Purchased Altec Santanas today...I like them, but -

[Storm]

I picked up a pair of Altec Santanas today.

Purchased from eBay for $375.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200079047764&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=010

Hooked them up tonight and played Pink Floyd: Pulse and Fleetwood Mac and I can clearly say that there is a MAJOR difference between the Santanas and the Valencias. No wonder why they were cheaper - they have cheaper sound. They are great, but have nowhere near the "live" sound that I crave.

Anyone want to purchase them from me for what I paid?

I am willing to ship - Fedex Ground or greyhound would work and not that expensive, about $150.00 shipping for the pair.

Let me know, PM me.

Thanks!

If I had never come into the presence of the Valencias, these would be hands down the winner - but, the Valencias have that bass that is untouchable!

Just my $0.02 and should not be graded or plucked apart - just my opinion.

Thanks for letting me blab, it was fun.

:blah:

Anyone else, besides SUPERBEE that has auditioned or owned a pair of Santanas? Would love to hear your opinions...

-Storm.

[Nightbrace]

LOL, why don't you and your Valencias get a room??

There's no substitute for Altec compression drivers and horns, not even another speaker made by Altec. Its ok to try something different., stop trying to validate the supremecy of your Valencias by comparing them to every speaker. If you are not satisfied with the Valencias, as you have mentioned in a number of threads, go with the 19's.

If you are truly happy with the Valencia's why change them? If you want to try something different I am totally for it, and you will eventually learn that only the Valencias will sound like Valencias. No reason to think another speaker will sound exactly like them..

[Storm]

NB -

I never said I was searching for anything else, but when the opportunity arises to go pick up a pair of speakers at a reasonable price in order to listen to them, I will always do that.

I was just simply stating that the Altec Santanas' woofers don't sound as nice as the 416's, that's all.

I was kind of hoping that I would like them so that I could sell the Valencias, but that is not the case.

I was not stating any facts, just my opinion and observation.

My Valencias sleep with me at night, literally. They are in my bedroom.

:)

So, there is a huge difference between the woofers?? Is that why the 416s sound so much better?

Like I said, if these were never compared to the Valencias, I would be keeping them in a heartbeat. But, theres no reason to even keep these on reserve if I dont like them.

-Storm

[SUPERBEE]

Perhaps it is the CRAPPY music ( LATER Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd?) or you are just to myopic......

I had a set of very nice Santana's in my home for 2 weeks. Here is my "review"

Great bass but very "muddy" with little definition. Really lacking in the HF due to the fact it is a 2 way system with an inferior tweet. When you cranked the TREB up on your rig and adjusted the BASS they could sound very nice but no where near a good JBL. Sorry Storm, Save your money and buy a good JBL rig.

FANTASTIC looking cabinets. I LOVED having them in my house.

[Nightbrace]

Its just a completely different speaker with different design principles. And yes it was a bit cheaper than the Valencia, but probably not by much.. And I wouldn't imagine the sound to be "cheap", just not the same as what your used to.

No need to defend yourself, we know each other well enough by now, just trying to point out some obvious things..

Your reasoning for trying the Santanas is okay, but its no use buying every speaker in the hopes of finding something "better" than the Valencias. You are not wanting to replace them or sell them, at least I don't think you are (even though you mentioned in a number of threads that you wanted to "improve" them) :p , so why try to judge another speaker against something you KNOW you want to keep? Every speaker I own sounds a bit different and in their own way are enjoyable. And as I said there's nothing wrong with only completely different sounding speakers.

Whether one woofer is better than the other is irrelevant. They are different and meant to be so.. For example, I perfer the 416-8c the most of all the 15" Altec woofers I've heard, does that mean its the best, not hardly, many prefer the 416-8b with the AlNiCo motor, and I can understand why, but that doesn't mean that either is the best.

[Nightbrace]

Save your money and buy a good JBL rig.



Like a L300/4333? :D If he MUST go JBL that is.

[Nightbrace]

the Valencias have that bass that is untouchable!



Thats your opinion as opposed to reality. But its not about making me happy or anyone else, your the one that needs to be convinced and you have..

