I have had mixed information on this and the other Altec monitors that were developed at the same time for the Japanese market (9861, 6041, 604 Valencia). Todd White told me that they were designed and produced by Altec in Aneheim from around 1979 until the sale of the home division to Sparkomatic in 1982. However, the former product manager for Altec's home speakers from 1974 to 1981 told me that Altec had nothing to do with the systems other than supplying the drivers and that they were developed by their Japanese distributor Electori. This seems to be supported by pictures of the 6041 that were sent to me by a Japanese owner that I have attached below. It doesn't say "Made in the USA" anywhere, and the serial number and sticker are Electori's. I'm curious if there is a similar Electori sticker on your 9862.
Supposedly, the 950-8A was developed just for the 9862 and was never used in another system or sold separately. There was a later 950-8A in Altec's catalog that was a completely different driver - basically a 902-8A with the small Mantaray horn from the 604-8K.
BTW, if the Ebay auction where you aquired your 9862's is the same one I saw, I remember that the seller noted that one the 416-8BD's had a rubbing coil. He contacted me to find out if recones were still available. I had no idea what the difference was between the 416-8B and the "BD" version, so I couldn't provide any definitive advice. If yours is that system, I'm curious what you did about the woofer.
Reply With Quote