Magnificents A7-500-II

[Scott Watson]

I recently purchased a mint set of magnificents. They were one owner and had never left the room since delivery. They are super clean and I just had them recapped due to one of the hf caps had failed. They sound and look wonderful. Any idea of a value on these.

[Scott Watson]

More pics

[Kay Pirinha]

I don't have any clue about the value of these speakers, but one thing is for sure: They look gorgeous :applaud:!

Btw, if they were mine, I'd have replaced the old xover capacitors with motor run capacitors from surplus or other standard, engineer grade polypropylene capacitors instead of those super hyped »ClarityCaps«, and those super thin hookup wires by appropriate and not too long twin cables. All in all, I think this would give more bang for the bucks than those Clarity's.

Best regards!

[Chas]

Absolutely stunning, a wonderful piece of history. No idea what they would be worth.

[Cadguy]

There are a pair of Magnificents A7-500W-1 listed at audiogon right now for $14,999.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa35fa-altec-lancing-magnificent-a7-500w-1-speaker-system-voice-of-the-theater-speakers

[grumpy]

Keeping in mind my handle here is 'grumpy'...

I would think other questions to ponder (particularly this being your first post, asking for a notional appraisal) might be: are you (and perhaps other household decision makers) happy with your purchase? What do you like about them? What equipment are you using with them? Did you happen upon a deal, or are these a livelong search/dream come true ...? What are your intentions?

As these don't have a lot of representation in actual sales (as opposed to a retail site fishing for what they can get), you are in a unique position to note a current sale ;) You could further compare to non-furniture-ized A7 and even Model 19 Altec systems to get a feel for old but more available premium Altec system values, with similar components... a ball-park/order-of-magnitude notion. Marketing, audience, timing of fickle buyer interest... good luck if selling. Unless someone here has purchased or sold a near identical set recently, any valuation would be pure speculation. Non-sale fishing expeditions are also fairly useless.

I've seen nice examples go for low-thousands as well, but that was quite awhile ago, and condition/originality is everything for anything old/collectible.

Nice, impressive, fun-to-own bit of history. If they fit into your system, living space, and notion of sound quality, it looks like you've picked up a winner!

Thanks for posting the pics, and happy Thanksgiving!

[Mr. Widget]

I recently purchased a mint set of magnificents. They were one owner and had never left the room since delivery.Congratulations on a great find. They look like exceptional examples. No idea on value, but the $15K list on Agon seems a bit optimistic, but you never know.


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[Scott Watson]

Congratulations on a great find. They look like exceptional examples. No idea on value, but the $15K list on Agon seems a bit optimistic, but you never know.


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I do love the sounds I’m getting from these. I’m powering with a McIntosh mc2505 and a c-28 preamp so it’s pretty nicely matched. However, I bought them from an estate sale and will likely keep them but as most folks, if I did decide to part with them I would like to know a sensible selling price. Thanks for the help and comments.

[grumpy]

Nice. Given the bouncy ball in pic one, you might want to attempt to protect those grilles and sharp corners...
As clean as those are, little accumulated bits of unfortunate damage could pull down the potential value quickly.

[Scott Watson]

Nice. Given the bouncy ball in pic one, you might want to attempt to protect those grilles and sharp corners...
As clean as those are, little accumulated bits of unfortunate damage could pull down the potential value quickly.
You have a good eye lol. Yes I have a 4year old bouncing boy and the thought has crossed my mind if I should sell these and get something less fragile possibly on a trade. I seriously doubt there is another set of these in existence as clean. They seriously look like they were built this year and have never been touched up or refinished. That was part of my curiosity concerning value.

[Scott Watson]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good place to list a specialty item like these for sale?

[Chas]

Well, there is either Audiogon or US Audiomart. They’re probably the most popular in the US and Canada. If you want international exposure, EBay might be the way to go. At one time there was a ton of interest in Asia for this kind of stuff.

[Mr. Widget]

Personally I am not thrilled with eBay and their seller policies, but I use it for both buying and selling. On several occasions I have successfully sold multi-thousand dollar items and shipped them internationally. I have also used Audiogon, as a buyer and seller. It seems to be getting less traction these days.


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[BMWCCA]

FWIW: I've made two purchases from US Audio Mart. I got a full Soundcraftsmen Pro system (Pro-Control Four, Pro-Tuner Four, Pro-Power Four, and Pro-EQ 44) and a Crown "receiver" system (PSL-2, FM-2, Power Line Three). Coincidentally both systems came out of Canada and the Crown owner turned out to be a member here! Both transactions went well and both sellers were great to deal with.

I also did a couple of sales of some vintage equipment for a friend using US Audio Mart. Those transactions also went well. I actually met the buyers in-person and everything went smoothly.

Best of luck to you. Wish I was closer. Those really look like "magnificent" speakers. I'll just remain content with my JBL 4345s for a few more years—depending on how many I have left!