[SUPERBEE]

I would recommend a L-300, The Olympus, Or the Sovereign for something REALLY kick ass


Like a L300/4333? :D If he MUST go JBL that is.

[Nightbrace]

I would recommend a L-300, The Olympus, Or the Sovereign for something REALLY kick ass

Not sure he's ready for that yet. The L300's should do just fine.

[JBLRaiser]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALTEC-LANSING-SANTANA-2-SPEAKER-PAIR_W0QQitemZ140083443624QQihZ004QQcategoryZ50597 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[spkrman57]

I have empty cabinets for the Santana II's, I also have the cabinets for the Santana (15" bi-flex).

I have only kept the cabinets for other projects as the drivers did not impress me.

I did have my 420A (bi-flex) reconed to 416's. They share the same motor/frame. Bill can recone for you at Great Plains.

Ron

[Gary L]

I think if I was attempting to get as close as possible to the Valencia sound but in a smaller cabinet for my BR I would still stay with Altec and compression driver/horn speakers but step down to the 14 or 15 cabinets.

I am a firm believer that large speakers in small rooms defeat the purpose.

I can also say for 100% sure that in my small living room the 15s sound way better then the 19s. There is such a thing as too much sound in a small room and all of these speakers tend to sound a bit better when they have some power going to them. The 19s sound best when they are driving me out of the room while the 15s do the job fine at much lower SPLs.

Gary

[vintagerocks]

One of earlier posts stated that the tweeter could be better. I have a pair of the Altec Santanas 2 and wonder if anyone has recommendations on upgrades that would work for the tweeter (i.e drop-in). Thanks in advance for your help.

[sourceoneaudio]

Here we go again. I think maybe his ears have not yet developed. It is clear he is stuck in a tunnel and can't get out. I remember when I used to use Pink and the Mac to demo stuff many moons ago. So as the ears develope so does ones taste in music, and what should be used for proper demonstration to really hear what a speaker system can do. I'm not knocking the bands, I love them, it's just there is much better things one can use for demos. One mans opinion.
The Storm needs to sit down with some good power and some JBL's and listen for a good long time, then I think the wow factor my set in. I know every customer, and or friend I've sat down in my HT room can't beleive their ears and usally leave breathless, and I'm not feeding any BS here. If some day you would like to come over Storm you are more than welcome because you will leave saying Holy S@#$ what have I been missing??????


J/S-S1A :D

[Nightbrace]

He needs some good gear and good material and at least a decent way to A/B the speakers at the same volume. Niles make a decent switcher. And a simple Radio Shack SPL meter does wonders to volume match.

A decent Sony CD player for under $100 will be better than the DVD player he is using. The receiver is ok or Home Theater, but music requires a little more precision and especially for evaluating speakers.

A decent 70's Pioneer will be a major leap forward for him. And something like a SX-780 can be bought for under $100.

He doesn't want to try tubes it seems, although Altec's seem to only SING with the right tube amp, even the modest Sherwood integrateds which sell for under $200 with 40 watts of power doesn't seem to thrill him. I'm not sure if he thinks he needs more wattage, but with his Altec Valencia's 40 watts is plenty. And the Sherwoods with 7591 output tubes have none of the usual bass inadequacy problems associated with tubes.

PM me Storm if you want me to burn you some of my favorite recordings that sound stellar on my Altecs. You'll be shocked at the difference a GREAT recording can do. Even on your DVD player :)/

[Nightbrace]

I can also say for 100% sure that in my small living room the 15s sound way better then the 19s.

Gary


The 19's play better at lower SPL's and better at higher SPL's too. The cabinet size and preceived sound at lower volumes has no correlation. But I agree that there's no need for BIG speakers in a small room, as many small speakers can sound pretty darned when higher SPL's are not needed.

[JBLRaiser]

to the man from France.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290086165034&rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200079047764&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=010

[UreiCollector]

played Pink Floyd: Pulse and Fleetwood Mac -Storm.

Nothing wrong with the program material IMHO. :)

Would it be wrong of me to suggest a good set of 604's, or even Urei's? Oh here I go again pushing the Urei's. Sorry.

