altec model nineteen

[qarcade2]

hello everyone!

i'm not really a speaker pro but i just bought two model nineteen's from a buddy for two hundred dollars.... is this a good deal?

and the speakers are torn in the middle on both of them and are all crusty. if i were to replace the speakers what would you reccomend. any help would be great. thanks alot. ALOT

[doclamb]

Great Plains Audio. Bill is a really good guy, give him a call.
The Model 19 is considered to be one of the best speakers Altec ever made. I have a pair and love them. Bill reconditioned the drivers in both speakers for me and I couldn't be happier with the results.


http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/PartsList.html (http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/PartsList.html)
(Open in New Window) (http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/PartsList.html)

[Storm]

I have a pair of Altec 846Us - the older brother to these 19's and I could not be more happy with them.

Yeah, I have heard only great things about Great Plains Audio - give them a try.

Or, try eBay for the woofers - they come on quite frequently and sell for under $400.00 for a pair.

Good luck.

Got any pictures? -

:useless:

Thanks.

Looking forward to hearing your progress on this project!

;)

-Storm.

[Gary L]

Deffinately GPA for these fine speakers. You will get the very best rebuild in the country to the exact specs of original and there simply is no better deal when Altec is concerned.
Have them rebuilt at any other place and the value takes a dive.
As noted, you can buy the woofers and horns and HF drivers on ebay but you will likely pay a good price and still want them reconditioned.
If you have all the right parts to begin with then have them rebuilt properly once and for all.
$200 is a fantastic price so invest another $4-500 in them and have one of the finest speakers Altec ever made.

Gary

[qarcade2]

you guys are all awesome. thanks for the feedback.
it's funny... right after i posted this i checked ebay and was pretty surprised to find the value of the speakers. they are in good condition except for the tops. they are worn as if they have had many a beer spilled on them. if you sand and stain them that would probably bring the value down right? what do i do?

i will be sure to get some pics posted after i haul them in from the garage to my studio. thanks again.:)

[Gary L]

Unlike antique furniture, speakers are a bit different. You can sand them, stain them, even reveneer them and get them looking as they should without destroying any value as long as you stay as close to original as possible.
The real key is to bring them back to full spec and function with the correct rebuilds or components. A model 19 that is a real model 19 will always have good value while one that is buggered up with additional tweeters, different XOs or drivers, painted or hacked will lose value faster then you can install them. Sure you might make them sound better but you will destroy their value.
There is a pair of Valencias in musical instruments right now, for about the third time, he switched the drivers from Altec to Eminence both horns and woofs and can't give them away. Nothing wrong with eminence but they aint ALTECs.

Gary