All i hear among the audio world these days is that everyone wants jbls and not a peep about Altec Lansing. Is it because JBl systems are better overall than Altecs? Altecs vott are impressive speaker horn combo.
All i hear among the audio world these days is that everyone wants jbls and not a peep about Altec Lansing. Is it because JBl systems are better overall than Altecs? Altecs vott are impressive speaker horn combo.
Yes?
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
Yes.
ALTEC went under many years ago, while JBL kept innovating ...
so the likelyhood is that the more modern JBL speakers have better materials and better designs, and work better with contemporary music. Even modern JBLs with horns have much more modern innovations and not "horn-honk" like older horn designs can do.
Your mileage may vary, but I suspect you'll find that to be true.
Originally Posted by vinny
2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460
so vintage Altec is basically finished among audiophiles. Still people are paying jbl prices for 604s why dont they just buy jbls instead? Votts still desireable?
Couple of reasons - VOTTs are pretty large - not everyone has the space for a large speaker to play properly -
(Or the Spouse Acceptance factor!!)
You really need a longer room for the sounds to diffuse and merge ... whether big Altecs or big JBL pros
Look at how many of those dumb bose cubes and earbuds sell these days ...
2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460
For serious DIY it's my impression that GPA (Altec) have a higher rating than JBL. Quite a few thinks in fact that GPA/Altec 515 is the ultimate woofer when used in other apllications than the standard VOTT cabinets, for ripols they are a real killer.
An example is this "ultra highend" SLOB useing 10xGPA515 pr side:
More of the system, GPA515 midhorns and the rest is for know TAD
Many do also prefer Altec 288/299 over similar JBL drivers...
Another Ford versus Chevy question. Everyone has an opinion. Always best to experience them for yourself.
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
I know this is mainly a JBL forum, but JBL is better than Altec? Lets just say I agree to disagree. I think they both have a lot of merit as high end speakers.
Everyone hears things differently and has there own likes and dislikes.
BillWojo
On Edit: Have you been to the Altec Users Board? Hardly a whisper about JBL's. This board has turned into mainly a JBL board and most Altec discussion takes place over there.
I'd love to hear how and why.
Personally I think they can be compared model for model or compare them during a specific window in time, but to generally say one is better than the other seems a difficult comparison to make to me. This is especially true considering that JBL has continued to innovate and develop their designs and manufacturing techniques over the past three decades where Altec was barely in production or bankrupt.
Widget
I really can't find a great deal of merit in the exercise of this thread (a troll perhaps?) but I'll take the bait and join in with a little of my mouth and thoughts
Altec's glory days, and glory models, were/are a drop in the bucket when compared to JBL
Anyone with an objective and honest knowledge of the two enterprises would know that
The title of this thread is almost silly, definitely ignorant or possibly deliberately antagonistic
Yes, Altec Lansing certainly did have a few offerings over the years that were, albeit short lived, indeed glorious and legitimately competitive, objectively and subjectively, with any concurrent offerings from JBL
But to rest on one's laurels definitely comes to mind, especially after the Ling acquisition of the late 1950s, and for the next several decades following it was a matter of trying to salvage what was left and maintain financial solvency
Several tried but to no avail
Altec stopped being the great technical icon it briefly was, comparatively speaking, after Western Electric's divestiture and the subsequent departure of James Bullough Lansing from the by then reformulated Altec Lansing in 1946
Certainly Altec Lansing did enjoy some wonderful, yet sporadic successes during the 1960s and 1970s but the brunt of this work had been done and or started by those who came long before
JBL on the other hand was still writing/rewriting the book and setting new cutting edge standards for loudspeaker systems and transducers well through the 1980s, into the 1990s and beyond, both professional and domestic
As Mr. Widget alludes and I acknowledge above, on a model to model basis there may be some sort of legitimate comparisons to be made, but as a whole there is hardly a contest as to which company was not only more successful as far as designs are concerned, or for that matter, more popular
As for your theoretical, questionable inquiry into popularity, defining popularity as name recognition, let's do a "man on the street" poll (excluding Lansing Heritage members) and see who remembers or has heard of the JBL L100 to cite only one example versus the crowning achievements known as the "Voice of The Theater" the "Model 19" or the "Valencia" as fine as they may have been
Aside from being quite high on Jim Lansing's DNA content and still relying on his name
So you see my friend, it's not just "in this group" whatever it is you are "sensing"
As bad as things have evolved these past 25 years or so, JBL's name still proudly appears on some cutting edge loudspeaker systems, for domestic as well as professional use
This is Altec Lansing today
http://www.alteclansing.com/en/al-products/
What does that tell you as for your question?
Altec today
JBL today
Case closed ;-)
Samsung, oops, JBL makes most of its money from car audio, lets hope for the sake of JBL fans that Samsung continues to allow hi end audio speakers to be built in the future by JBL and does not go down the same path as the current owners of the Altec name brand has.
I cringe every time I search CL for Altec and those crappy little PC speakers pop up. I'm sure that there will be a wave of them coming from JBL in the near future as well. After all, like Altec, JBL has a lot of brand recognition. Don't think the bean counters aren't aware of that? What's more profitable? 200 pairs of highly engineered speakers with a profit of $1000.00 each or 500,000 pairs of plastic fantastic speakers with a profit of $5.00 each? Bean counters run these company's in the end and are trying to please the stock holders, they could care less about a company's history.
I really have no skin in the game, I love my Altec's and the collection of Altec drivers and horns I have to play with. And just like you guys with your vintage JBL's, I can't get certain parts anymore. Thank goodness for GPA.
BillWojo
Wasn't the thread's topic
The alleged topic was "popularity", inclusive of a little not so subtle dig (feigned wonderment why) at JBL, since, not being as good a speaker as Altec Lansing, why there didn't appear to be more recognition of that fact here at LANSING HERITAGE to the gentleman who started this thread
But for what it's worth and to address your observations, JBL has managed to make real loudspeakers and MARKET cheap plastic crap simultaneously, for years, because unlike Altec Lansing, JBL can walk and chew gum at the same time
As a matter of fact, the refs during tonight's Warriors game were wearing JBL headsets
Wow, you guys are freaking hostile on this site! Tony, I don't know what your beef is with me or Altec but I think you need some chill pills dude. You off your meds?
BillWojo
Actually the vast majority of "us" are not.
It is easy to paint (label) any group of people by using the most visible (or loud) as the example. If you look at the number of people that read and didn't respond in a hostile fashion, or at all, you will see that "we" the majority, are not at all combatative.
Sorry that It appears that way at a glance at times.
Barry.
If we knew what the hell we were doing, we wouldn't call it research would we.
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