Ancient Altecs

[Muisak]

I DID IT! I finially accquired a pair of altec lansing speakers from my father, a pair that i've wanted since i was about five years old. Now that i have them, i am curious about their history. The story i was told is that my father bought them back in the mid seventys from a bunch of teenagers in a cabin for $375. More than likely stolen. For all i can figure is they are church speakers. Their a little sky of four feet tall, little shy of three feet wide, and about two feet deep. They have a pair of 15's that work wonderfully. Both my horns are burnt out though. I know i can buy a replacement diaphragm, but i'm curious about the problems these things have after sitting several years. I noticed a little corosion under the diaphragm which has me concerned about change in sound quality or anything like that. They are in beautiful wood boxes with a wood-lattice-type-mesh and a little ALTEC plate in the corner. So pretty much, I'm asking if anyone out there has ever even seen a pair of these or if anyone knows where i could find some history, and if anyone has any suggustions on things i should watch out for from age and sitting (wern't hooked up for at least 14 years)
and where to find parts.. i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks much!
-Joshua
:D
and i might be able to find a digital camera and get some pictures of em, just for interest of course. I'll die before i sell em :)

[Chas]

Congrats, based on your description, they maybe could be the furniture version of the A7 aka the Magnificant (sp?). Pictures and drver model numbers would help the folks here identify with greater accuracy.

[boputnam]

Hey, and welcome...

Does it have a beveled or flat front? Could be a home version of the A7 (flat) or the 873A Barcelona (beveled).

Go here and look:

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/catalogs/1971-home.htm

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/catalogs/1974-home.htm

[scott fitlin]

You post pics, we will identify the model for you!

As for replacement parts and service, Great Plains Audio in Oklahoma City is the place ! If you really are in serious doubt of your compression drivers well being, take the driver off the horn, pack it properly, and I do mean properly, and ship it to Bill at GPA! They will check it out thoroughly, clean it, make sure the gap is properly aligned, re-diaphragm it, and remagnetize it if necessary!

Bill Hanuschak does superb work, his prices are reasonable, and you will have your speakers working!

They can also recone your woofers if needed.

Since you say you will have these till the day you die, it would probably be in the best interest of your full enjoyment of the Altecs to have them thoroughly serviced!

And of course, Welcome aboard!

:cool:

[Muisak]

Wow :)
They do have a beveled front, brown grill with black mesh. As soon as i find a camera i'll get some pictures. http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1971-home/page16.jpg
is the closest i've found. Actually that looks just like em, but i think mine are a few years older
The drivers are mismatched :( The one that matches the woofers is a 802D. The other one is an 808? i think. The woofers are 416-A 15s. N-500-G Crossovers. All 16 ohm. I wonder if its worth trying to convert to 8 ohm? i'm pretty sure my technics amp can handle 16. Hasnt hurt anything so far as i know... yet... :) The woofers are actually in really good shape, other than the tar on the surround has kind of traveled downward over time. I cant find any numbers on the enclosures, other than the altec badge. Like i said, i will work on getting pics.

Thank you all for your help :)
-Joshua

[scott fitlin]

Hi Josh, you stay with the same impedances the speaker has always used! The crossovers are designed to work with the speific drivers they put in the cabinets, and if you go changing impedances of drivers the speakers wont operate correctly!

[honist_bob]

Ditto Scott F's advice, Josh, and welcome to the forum! You've really got something there in that pair of Altecs. My advice is to think of restoring them to what car buffs call "Box Stock."
Don't change anything--just restore it!
Use the search feature of this forum to look up Altec, as well as the model numbers of your drivers.
If you look around this forum enough, you'll find a wealth of useful advice and history for your speakers.
Here is a great link to a "how to" thread for doing a "resurround" on your woofers:

http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=469&highlight=stepbystep

One thing though, in closing: Don't call your speakers "ancient"--your making me (and probably others) feel really old, since some of us were around when your speakers came off the assembly line and were brand, spanking new!! We prefer the word, "vintage." Good luck!:(

[Muisak]

Sorry about refurring to them as ancient :). But untill yesterday, i had no clue that altec had even produced such stuff since the fourties. I just opened up a whole new area of audio i never thought about. I knew they were "vintage" (better? ;) ) But i guess it never dawned on me that this was just a small example of history. I figured i would put them back to stock specs, save for my mismatched drivers :( and a small chunk that got knocked out of the grille when i was moving them *darn that crossover knob :)* but i have the broken piece, so a little glue and some nice touch up work with some matching paint, and i think i'll be in business. The cabinets have a few minor scratches, but nothing major. They really are a sight in the living room of my small three bedroom house. :) but my neighbors are cool, and no one has turned me in for noise problems yet. Of course, my horn drivers dont work, but i'll get that fixed soon. My father thought one of the crossovers was going out, but i think it was just the fried diaphragms. I wonder should i invest in an old tube amp? i'm sure one could find a nice one on e bay for not so much. heah. Quadraphonic maybe? with a set of pioneer round entable speakers? bet it would blow surround sound out of the water :D The woofers are still in great working order, they just didnt want to let go when i took them out to inspect. And one more question. Anyone know how to remove the grille without breaking it? That would make fixing it a lot easier, but i'm not sure if its worth the risk.
Thanks a bunch you guys. Four responses within four hours of my first post. You all are wonderful help and i am much abliged :)

and i promise to use vintage from now on ;)

OK Heres my specs- My Horn Drivers are:
802D 16 ohm no sereal number
808-8A with 8A marked out with a black sharpie. Dosn't match (Other three are green) Has a piece of masking tape labeled 16 ohm sereal number is 18355

Woofers are 416A 16 ohm
no sereals on those either.

Crossovers are N-500-G
500 Cycles


-joshua