Altec Humor?

[voice of theatr]

When I found out that the date code indicated that my Valencias were from 1969 I did a google search for Altec Valencia 1969 and the first result that came up was a one page article with photos by a guy who sold a pair of Altec Valencias along with a film projector and a Macintosh MC 2505 power amp to Howard Hughes' personal aid for Howard to watch movies in his hotel room. The article goes on to mention that Howard rented out the whole top floor of the Desert Hotel in Vegas and that his Valencias were so loud that they couldn't rent out the room under his. When the owners/managers of the Desert Inn tried to have him evicted he bought the hotel for 13.6 million and threw the managers out in the street! It's an interesting article with some great photos (including the speakers) at: http://www.bugsweeps.com/info/howard_hughes.html After reading this article I walked by a mirror and it occurred to me I need a shave!
Dave

[robertbartsch]

Well, that brings back memories since I acquired a set of VOTTs in the early seventies.

At the time, reports about Howard's behavior were spiratic but everyone realized he was not playing with a full deck.

Eventually he died on a jet traveling back to the States. The autopsy showed he was severely dehydrated and was a drug addicted shell of a man. Apparently, some of his earlier plane crashes left him in constant pain and that is how he became additcted to many drugs.

Anyway, he had good taste in women and transducers.

[voice of theatr]

Yeah, I really got a kick out of that article and seeing pictures of the Valencias along with the pictures of Howard Hughes. Sounds like he must have had one of those 70's doctors like Elvis... I thought it was funny that his Valencias got him into trouble with the hotel managers and his solution was to buy the hotel and fire the managers rather than turn them down a little! I guess all Altec Lansing fans should keep in mind that if they own or buy a used pair of Valencias from the late 60's they might actually own Howard Hughes' old speakers! But keep in mind that Altec Valencias have been linked to a rise in homelessness among hotel managers...