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Thread: Looky, Looky !!

  1. #46
    Roland
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    Really is Sad

    To these business men buying the name was, as Don said, strictly for the purpose of "Maximizing the brand equity inherent in the Altec Lansing name". But if one knows the history of this legendary company going back to the WE days and now sees it delegated to mass production of cheap plastic computer speakers one can appreciate how sad it really is.

    The "Legacy series" unfortunately seems nothing more than attempts to protect and capitalize on the use of the name again. Their attempts for oriental production of the older Altec drivers with its variable and questinable quality again points out their only interest is profit. Wiser business men would have united with knowledgeable ex altec individuals and together come up with outstanding new versions of the older gear. The quality drivers were always there all that was needed is fine tuning. Instead it seems that Iconic will be more representative of the tradition of Altec with its emphasis on quality and performance.

    Only time will tell if ALT and Iconic will be sucessfull in this area as they seem to be in the middle of no man's land....Too big for home too small for theater. Large speakers for home use may be a thing of the past with only a small "HI efficiency" market available. Most sound reinforcement and theaters nowdays
    use extremely hi power tolerant speakers not the highly resolving more delicate altec drivers.

    Personally I like and use these drivers but certainly there is a lot of competition out there. Nevertheless quality, performance and service should win out in the end.

  2. #47
    Todd W. White
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    Unhappy

    Thanks for the reply, Don.

    However, while JBL and Klipsch have every right to build and sell products from their past that made them famous, even though they cost too much and don't sell very well (EV does this, too), the people at ALT DO NOT!

    The folks that own JBL, Klipsch, and even EV actually OWN those companies - ALT merely bought a BRAND NAME!

    Yet, when you look at the historical timeline on their website, they show a decade-by-decade "history" of "THEIR" accomplishments!"

    The fact that the history is quite inaccurate notwithstanding, THEY are THE Altec - they are mere b]PRETENDERS[ /b] to the throne!

    This is the main reason what they are doing bothers me tremendously - they are being VERY deceptive and downright UNTRUTHFUL about themselves, and have no legitimate claims to being THE Altec we all think of when the name, "Altec Lansing" is mentioned!

    CAN they come out with an A7 to bolster their place in the minds of the unlearned as to "their" legacy?

    Of course!

    But the question REALLY is: SHOULD THEY?

    And the answer to THAT question is

    NO!!!!!

  3. #48
    RIP 2010 scott fitlin's Avatar
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    whats really sad is......

    That Altec products of the past sounded truly superior to many so called state of the art components of today. I, personally know of many engineers and sound men who lament at not having the CHOICES available anymore.

    As far as selling power, if the " Voice of the Theatre " used creative marketing and the products sound was Superior to other speaker systems available today, it can sell! After all, a Highly efficient speaker doesnt need as much amplifier power to work and produce desired SPL! Therefore, you wouldnt need amps that are Extremely powerful and Extremely expensive to boot!

    The market may not be as huge as back when Altec and JBL ruled the entire world, but there are contractors and clients who can hear the difference and would want it!

    7 years ago every contractor and DJ installer was specking JBL for nightclub use. This has changed tremendously. Now EAW has captivated that segment of the market. And EAW isnt cheap! But, everyone has been disatisfied with JBL products of the current line, and many feel EAW sounds better. So, they spend even more then if they had bought JBL.

    I would love to see the return of Altec to the marketplace, but stuff thats really good. Not just a name! to some, sound still counts!

  4. #49
    Roland
    Guest

    Time will tell

    Putting down ALT becomes counterproductive when done past a certain point. The fact is that wether they have the moral right or wether we like it or not ALT IS putting up a version of the old A7-500. If only doing it to protect the VOTT name etc ...so be it. The question remains what if anything alse are they planning and what effect will this have on their Iconic counterpart??

    From the preliminary info available from Iconic they seem to be heading in the right direction making superior drivers, correcting known defecits in the old altec products and slowly cranking up for more productivity. I hope they not only provide commercial products and service but also start their own line of home products and DIY updates to the old Altecs. I suspect as with any new start up business that cash flow is limited nevertheless I wish them the best.

    In the end quality performance and service at the right price will win out not put downs !!!!!

  5. #50
    Todd W. White
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    True, ALT does have a not-made-or-designed-by-them clone of the A7-500, but it IS sad that the moral climate of the world today causes most people not to see anything wrong with what their doing and claiming....

    As far as Iconic Mfg. Co. goes, most of you know I am helping them write specification sheets, technical information, etc. To that end, let me say that they are developing some EXCITING products! They are also working on updates to the website, replete with pictures and detailed specifications.

    Some of the products that Iconic will sell have, as Roland mentioned, corrected known defects in the older designs that were not allowed to be dealt with over the years for various reasons. Other items include retrofit crossovers for older systems. Component parts for DIYer's and contractors will be available (some already are), and some have already been shipped to customers.

    I have even suggested they introduce a new "Magnificent Home Theatre Loudspeaker System"tm!!!

