When I found out that the date code indicated that my Valencias were from 1969 I did a google search for Altec Valencia 1969 and the first result that came up was a one page article with photos by a guy who sold a pair of Altec Valencias along with a film projector and a Macintosh MC 2505 power amp to Howard Hughes' personal aid for Howard to watch movies in his hotel room. The article goes on to mention that Howard rented out the whole top floor of the Desert Hotel in Vegas and that his Valencias were so loud that they couldn't rent out the room under his. When the owners/managers of the Desert Inn tried to have him evicted he bought the hotel for 13.6 million and threw the managers out in the street! It's an interesting article with some great photos (including the speakers) at: http://www.bugsweeps.com/info/howard_hughes.html After reading this article I walked by a mirror and it occurred to me I need a shave!
Dave