DCAudioDIY.com

Okay - so after hearing Walt's Valencia's above Baltimore on the 6th, my whole perspective on ALTECs changed.
Not that I had heard lots of Altecs before, but I had heard a lot of various speakers over the years and they impressed me -
I liked the "liveness" of music through his - so I've decided to go for some of the older ALTECs instead, (Valencia, Legato, etc)
so I'll be selling off my Model 15 project (which actually plays pretty well, but could use some fine tuning and grills),
to fund further purchases. (This is not at all where I planned to go with this in Dec!)

What is included:

ALTEC Model 15 Series 1 Cabinets (clean, but no grills) - wheels and 5-way cups installed
ALTEC Model 15 Crossover Networks - great shape, silent pots
ALTEC 32B horns
ALTEC 902/908-8A drivers (working very well)
JBL 2214 12 inch woofers (fresh surrounds about a year back)- clean & work great.
$800 or make reasonable offer for the speakers
(Will sell without the JBL woofers if you prefer).

Also, in a separate sale -
Bryston 4bNRB Power Amp available - Its got robust dual power supplies - so each channel plays strong on its own.
Rated 250w/ch into 8 ohms, 400w/ch into 4 ohms - ... or just go for broke -- and bridge it to mono for 800watts at 8ohms.
Perfect shape, plays superbly - but since I got rid of the Vandersteen 3As I used it for, its overkill with super-efficient speakers.
$800 or reasonable offer for Amp.
Not sure this is in your alley - but seemed ok to list it ...

PM for more info on either - thanks!

If you haven't heard the 15 cabs setup like this: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=765 , you might be getting ahead of yourself...

Roscoe

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I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.

I might - but I did ask folks if anyone who owned ALTECS could humor me, begging for a demo of their model.
So far Walt is the ONLY person who has offered me a demo - no flames, just a comment.

Depending on how you value the JBL 2214 woofers, I'm asking below what I have in them,
I'm trying to see what kind of interest there is in these parts ...
I did list all the parts I have with my speakers, which does not include ALTEC 414 woofers like your thread does.
From the sellers I've contacted, it looks like a pair of 414 woofers will add another $300 or so to the costs of parts in my project,
unless I fall into a really grand score. Not to say that won't happen, but I can't presume I'll find an affordable pair -
so I thought I'm better served spending the money on a different model to work with.
Of course, that is IF I can sell the parts already have ... and we all know that parts sales can prove problematic.

Gotta scoot - and I DO thank you all for sharing with me here- I AM learning a lot

My 414/32b system can be auditioned. I'm out near Warrenton.

Roscoe

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I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.

Thank you VERY much Roscoe. They look interesting. I'm in Fairfax (city) next to Mason ...
If Saturdays work for you, I have some busy weekends ahead and need to get them pinned down,
but I'll get back to you once thats sorted!

I'm with Roscoe...I think you are heading into a very deep rabbit hole from what is currently a fairly comfortable and manageable perch.

M15s are very easy to work with. Valencias not.

But such advice will always make more sense, or only make sense, to those who already made the mistakes. I did. Roscoe probably did too.

She has got the itch, cant stop it now.
Once one hears Walt's system, one realizes the possibilities and some just cant help but try the pursuit of nirvana.
I'm more realistic.

Again, I have a cabinet and correct crossovers and horns - with different horn drivers and woofers - when I looked at the to-me cost to chase down the correct horn drivers and woofers -
Jumping to a different project & buying the Heath "Valencias" made the best $$ sense.

And since no one has made an offer to buy the Model 15s - I do have to wonder at the logic of tossing further money down that hole ... where is the value there?

I do know the 32 horns interest some of you - tho no one has PMed me an offer on all or any of it yet ...

No flames, just a gentle comment...

Do what you want, I'm just offering a comment. My position on this seems to be shared by Roscoe and Joseph Esmilla, lurking here in the background, and all of us have heard both approaches and have some larger context of horn systems to evaluate these options within.

I personally would not trashpick a pr of Valencias, but I would strip them for parts, except the 811s which i would leave for the scrap collectors. But that's just me.

However, if you feel the need to try them, go for it! I did. They were my first Altecs.

The last two pairs of 414s I bought were more like $200/pr. You would have to wait for the later frame models to front mount, but I have seen several on ebay this past month.

DIY in this vintage sector is not always an immediate gratification thing. It can take months to get all the parts together, especially if price is a concern. ebay prices have been somewhat high on Altec lately but deals on many items pop up frequently (but not 288s, alas).

M15s with 414s for $1000 sounds like a reasonable deal to me in terms of sound/$, especially these days with the recent price increases on Altec parts and systems. However, everybody has to make their own calculations regarding economics.

The way I look at it, a nicely done 32/414 system can be a lifetime speaker, assuming that flavor works for the individual listener. How do you price that?

I'm just offering up some suggestions from my own experience and preferences and, hopefully, YMMV with the Valencias, should you decide to go that route.

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Walt