Introductions

[Mike Gibson]

I thought maybe some might want to know a little about each other. I'm always interested to see what others like/have and interests lie. I bought my Altecs in 1968 and have been a SS person until recently when I decided to see if I could get some tube gear working again. I was like GM, out of Hi-Fi by 1977-79 as I got married which slowed the purchases considerably. I also didn't like the direction audio was headed. The "State of the Art" hype wars had started and last years model wasn't good enough. I was reintroduced last year and sort of collect vintage gear. I'm talking the cheaper stuff :-) My goal is to someday listen to 19's and see if I want to try and accquire a pair. I must be a reactionary for sure because the thought of a speaker being 5' high and 1' square doesn't do a thing for me :-) I don't care if it's technologically superior, it still looks silly to me :-) Anyway, that's more than you probably wanted to know about me, how about you?

[RonSSS]

Welcome Mike!
I look forward to meeting you and helping with the MC275.

I bought my first Altec speakers in 1972. Couldn't afford any pre-built stuff, so I bought 419-8B 12" biflexes, N3000 crossovers and Phillips Dome tweets from a small shop in Portland. Built my own cabs and those lasted through college.
Out of College in 1977 I bought a pair of A7's from Stereo Superstores for $379 each! Good ones too.
Somewhere along the line I bought another pair of A7's here in Portland for $200....but they were home made and had really old 803 woofs and 806 horn drivers.
I made one killer set out of the two and had those until about 3 years ago when I got my 904 duplexes up and running with the 411 subs. I gave the old A7 cabs away to a fellow who was on this forum and never heard from again.........free is a very good price.
That's about it!
Been a fan for 30+ years.
Ron

[tomdae]

hi you
I'm new to this group too. 20 years ago I heard ALTEC's for the first time, one in IBIZA (spanish island), the other in LANZAROTE(spanish island too). I didnt forget the sound nor the name. When studying physics I used to work for an old man who was on the way to build the best speaker on earth, he was on the way all his life. When I asked him about Altec he agreed these were good (he usually did not accept anything that was not "homegrown") and he said it was because of precision (production-tolerances). Now that I can afford buying Altecs, I do and enjoy them a lot. I would like to put some ALTECs into Retaurants or Bars around here in Berne (switzerland). It's a pitty most people dont just listen, they look at the cabinets and if they are big they act quite disordered...

[just me now]

I got my first Altecs (M19s) used about 2 years ago, and have been enjoying them very much...

I have been Djing for about 10 years now, and got into the vintage mixers -- when my lousy bookshelf system didn't cut it, I was looking for a pair of Bozak Concert Grands, but stumbled onto the M19s (best thing that could have happened)...

I keep trying to tell my (under 30) friends about these things, but no one wants to listen -- they prefer their powered mackie/JBL/B-52 rigs

[boltupright]

Welcome Mike!
My first experience with Altec was in around '78 I had a party & a friend brought over his recently aquired model 19's. He powered them with a Harmon Kardon Citation tube amp & I was hooked from that day.
I never was financially able to buy my own until the last 10 years I've bought 604-8G's A7's, & M19's.
I sold the 604's after I bought the 19's but, I am sorry I did. I still have the 19's & the A7's but I'm bracing the A7's & upgrading the cabs so I'm not enjoying them for the time being, The 19's are a fine speaker indeed!

[thevott]

Hi Mike,
When I was a kid in the 70s my dad picked up a pair of big Heathkit-Altecs. They were quite amaizing as I recall. He must have played that Telarc 1812 Overature to almost everyone who walked in the house. Anyway, all of us many sons were profoundly influenced by those bad boys and we cranked the tar out of 'em whenever the old man was out of the house! Since then myself and most of my brothers have aquired and built Altec systems. Its just a family thing I guess. I must have really gotten the bug though because I just have way too many Altecs and JBLs laying around here and I'm still itching for 210 enclosures. I've owned Model 19s, I currently have three A7s for general purpose use and I'm addicted to my 'big' modified 815 LF horns which rolloff at about 45 Hz and have fantastic front-loaded bass down to about 75 Hz (its bass guitar and tom tom heaven). The one system I have yet to aquire though is a set of 604 Duplexes. Hopefully I'll achive that goal before my hearing is completely gone or before my wife kicks me out of the house, whichever comes first.

[dhook17322]

Greetings to all. I was into Altecs 30 years ago when I built A-7's for rock bands. I lived in a huge old house in the country where we could let them loose behind a Crown DC300(risky). Most people were amazed by their sound - and subsequently dissatisfied with anything less. One guy lived there and had an expensive setup with Bose 901's whice he thought were the ultimate. Had just finished my first pair of A-7's on the weekend the guy had several friends over to hear his Bose system. They spent the next two days transfixed in front of the A-7's. They were especially astounded by the bass from a pipe organ disk I had - it really shook the floor!
Guess I'm re-addicted to Altecs lately. Have a pair of A-7's in my living room and am working on restoring a pair of 210's for the shop building. Also will build a pair of subs from 3182's I had GPA do its magic on. I hope to also experiment with a giant bass horn designed by a gentleman here if I can find the drawings in the computer. I am indebted to many here for the education and help which is so generously shared.

[MikeInNH]

I heard my first Altecs when I was in High-school over 30 years ago. I bought my first Altec's (Model 15's) when I got out of the Army back in 78. Still own them and still love them.

About 3 years ago my wife wanted me to get rid of my Altecs because they didn't match our new missoin furniture. Wife gave me a budget of $2000 and I searched and searched and couldn't find a comperable replacement for $2000. I had to pay well over $5000 for speakers that were as good or better then my 15's. So I rebuilt my 15's. Built taller skinier cabinets of the same design as the entertainment center of our New Mission furniture. And even stained them to match perfectly. Wife was pleased....And so was I.

[Cal Weldon]

My name is Cal and I'm a speakerholic.

In the early years, I used to dream Altec. Now I own them.

I have a set of the 825 and 210 enclosures as well as many other DIY things. I'm not married and I'm not surprised.

Cal

[fmjbullitt]

I, like Cal, am a speakerholic. I currently have in use JBL 4430,JBL 4311B,Klipsch La Scala, and 2 sets of A7's in my basement. I am planning on adding a pair of Model 19's soon.

I am married to a very loving and understanding woman.