Vintage Altec speakers: any good?

[bachatero]

I found these unknown Altec speakers at a surplus store:

They're $100 for the pair. Is there any potential use for these little guys or they simply relics of the past?

 

[DVDdoug]

I don't see a model number.

Do they work? Can you listen to them?

I might take a chance if I needed a pair of big speakers.

 

[eddantes]

paging @mhardy6647 for identification and exposition of historical materials (personal anecdotes apreciated)

 

[mhardy6647]

paging @mhardy6647 for identification and exposition of historical materials (personal anecdotes apreciated)

Actually, there are far better places to look!
Tom Brennan and Kwing Lee are The Chicago Horn Loudspeaker Guys!

Introduction: Chicago Horn Loudspeaker Guys

https://www.youtube.com/@ChicagoHornLoudspeakerGuys Hello and welcome from Kwing Lee and Tom Brennan, the Chicago Horn Loudspeaker Guys. We'll use this forum to announce our videos as we go along and as a place to discuss horn speakers. We encourage and solicit comments and suggestions...

hifihaven.org

Hifihaven is a good resource for Altec-y things.
...and of course there's always the somewhat metastable (at least in terms of their forum) but still very handy

LIBRARY

I do love that Altec sound!

 

[Peluvius]

The cone surrounds are probably shot. I wouldn't buy them unless I could listen to them reasonably loud. Can you inspect the drivers?

 

[Soandso]

Look like Altec Lansing's "Santana" line of speakers … that is probably their Model 879A which dates from 1971 to 1978. That age of speakers' surrounds are often in dire need of replacement foam encirclement (which can do yourself).

 

[Palmer]

Looks like the Santana 879A - Soandso beat me to it.

 

[mhardy6647]

I found these unknown Altec speakers at a surplus store:
View attachment 474832
They're $100 for the pair. Is there any potential use for these little guys or they simply relics of the past?

EDIT: Dang! Beaten to the punch -- twice. I am slippin'.

Oh, I thought this was the other Altec thread that's popped up here recently!
(I knew this place would come around eventually... )

Check the dimensions. Those appear to be relatively early Altec Santanas (the earliest morph was known as the 879A).

source: https://lansingheritage.org/html/altec/catalogs/1974-home.htm

They look a little tired.
Are they worth a hundred bucks? Well... maybe...
The early Santanas would (should) have one of the 15 inch Altec extended range "Biflex" drivers and large-ish cone tweeters (made by Altec). The Altec Biflexes have dual compliance cones (Pioneer/Fukuin also made drivers like this in the 1960s) to extend treble response in lieu of a whizzer cone. They're well made drivers and can be re-coned to (if memory serves) be functionally identical to the famed 416 woofers. Biflexes per se are of limited (but not zero) interest, but the value of the cone and motor assembly is significant.
That said, if the drivers are Biflexes and if all the drivers are in good condition and functioning, there's probably $100 worth of value there.

N.B. Later Santanas ("Santana II") used much less interesting OEM woofers and cone tweeters and, unless one has a project in mind for their large cabinets are, I'd opine, best avoided.

Hope this is helpful! @eddantes triggered me!

 

[mhardy6647]

Someone mentioned surrounds. The drivers, if original, will have treated accordion surrounds and should be fine. Sometimes they'll exhibit some voice coil drag due to the effects of decades of gravity, but sometimes just pulling the drivers, rotating 180 degrees, and reinstalling will convince them to straighten up and fly right!

I do NOT remember offhand which of several Biflex variants the Santanas used, but they all look more or less like these.

These look to be a pair of semi-gutted Santana cabinets; these are claimed to be 415C Biflexes.
source:

(via google).

The black goop on the surrounds can also run. While aesthetically unpleasing, it's reasonably benign.

 

[eddantes]

I had a set of the later Santanas. I moved along fairly quick. Decidedly meh.

 

[Jon L]

You had Santana I or Santana II?

Santana I

Santana II

 

[Henryk]

I have some experience with those.

The tweeter isn't anywhere near modern standards, but they are very easy to listen to.
Pairs well with a nice turntable. FLAC's sound good but - of course - you loose detail.

From what I've discovered, Altec has a specific sound/tuning which they bake into their speakers.
If you like it, no other speaker will do! Just be aware that they are not 'neutral'.

Might be worth getting them to find out if you're an 'Altec guy' or not.
If you are, you could upgrade to a pair of Model 19's!

 

[Palmer]

I have some experience with those.

The tweeter isn't anywhere near modern standards, but they are very easy to listen to.
Pairs very well with a nice turntable. FLAC's sound good but - of course - you loose detail.

From what I've discovered, Altec has a specific sound/tuning which they bake into their speakers.
If you like it, no other speaker will do! Just be aware that they are not 'neutral'.

Might be worth getting them to find out if you're an 'Altec guy' or not.
If you are, you could upgrade to a pair of Model 19's!

I had a pair of 19's for a number of years, if one has the room for them - yes, and yes.

 

[mhardy6647]

From what I've discovered, Altec has a specific sound/tuning which they bake into their speakers.
If you like it, no other speaker will do! Just be aware that they are not 'neutral'.

Yup.

It (probably) all stems from the Voice of the Theater loudspeakers being designed to speak from behind (i.e., though) a movie projection screen. A little extra midrange oompf -- and gloriously reproduced, at that.

 

[Henryk]

Yup.

It (probably) all stems from the Voice of the Theater loudspeakers being designed to speak from behind (i.e., though) a movie projection screen. A little extra midrange oompf -- and gloriously reproduced, at that.

...never thought of that; Good point!

Agreed, the midrange is definitely the best part
Very 'listenable' (if that's a word)

 

[eddantes]

You had Santana I or Santana II?

View attachment 474866
Santana I





View attachment 474867

Santana II

Santana 1. Best description was pretty and dull.

 

[Jon L]

Yeah, I would replace that paper tweeter with proper horn/compression driver sitting on top of the Santana box.

 

[Henryk]

Yeah, I would replace that paper tweeter with proper horn/compression driver sitting on top of the Santana box.

I've heard of some people doing that before!
Never heard one myself though.

Sounds like a home-made Model 19

 

[mhardy6647]

I've heard of some people doing that before!
Never heard one myself though.

Sounds like a home-made Model 19

well sort of but not really.
It wouldn't be at all hard to do, though, with decent quality.
Best of all, the XO could be fairly high, if one allows the Biflex driver to... well... biflex.
I'd do it in an instant.
Heck, I'd start* with a pair of Altec 32C horns (the plastic bent horns used in the Altec Fifteen -- arguably the best of the 32 family, which dates all the way back to Western Electric) and a pair of 802D drivers. I'd probably use active XO, at least initially to get the XO parameters right.

The Tale of Three Horns... Variations of the Western Electric 32A Horn

audio, tube, horn loudspeaker, high efficiency, loudspeaker, turntables, vinyl, field coil,

electravolt.blogspot.com

The only problem with the 32C is that they're collectible and the prices for 'em has become outrageous.
They are 1) plastic and 2) of a decidedly utilitarian level of contruction -- but they do perform amazingly well.



EDIT:
______________
* Yeah, I know that all y'all wouldn't...

 

[AnalogSteph]

The only problem with the 32C is that they're collectible and the prices for 'em has become outrageous.
They are 1) plastic and 2) of a decidedly utilitarian level of contruction -- but they do perform amazingly well.

Hmm... is there any crossover between 32C owners and 3D printing wizards? I imagine that scanning this shape would be rather nontrivial and may involve cutting one apart along the mold seams, but maybe there's a trick.