A good set of 604's it is. :D

[Storm]

to the man from France.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290086165034&rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200079047764&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=010

And your point is?....

-Storm

[Paul C.]

Storm, uh, Dude... it's your music, I assure you. :barf:


You need some Steely Dan (let me recommend Aja), Tower of Power (Monster on a Leash), Brian Setzer Orchestra (The Dirty Boogie and Guitar Slinger), let's toss in some acoustic jazz... Wynton Marsalis (Tune In Tomorrow).

:applaud:

[JBLRaiser]

And your point is?....

-Storm

You don't have your Santana's any more.

[Storm]

You don't have your Santana's any more.

What a silly point.

I still have them, bidder has yet to pay.

Who cares if I sell them - that is my choice and my choice alone.

Regarding music - that is very rude to point out someone's taste in music. You must be a very immature person, because music is personal. Who cares what one person listens to - as long as they are happy and not bothering anyone else.

;)

-Storm.

[JBLRaiser]

What a silly point.

I still have them, bidder has yet to pay.

Who cares if I sell them - that is my choice and my choice alone.

Regarding music - that is very rude to point out someone's taste in music. You must be a very immature person, because music is personal. Who cares what one person listens to - as long as they are happy and not bothering anyone else.

;)

-Storm.

But, I chose not to. I like your music, other than rap. I've heard blues/rap and country/rap. It's kind of interesting. But, gangsta rap is pure evil. I HATE IT!

[SEAWOLF97]

But, gangsta rap is pure evil. I HATE IT!

Raiser ....THIS is a historic moment !!!!

finally you and I completely agree on something !!!


You must be a very immature person
-Storm.

Welcome to the immature club, Raiser. Nice to have some company here, but we ARE growing. :bouncy:

(ain't it cool to have a 22 y.o. calling you immature ??)

[sourceoneaudio]

I guess the price they sold for really depicts what they are worth as far as quality Altec's go, and the fact the lost value in a short time. Definitely not a keeper. I would say by the looks of the speaker array that was Altec's CHEEZE of the era.???????????????



J/S-S1A :barf:

[SEAWOLF97]

I guess the price they sold for really depicts what they are worth as far as quality Altec's go, and the fact the lost value in a short time.J/S-S1A :barf:

only $100 , cheap education.

[sourceoneaudio]

What a silly point. :bs:

I still have them, bidder has yet to pay.

Who cares if I sell them - that is my choice and my choice alone. :bs:



;)

-Storm. :blah::blah::blah::blah::blah:

Another statement that makes no sense by you! Why are you defending yourself on selling them you are the one who listed them? Also you do care about selling them or you would have never put them up for sale................... Usually that's a no need basis when one sells.



J/S-S1A :blink:

[sourceoneaudio]

only $100 , cheap education.


There is going to be a lot more of that in the future I believe since he does not listen to anyone's good/great advice. This is something we all know.



J/S-S1A :nutz:

[SEAWOLF97]

There is going to be a lot more of that in the future I believe since he does not listen to anyone's good/great advice. This is something we all know.
J/S-S1A :nutz:

yup ...but I get told to "knock it off" by the mods when I point these issues out. He cruises around, calling other members names with immunity, tho I never did get an answer to why he got kicked off the Altec forum.

[JBLRaiser]

Raiser ....THIS is a historic moment !!!!

finally you and I completely agree on something !!!



Welcome to the immature club, Raiser. Nice to have some company here, but we ARE growing. :bouncy:

(ain't it cool to have a 22 y.o. calling you immature ??)

we could agree musically. I like most of the music you ,Jim and Heather post. Along with some others. It's a great thread. And as far as what we disagree on , reading others differing opinions on things political only rounds out who they are and in no way changes how I think about them. The passion with which many oppose my views is almost always put in an articulate, well thought out way that deserves respect. If I have slipped and not been respectful, it's probably because I am a bit immature.:nutz:

[sourceoneaudio]

yup I never did get an answer to why he got kicked off the Altec forum.

Maybe Yoda knows??????????????


J/S-S1A :p