I'm thinking SeaWolf could have highlighted this from the article, making the date of the switchover less vague:
"In 1984, the company was sold to Gulton Industries of Metuchen, N.J., which continued the profitable professional products operation but shut down the consumer products wing. A year later, after researching consumer awareness of the brand, Sparkomatic purchased the "open-ended rights" to manufacture products under the name Altec Lansing Consumer Products, "so long as we meet their (Gulton) standards," says Anchel."
Also, in that time frame, I was a bit more into custom car stereo than I am these days... Seems like serious
folks had pretty much dropped using Altec car speakers by then. There are so many options available now...
why focus on these? I don't understand any nostalgic value or cachet, unless it's along the lines of "I wear your
granddad's clothes, I look incre-di-ble, I'm in this big-ass coat..."