Altec Bolero question.

[lutesk]

Hi. I just got a pair of Boleros yesterday. I have them on stands setting vertically (meaning the horn is oriented vertically). I've read that some think they sound better horizontally. I tried that for a few minutes but felt uncomortable about it since my stands are only about 8" wide. Anyone have any input on this?

And T. Brennan is right, the midrange on these things is incredible.

[jimd]

Which mark of Boleros do you have? If they are the A or B models with the 3000 tweeter, they would best be set horizontal. If they are the C model, the one with the molded plastic grille, it would be up to your own preference. The HF horn is an exponential type which will tend to work as a defraction horn, may have a wider dispersion pattern in the narrow mouth vertical placement than the wider appearing horizontal mouth placement. However, the grille may affect the pattern, acting somewhat like a lens.
A crude way to tell is to is to put pink noise into the speakers, put soft material such as pillows behind you ears and walk from side to side and see where the high frequencys start to roll off. The soft materials eliminate the room reflections that can cloud your sound origination judgement. If you don't have a source of pink noise, simply tune your FM tuner off station and use the hiss, works pretty well. Simply try one speaker in both horizontal and vertical postions and see which way it works better for you. Ultimately, your ears are the best measuring equipment we have, if you use them in a sensible manner. As a former installed sound contractor, one develops these senses to make quick first impression evaluations of systems, before bringing in the test equipment which almost always confirms the initial evaluation, at least in my case.
Boleros are great speakers, enjoy. JIM