    The cabinets would be correctly tuned and restructured under the personal supervision of Mr. Jim Dickinson, widely known for his expertise in the subject.

    Available in ANYTHING BUT black splatter-texture paint, Iconic's Master Cabinet Maker, Dave Florio, could build the MAGNIFICENTtm in virtually ANY type of wood you might want - "CUSTOM-BUILT FOR YOUR DECOR!"tm

    Wouldn't THAT make the Mrs. happy!

    In addition, it would have a superior passive crossover designed for specifically for the MAGNIFICENTtm by Jerry K. Hubard.

    Coupled with a price that is drastically less than the "Legacy A7, this could be a winner!

    If there is enough interest, Iconic Mfg. Co. would probably do it!

    Let Jim Dickinson know if you're interested. His e-mail address is:

    [email protected]

  6. #51
    PSS AUDIO
    Guest

    Re: whats really sad is......

    Originally posted by scott fitlin
    That Altec products of the past sounded truly superior to many so called state of the art components of today.
    Hi from France (while you are still sleeping this Sunday morning),

    It is true that almost amplifiers and speakers built today and claiming their watts are sounding very poor!

    That is why, for my own use I’m listening my amps with 4355 JBL speakers!

    I know than a day or an other, I do not know exactly when, we will come back to quality and what was done in the 70’s since that time quite nothing “new” was placed on the market.

    Watts and today SPL means nothing real. I do remember that JBL and ALTEC provided their speakers specification white pink noise signal and a 24h/24h use while today the same SPL is given at 1 kHz for less than a minute use!

    In such a case there is at least 6 or 9 dB difference: the use of a real 250W amplifier is by far more enough (add 9 dB to those good watts with huge transformers and real can capacitors delivering good Amperes) and one will hear the difference.

    We had last year a tremendous break with defective Far East capacitors we used as quite everybody.

    In a word, several thousand of capacitors leaked or exploded and we had to face the problem: what the hell is going on (labelling error from the “manufacturer” and wrong specifications).

    As we had to prove to our worldwide customers that we were a big enough company to face this dramatic situation, we decided to go back to PHILIPS and we had two wonderful surprises:

    They were only 5% more expensive than those Far East capacitors and they sounded GREAT.

    We kicked out all those Far East components, just keeping the plastic (AC cords and fans).

    And we discovered how fine our amplifiers sounded!

    It is the same for speakers, cabinets and whatever is needed to build good quality audio gear.

    Imagine: Remove all the brands printed on quite all Peavey, Crown, JBL, Harman Kardon, etc … stuff.

    Will you buy it with an unknown brand? No…

    All those brands are living on their legend and will die, that is why as ALTEC is perhaps coming back again the worst thing to do, for the brand, is to place cheap and so called ATLTEC stuff on the market.

    I’m gonna have some croissant for my breakfast with a cup of coffee.

  7. #52
    RIP 2010 scott fitlin's Avatar
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    in one word.

    Correct!

  8. #53
    Senior Member tomt's Avatar
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    the so called a7's are now $12,200

    http://www.altecmm.com/legacy/specs.asp

  9. #54
    Senior Member louped garouv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget
    I am sure that their market is not professional sound contractors. I am not sure who is their market. Collectors want originals, and the audiophiles who like the A-7 sound are a very small number who either already have originals or don't have room for them anyway. I really can't imagine that they sell more than a handful worldwide.

    In 1995 Schwinn reproduced their 1955 Black Phantom bicycle. They did a fantastic job making some of the parts here with the remainder being made to original specifications using original drawings or actual tooling in Asia.

    The retail price was $3000. While it seemed high, it was commensurate with production cost. They sold a few at that price and eventually had to discount the rest.

    I will be shocked if Altec doesn't discover the same thing.
    I guess they are going for the 'elite' pricing model before the discounts come...

  10. #55
    Senior Member tomt's Avatar
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    i was wondering, had anyone been able to buy one or two of these

  11. #56
    RIP 2010 scott fitlin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tomt
    i was wondering, had anyone been able to buy one or two of these
    I called Altec lansing several times about these! They never seemed to know about those A7,s! I aksked the lady on the phone how a company can have something advertised on their website that know one at the company seems to know about!

    I geuss ill call em again!
    scottyj

  12. #57
    Senior Member frank23's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget
    $8,600 for a pair and a full one year warranty.
    On the site I see they are $5.800 and when I compare that to the other altec floorstanding speakers [$1.600 anyone for a pair], I know which ones would satisfy me more!

    Would you rather have a mediocre surround set, or a pair of VOT?

    frank

  13. #58
    Senior Member tomt's Avatar
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    i'd go for vott,however, not from the 'kra-co-o-matic'

    (kracotec?) crowd

    Now, has anyone been able to buy these from this version

    of altec?

  14. #59
    RIP 2010 scott fitlin's Avatar
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    OK, this time she gave me the number to Altec Pro in Oklahoma City!


    1-405-848-3108.

    Lets find out what the lead time on these are!
    scottyj

  15. #60
    Senior Member tomt's Avatar
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    ask 'er how many they have sold
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