwards. Would testing it mounted in the cabinet with the speaker pointing horizontally…as in normal use…have masked the scraping problem? I really enjoy all your vintage electronics videos, and I hope you’ll make more. Aloha!

[@AHFixIt]

I did try that and it still made noise. Plenty more videos coming!

[@rc52]

Wow, had similar size Altec Lansing speaker's (with a 10-12 inch woofer?) and a 5 inch midrange/tweeter? Al I did was replaced the wires inside & the capacitor's . The bass response on those speaker's would rattle my window's (not my intentions), that's how powerful they were! I still have the tweeter's by the way that weigh like a pound each?

[@jeffstockton534]

Call that AH-fixed! Your lady must love those in the living room.

[@TheMazo02]

You should get some turntable for perfect looking dampening layer on the surround....

[@ralphups7782]

the paper part of a speaker, over here in england uk we call it the Cone.

[@donaldchamble6897]

Dear Sir do you have a scheduled date for your project video during the weekday or weekend.

[@AvnerRosenstein-ULTRA-LXV]

Every time I see a video about Altec Speakers I get sad. They made some of the most top notch speakers ever made...especially for Guitar amps like 417 models. Somebody needs to do a professional video explaining what exactly happened with Altec making quality speakers for monitors and guitar amps....like an actual documentary. Great Plains Audio claims they are the direct descendant company of that branch of Altec but they're stuff is ridiculously priced. Great video bringing an Altec back to life!

[@briangoldberg4439]

usually when i do this, i do the "pump test" before i take out the shims. moving it up and down will help center the spider and then the cone around the groove the voice coil travels in rather than the outer ring (which are usually not perfectly concentric. i screwed up a couple cones before i started doing that. i think everyone pooches their first rebuild in some way

[@AHFixIt]

I wanted to do that but the magnet gap on these speakers is so small that the shim held it too tight to allow easy movement. Check out the extended edit if you're curious, I show a lot more in there. If I were to try this again I'd try to find a thinner material to use as a centering shim and maybe that would help.

[@briangoldberg4439]

@@AHFixIt Right on. I've never had the kit come with the shim material actually. What I usually do is cut some plastic from the cylindrical part of coke bottle (or similar). you can find different thicknesses that way and get something that is a bit free

[@charliewilliams9811]

Run the tones as you position the diaphragm.

[@socksumi]

The 604 sounds a little crude but it's also very efficient. The Model 19 was a serious attempt by Altec to refine their their earlier stuff like the 604 and A7 VOTT. Altec voiced the Model 19 extraordinarily well eliminating the peaks and dips of other Altec speakers. Combining a complex well thought out crossover and their brilliant 'tangerine plug' they smoothed out the response from the big horn and substantially improved it's dispersion and uniformity of sound. They sacrificed a bit of efficiency but what a speaker. The Model 19 may be Altec's best design ever. Ruler flat in response yet resolving, efficient and dynamic. No other Altec, (especially the A7 VOTT) measured as well or sounded anywhere near as accurate, uncoloured, refined and precise as the Model 19.

[@user-fg6vh1mm4n]

この時代では、ウエスタンエレクトリの規格で日本音響電気株式会社（旧マクソニック）で15インチのフィールドコイル型の同軸スピーカーを制作しました。 コーン紙はアルティクの604-8Gと同じハーレー社製。 フィールドコイル型のクオリティが高く抜けの良い音質はアルティクの604-8Gよりも優れていましたよ。

[@780hardcore]

What was it that you spread on the outer edge of the cone? At about 10:25

[@michaelcates5339]

You should buy yourself a manual screw impact tool for removing those stubborn flat drive screws. $10 at harbor freight. FYI only way you can take the screws out of old Honda motorcycle motors. You should also put an appropriate glass fuse in-line to the tweeter in order to keep from burning up the tweeter.

[@hoobsgroove]

The plates can shift to the basket should have been unscrewed it then shim it in there and then screw it back with some blue loctite it's probably been dropped Plus you gotta cleaned up the gap with some wet and dry 800 grit paper and the magnet chamber area could have been clean properly always use compressed air as well

[@rbrand44]

wow, great. regret trading my Altec 604s for JBL 4313. though I also have 4333b now too. but still miss my old 604's

[@protekprotek4207]

Hi, the cost for one speaker kit please, Thanks 🙏

[@vortexan9804]

Wow, you never recone without shimming the coil, didn't it come with instructions?. I shim when just putting on new foam surrounds!. Always centered in the gap.

[@WelkySchullin]

great job a and some luck cheers

[@Brendalo1]

small vacuum during dis & re assembly?,

[@vortexan9804]

Those black caps are crap electrolytics. Glad you replaced them. Also, much easier to pull a knife under the gasket than push.

[@paulnichols2233]

Great like shop class

[@davidbramley6730]

Try a pair of retro Lentek Monitors. Filing cabinet size transmission line. I got a pair of minters. Dave Uk

[@mikedisher30]

I love your cat so dam cute 😂

[@andrewstewart8704]

It's funny how you aligned the surround while a signal was on the second time, That's the only way I've ever done it

[@fabieneldridge3414]

I really like you young man. If you owned a pair of La Scalla’s then you are screwed because those Altec won’t hunt with the big Klipsch. I run k- horns with a set of Belle’s together ! A Marantz 2325 that needs restored . You remind me of my 25 year old Son. He does cars and motorcycles. He is finishing a 1980 900cb , 10 speed for me to start riding. He has it rocking, they are painting it. I’m close to riding but it’s still cold here. Not all of you are WOKE ! The Truth is I live in a small town in Tennessee and we don’t do WOKE , at least I haven’t seen it or heard of any. My kids are 21 to my step daughter 34. But even around they I see good kids like you. Now my youngest daughter has a few freaks for friends but she knows better. And doesn’t believe in it either. We need more like all of you. WY to go young man . Your very talented and will do fine. Keep Rocking your Marantz ! The Sansui is nice had one in high school and it was impressive.

