Mysteries of Altec Lansings demise
I was talking with my father the other day about how Altec Lansing pooped out sometime in the 80s. As I've learned the quality control went to hell where JBL was rejecting around 80% of the Duplex drivers they were receiving for the Urei Time-Align monitors. And I've also read that sometime in the late 1970s Altec began to lose money and for one reason or another nobody knows what happened.
Well my father pointed out a few other companies who broke around the same time including DeLorean Motor Cars and Low Rider Magazine (they took a dive in the early 80s). In both cases the main person in charge was addicted to cocaine which was huge at that time.
It makes sense to me that perhaps someone pulling the strings at Altec Lansing may have be snorting and partying away so much that they lost sight of the company. The timing of the downfall is dead on for what was going on at that time with many other people. The scenario points to where the Altec should have been making loads of money, but was losing out somehow. Even though JBL dominated much of the 70s many other companies made it through who weren't as popular like Klipsch and Cerwin-Vega.
Sparkomatic owns the brand names, NOT the company
As I have said so many times in so many places before (therefore I won't elaborate much here), Sparkomatic bought the following BRAND NAMES from Telex:
Altec
Lansing
Altec Lansing
Voice of the Theatre
Voice of the Highway
That's it. Alan Shirley, then with Telex/EVI, even stated in the official announcement of the sale, "The Altec Lansing brand name has been sold."
They later coerced Telex into giving them Duplex.
But, in no case, and in no manner (and you can check me out with the Securities & Exchange Commission on this) did "Altec Lansing Technologies", who had been leasing the rights to use the "Altec Lansing Consumer Products" brand name, purchase ANYTHING but those brand names! They did not buy the actual company, any designs, products, or anything else (including ANY rights to ANY copyrights to printed materials or photographs - even though Telex told DM that they did, probably in order to keep from having to spend money defending something they don't incur any revenue from). Just those BRAND NAMES.
And, like Dual, it's all gone to you-know-where: CHINA!
Almost, if not all, of ALT's products, as well as those from "Altec Lansing Professional" (ALPro) are made in CHINA!
THE Altec Lansing Corp. ceased to exist in 1996 or so. So did University Sound, and, conicidentally, EV is gone too!
So sad....
I'll keep the memories of the vintage gear...
from all of them companies.
Sooner or later, bean counters rule and all the quality goes to hell in a handbasket.
I'm crying now just thinking about it......:biting:
Ron