model-14

[gene]

Hello. how good are altec -14 speakers. I have a chance to buy a pair

[Gary L]

Hi Gene, Guess it all depends on how nice the cabinets are, condition of drivers and what the asking price is.

Model 14s are nicknamed "Baby 19s" and they seem to fit the nickname well. The 12" woofer has suprisingly nice bass and the mantaray horn is very sweet and not fatiguing at all. Cabinets are well made and quite heavy.
The 14 serves very well in rooms not large enough for the big brothers.
I currently have 15s and 19s and like the 15s in the smaller room much better then the 19s. 14s & 15s are very similar in sound and size with the 14 a bit larger.
If they are in good shape all around I think you will be quite satisfied with their performance.
I have seen them NOT sell for $300 and sell for over $600 so you decide from here. Sadly, many are parted out because of the high shipping cost and the tendency for the components to bring more parted from the cabinets.
I would buy them if the price is right.

Gary

[gene]

Thanks gary for the info. the guy wants, 600.00 dollars for them. I havent seen them but he said the cabinets are in great shape and he had the surround replace last year...............................Also gary I am A huge JBL fan ,does the 14 hit as hard as a jbl 4430 or a L -300 . what jbl speaker would you compare the altec -14 sound to

[TnTn]

Gary, what compression drivers go into the 14's and 15's? I don't think the 12" woofer is worth that much. I saw one in person and it does look a lot more compact than the Model 19. I don't remember the sound though as it was a brief encounter.

Gene, I am pretty sure that the 12" Altec will not hit as hard as the 15" from JBL. You can't really beat size in this case. The JBL can thump nice and clean if you have a decent amp.

[Gary L]

I know my 15s have the 802-8G drivers and I believe the 14s are a bit different. Both have a very similar 12" woofer but I think the one in the 14 has a larger VC. Might be wrong about this but I also suspect both were sourced by Altec to RCA. They actually are quite decent woofers but NO they can't match any 15" JBL.

Comparing apples to oranges I think. $600 is at the very top of the scale IMO and I would not pay this for them even if in great shape. Think you $600 could be spent better elsewhere.

This is not to say the 14 or 15 is not a nice speaker but just not that nice! They put out a very nice sound and at some impressive SPLs with very little power. You would want stacked 14s to match up to an L 300 but then you should just find a nice set of 19s for that job.
I don't really know the JBL line in this size speaker but would think the L 100 is the closest comparison. L 200 and L 300 are both much larger.

Gary