[@tombrennan6312]

I think LaScalas sound like Skilsaws. I owned 2 pair as a young horny, Cornwalls too, before I moved on to Altecs which I think have far better tone. Started with 605s, later Model 19s, A7-500 VOTs and A5 VOTs.

[@jimdickinson3686]

@@tombrennan6312 Klipsch's are made with cheap mass produced parts, un like the ALTEC's which are much higher tolerances. you can hear it the Altec's have much higher details in performance, The bass horn in the La Scalla, is much too small to go too low, unlike the K horn which is limited by how big the room is. Put an ALTEC 416 in a Khorn, use a damped 511 with a Universality LD 60 for the Mids, anda ab a Eminence APT 150 for the highs, with custom crossover, and you'll have something that will blow away the K Horn.

[@mattmoreira210]

"I think I screwed up" _[continues reconing the speaker]_

[@greenlanternseven]

Nothing gets past you Gregory. ...lol but thanks for sticking up for the kid lol you is either Astra Mollech or BAAL lmfao

[@gregorybond2859]

😉

[@blightborn87]

When using the shim. You should cut its length so it does not overlap. That was where you screwed up.

[@TheJediJoker]

I would guess that these were designed to be soffit-mounted, so they may not sound as-intended unless mounted on an "infinite" baffle, be it a real or false wall.

[@tonys623]

Glue cone to the coil 1st and let dry. Then glue cone to the frame. Never both at the same time.

[@noahbrock5350]

Austin Healeys, Pioneer receivers, and Altec speakers? Are you me?

[@margix1172]

It's incredible how so called "vintage" equipment is much better both aesthetically and sonically than lots of so called "modern" crap.

[@yeahnewman]

I don't think you need that other sub anymore! Haha Wouldn't you want to redo the other ones to keep the hours the same?

[@datdudeinred]

I just don't understand when you already noticed the noise way before gluing the outer stuff why you didn't just fix the coil.

[@rickg8015]

You should invest in a good small “work turntable” to evenly “center” stuff.. But you really have steady hands for this type of work.. You just rushed in with the job too fast in your excitement😅.. The hardest part for me is installing the Aluminum Phragms, it’s not as simple to do with vintage Drivers.. I hope you at least used Dayton Poyprop caps and not Mylar caps (for both L and R crossovers..).. And yes, sturdy lowish Pedestals are needed for your ported 604 Monitors… Your electronics might also have too much gain that’s why it sounds harsh in louder volumes..

[@bobsmoot8454]

I have to admit, it was brave of you to undertake this project, and to admit your initial attempt was not successful. Might want to investigate alternative crossover designs available on the net that can help tame the midrange to upper midrange

[@robertmailhos8159]

Now you can get your boom boom on nothing like that great bass sound

[@gw4pjq]

The problem is you didn't centre the speaker at all, didn't they supply three centering shims. While I was watching you I was shouting at the monitor lol. Also you shouldn't have glued the dustcap to the horn just to the cone. I ve rebuilt many of these drivers. Just enjoy the fruits of your labour.

[@greenlanternseven]

Dear Gregory : Not a jerk just telling it like it is you have to do the research before waisting your time and money...Mike Holmes motto " Do it right the first time " lol have a nice day

[@gregorybond2859]

I guess you can tell it like it is and also "Come off like a jerk" lol have a great day!

[@johnmorris1266]

You should have cut the shim and ran them down from the top, not circular with overlap.

[@user-ul3mb7zs2g]

Так вот что значит сделано на коленке

[@artysanmobile]

I have four 604 drivers, two 604E and two 604G in UREI 811A speaker systems. All HF are new and fine. All LF are rubbing or have surround deterioration. I am selling all and need a skilled recone tech in Fort Lauderdale area. If anyone reads this and can make a referral, I’d appreciate a response.

[@6-Iron]

Denatured alcohol will save you a lot of time.

[@waynepollard6879]

Bad job ! You need to start over !

[@greenlanternseven]

Using the tone geneator at 50 hrtz after using the glue for surrounds and letting cure for two minutes it will self adjust....perfect alignment nice try though lol it sucks when ya don't do enough research hee hee p.s when are ya gonna let me buy those Alters?

[@gregorybond2859]

nice try though lol Sucks when ya are a jerk!

[@dungbongcuoi9026]

Where are you from

[@trumps-not-rightfor-us5603]

I BROUGHT A PAIR OF I'LL TAKE LANSING MODEL ONES WAY BACK IN 1975 WHEN THEY WERE NEW OH MAN THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL BOOM BOOM BOOM LISTENING TO THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION THROUGH A PAIR OF THOSE IS A DREAM THEY MAKE A SMALL ROOM FEEL LARGE I'LL CHECK LANSING IS PRETTY COOL AND IT'S DAY BUT NOT ANYMORE THEY'RE MUCH BETTER MORE SONICALLY PERFORMING SOME OF WHICH REMODELED ON THE ALTEC LANSINGS