Am I in the right place?

[guf]

Picked up a pair of Valencia 846a locally. I had been looking for a while. I discovered vintagey speakers by the way of Klipsch LaScala to Belles. At this point they are just the enclousure, tweeter, mid horn, and woffer, all upgraded, and an extreme slope crossover. I'm also into low power tubes, mostly the 45. I orderd a new crossover for the Valencia from Werner because it seemed like one of the best options, according to other forums. With my Belles, and my listening style I'm able to get away with 1.5 watts. I'm thinking i should try adding some more power for the Altecs, or bi-amp. Which greatly interests me, or active something. I have used a Minidsp with bass management with my external subs. So I don't know. Any one have thoughts or sugestions?

[guf]

some pictures

[DerekTheGreat]

This is the place, so says the Red Hot Chili Peppers with their song..

I've been a JBL fan since I was an early teen, which was about seventeen years ago. Only recently did I discover their vintage stuff and how much ass all that stuff kicks. Not a fan of JBL after production shifted to Mexico and beyond. I own a set of L150A's, LX44's and a bunch of their Northridge stuff (Mexico, had that stuff since I was a teen and in early 20's) I do not know those vintage speakers you posted though but am surprised no one else commented. Guess this site doesn't get much traffic any more. I know my posts don't often get replies either.

[speakerdave]

Although you will find primarily JBL discussion here, there is also some appreciation for Altec, Tannoy, Klipsch and TAD and passion for historic Lansing Co. And any brand or era you could think of can be found in the backgrounds of posters here.

The cabinets of your Valencias seem to be in excellent condition, so that is a nice find. And they are indeed a beautiful retro look. Poster Zilch, peace be upon him and upon his friends and family, did some work on a crossover for the Valencia. You will find that in the old threads.

I also see an intriguing stack of AR in the corner of the storeroom.

Welcome to the forum.

[1audiohack]

Hello Guf;

Welcome to Lansing Heritage.

There is a ton of information and knowledge here. What we don’t have is a whole bunch of people who will talk about something they know nothing about.

I don’t know much about you exact speakers. I do like the flexibility of DSP and multiple amplifiers. :)

Barry.

[grumpy]

There's an interesting trail of one person's Valencia journey of sorts starting here:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-125

No experience biamping these. Might want to leave some attenuation and cap protection on the horn if you do (re noise and amp thumps).

[short_circutz2]

Picked up a pair of Valencia 846a locally. I had been looking for a while. I discovered vintagey speakers by the way of Klipsch LaScala to Belles. At this point they are just the enclousure, tweeter, mid horn, and woffer, all upgraded, and an extreme slope crossover. I'm also into low power tubes, mostly the 45. I orderd a new crossover for the Valencia from Werner because it seemed like one of the best options, according to other forums. With my Belles, and my listening style I'm able to get away with 1.5 watts. I'm thinking i should try adding some more power for the Altecs, or bi-amp. Which greatly interests me, or active something. I have used a Minidsp with bass management with my external subs. So I don't know. Any one have thoughts or sugestions?

For non-JBL and non-Altec items, discussion might be more appropriate here:

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?6-General-Audio-Discussion

[hjames]

some pictures

Nice looking Valencias! Love the lighter colored wood finish. I got a pair of Valencias with Heathkit branding a couple years back.
Mine have a darker "quasi-morocan" style - tho I prefer the lighter finish of yours.
I did a number of mods to mine as encouraged by a friend north of Baltimore who went through his over a 10 year period.
One easy mod is to put a heavy weight on top of the cabinet - helps them hit lower bass notes.
I got some 18 x 18 Granite tiles from Home Despot, covered the bottom with 2 layers of Gorilla Glue (Duct) Tape
so they couldn't scratch the cabinet, and it is a difference once they were laid on top.


Also did other mods like redoing the crossover and adding a Heil supertweeter on top ...
but thats for other conversations ...

86794

[hjames]

There's an interesting trail of one person's Valencia journey of sorts starting here:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-125

No experience biamping these. Might want to leave some attenuation and cap protection on the horn if you do (re noise and amp thumps).

Great journey with Valencias, indeed.
Art Dudley, R.I.P.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/art-dudley-rest-peace

[SEAWOLF97]

Art Dudley, R.I.P.

the guy who blathered on repeatedly about cats & shaving brushes in an audio mag ?

part of the reason that I did not renew StereoPhool .

[Mr. Widget]

the guy who blathered on repeatedly about cats & shaving brushes in an audio mag ?

part of the reason that I did not renew StereoPhool .Some of his pieces may have been on weird tangents and not of interest to me, but I quite enjoyed many of his pieces, especially those looking at vintage gear. I thought it refreshing that a reviewer and a magazine would spend the effort to cover equipment that obviously had zero advertising revenue incentive. Also I appreciated reading about his passion for the hobby just like I enjoy reading many people's posts here.

I for one will miss his musings.


Widget

[Mr. Widget]

Picked up a pair of Valencia 846a locally...I imagine you will want more than 1.5 watts, but as you suggest, maybe biamping them with a flea powered amp on the horn and a bit more below will get you going.

Regarding your Klipsch experience, I think you'll be happier with these once gone through and set up properly. I have admired and owned most of the Klipsch speakers that are currently considered the "Heritage Series". I like them a lot, but have never been able to hang on to them as real estate being what it is, the space has always been needed for other speakers.


Widget

[Singer-Man]

Some of his pieces may have been on weird tangents and not of interest to me, but I quite enjoyed many of his pieces, especially those looking at vintage gear. I thought it refreshing that a reviewer and a magazine would spend the effort to cover equipment that obviously had zero advertising revenue incentive.

I too enjoyed his articles -- and for the reasons you listed.



And, by the way, guf, those Valencias look to be fine shape.

[rusty jefferson]

the guy who blathered on repeatedly about cats & shaving brushes in an audio mag ?

part of the reason that I did not renew StereoPhool .
Man, Art was a very good writer. I'm sorry you didn't care for his style. I didn't often agree with his equipment preferences, but I appreciated his writing. I already miss his articles.

Here's a great example that should be of interest to members here.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-190-experience-music

[rusty jefferson]

.....I already miss his articles. ...

And as if called upon, this was just put online. Perhaps his final column? Sorry about going OT.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-210-guns-n-neuroses-life-used-gear-specialist