Valencia Identification

[OBMG74]

Need help, please.

1. Were Valencia's ever manufactured with cloth grilles? or are they replacements? see photo

2. When were these serial #'s manufactured?

Model 846A
serial #'s 316 & 337

Woofer 416-z
Horn 806A
Crossover N-800F

Thanks,
Jim

[jackgiff]

Jim,

Welcome to the forum. There are lots of knowledgable people here, and I am sure someone will answer your questions. I have three pairs of 846A's, one with wood fretwork grilles, and two which were made with plastic fretwork grilles. It is difficult to tell by looking, and apparently Altec made them with both types. I know of no cloth grilles shipped on 846A's, but they did use cloth when they began building the 846B version.

If I am wrong, someone will correct me.

[OBMG74]

Jack,

Thank you for the welcome and reply.

You are right, there is a lot to be learned from the people who participate in these forums, I was happy to discover this site!

Jim

[Gary L]

The very first pair of Vals I ever saw and heard were exactly what you have with the same cloth. I think early 70s vintage.

Most did have the fret work grills but I suspect you could get them any way you wanted or just bought the style available in the shop at the time.

Pretty sure my old friend would still have them but he moved from NY to somewhere around Spokane, Wa. when his parents passed.

There was also a matching equipment cabinet that went in the middle and this was his Dads pride and joy.

Gary

[hvengel]

The way to check the age of these speakers is to look at the the code that is stamped on the label on the back of the speaker. It has been a while since I looked into this but I believe, if my memory has not failed, that this is divided into three parts. The first 3 digits are the manufactures code (will always be 391 on Altec-Lansing speakers), the next digit is the year code and the last two digits are the week of the year (where 01 is the first week of the year and 52 is last week of the year). My speakers have serial numbers of 357 and 348 and the code on #348 is 391542. So #348 was build during week 42 of year 5. Of course, this does not tell us what decade this is so we have to use some common sense to figure that out. We know that these speakers, 846A's, were all build in the 1960s and the early 1970s with the first ones being produced in the later part of 1964 or early 1965. Since these are early serial numbers it stands to reason that #348 was built in 1965 (by 1970 the serial numbers were approaching 3000). Week 42 would the third week of Oct. Or between the 18th to 24th Oct. 1965. So based on the serial numbers #337 was likely built week 41 of 1965 and 316 was built about two weeks before that (IE, week 39 of 1965) but you need to look at the code on the labels to know for sure. Let us know what your codes are.

These speakers were basically hand built. Altec-Lansing was building about 10 (5 pairs) of these a week during that time frame and perhaps fewer than this in the first year or two. I suspect that these were built in a number of variations with the wood scroll work grills being the most common and likely the most expensive. You need to keep in mind that these were very expensive speakers and most buyers would have spent a few extra dollars to get the upgraded grills. In addition, since these were hand built I suspect that they could be ordered with custom finishes, woods and grills if a customer wanted these. I suspect that factory custom versions of these speakers are very rare since the off the self selection of woods and grills was likely satisfactory to the vast majority of buyers.

[OBMG74]

Thank you for providing the info.

#337 has code 391826.
I believe, if I understand correctly, that it was manufactured the 26th week of 1968.

#316 has that portion of the label missing. I would assume that it was made the same year but a little earlier than #337.

I found these several years ago at a thrift shop in Northern Michigan.
I purchased the 2 speakers, a Dual 1019 turntable, a Harmon/Kardon receiver and a Harmon/Kardon cassette deck as a set for $75.00. (yes you are reading that correctly, seventy-five dollars).

I can only assume that the set was part of an estate.
The receiver did not work, and the turntable stylus was damaged, so someone probably assumed that the set had little value and donated it to the thrift store.

The speakers sound wonderful, driven by a Carver M-200t amp, and the pre-amp portion of a Marantz 1060.
I listen primarily to vinyl on the Dual 1019 with a Grado black cartridge.

I feel fortunate to have acquired and preserve a piece of Altec history!