Apartment living & big Altecs...does it work out for you?

[Russnohio]

From curiosity, how many Altec lovers here are living in apartments and how does that fact affect your listening? As an apartment dweller myself my situation works out fine although I rarely ever "crank it" and when I do it is on Friday afternoon while everyone else is at work and the building is practically empty. I don't work on Fridays.( ) The thing that made me post this topic is that over the years I've heard lots of cases of people getting rid of their systems only because of not being able to use them in apartments or condos. Personally. I'd never ever get rid of my model nineteens just because I could not crank them. Ridiculous! They sound just as wonderful at low volume. I mean, if I were lucky enough to own a Lamborhgini Contach 5000S..I would not get rid of it just because I could't (legally) run at 200mph!

Russ ( big Altecs in the apartment & content

[gamalot]

More then anything Russ, the 19s gave me fits where room space was concerned.

I dragged mine all over the state of NY with promotional transfers and from one appartment to another. Dragged them from NY to FL and then to KY and back to NY so they were well traveled and actually in excellent condition when I finally sold them rather then let them rott in a storge area because they just would not fit inside the appartment.

You are right though, they sound great at any volume but really do love some breating room.

Gary

[selmerdave]

Not that I don't have fantasies about enormous listening rooms, but I manage with my 2 x 20 cu. ft. cabinets in my 7' x 9' room. Volume is a bit of an issue but I'm not big on cranking. On the other side of my listening room through a brick wall is a bedroom for a 2 year-old, so I limit the hours that I listen above 80db, but truthfully one of the things that my Altecs do so well is play quiet. I know that's always a bit of a mind bend to see huge cabinets and then listen at 70db, but truthfully I have yet to hear a setup that does that volume as well as mine, and it can be really enjoyable.

Dave

[valhallax]

i dont live in an apartment, however, at low levels there is deffinetly a sense of presence, or fullness to the sound of my 210's in the living room. i find myself listening to others' stereos and asking? did you blow your speakers up? or have you tried an eq? most everything else, from celstions to sony's..it just sounds like a lil boombox. no soundstage, no clarity, no richness..no life. indeed at all levels of playing, and ive had mine up to 132 db's..wonderful, undistorted..alive

[Russnohio]

Originally posted by gamalot:
More then anything Russ, the 19s gave me fits where room space was concerned.

I finally sold them rather then let them rott in a storge area because they just would not fit inside the appartment.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hi Gary. I remember you mentioning this in the past, I guess you gotta do what is practical sometimes but if it where me, being a single man...the coffee table...end tables...dinning room table, etc. Eveything but the TV and a recliner would have been disposed of before the Altecs! I've already eliminated the "dinning-room" area of my apartment to give my living room space more "breathing room" for the speakers. This gives my listening area a space 22'X14'. Not too bad for an apartment. I eat meals in the kitchen or in my spare bedroom which is my model workshop. Single has it's advantages! I'd NEVER get away with this if a wife were in the house!(apartment, that is)

Russ

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ November 02, 2007 09:22 PM: Message edited by: Russnohio ]</font>

[intotubes]

I've got my 19's in a small spare bedroom. My wife loves them. She talks about finishing the basement into a listening room. (gotta love a woman like that). I do need to keep it down when the family is watching TV downstairs so I know a little about what you speak of. Those darn big Altecs fill a house with music if you let them. Right now I'm listening in the 70's. Sounds wonderful.

[GM]

Originally posted by Russnohio:
I eat meals in the kitchen or in my spare bedroom which is my model workshop. Single has it's advantages! I'd NEVER get away with this if a wife were in the house!(apartment, that is)

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Greets!

Marry a country girl, my first wife gave me no trouble with a similar situation of tiny apt., A7s and the spare bedroom for my slot car hobby/part time business. Further, she took no issue with me modding an architect's stock house plan by deleting the formal living, dining, and family room into a single huge cathedral ceilinged 26 ft x 45 ft 'great' room with formal dining occupying the area behind the optimized listening distance.

All that was missing was the big screen TV, but that was many years before they began offering them, so had to make do with a 25". She even tolerated all the speaker building/testing I did as well as a ~continuous low level paint smell from various forms of spray painting emanating from the attached garage/workshop.

Anyway, what kind of modeling do you do? I really miss mine, but my hands/eyesight are too far gone to do them anymore with any degree of craftsmanship.

GM

[MikeInNH]

When I bought my model 15's back in 78 I lived in an apartment. It was fine as long as your a good neighbor. I had a friend who owned a pair of LaScala's and was kicked out of 3 different appartments. He liked to drink and when he drank he liked to CRANK his music...usually at 2am.

It's nice now living on a 3 acre lot where I can crank my music at any time I want...but still rarely do that.

[Russnohio]

[quote]Originally posted by GM:

Anyway, what kind of modeling do you do? I really miss mine, but my hands/eyesight are too far gone to do them anymore with any degree of craftsmanship.

GM

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hi GM! Right now I've a couple ship projects going on. An aircraft carrier & great lakes ore carrier. (the ore carrier model is 8 feet long!) Back to topic....My speakers are placed in this little "nook" that used to be the dinning area. That throw rug you see leads into the kitchen. That wall my system is on is about 12 feet....then beyond the throw rug to the left the room widens to 14 feet. Opposite wall is 22 feet away. TINY! But not too bad as some apartments go!

[scott fitlin]

Your 19,s look really nice. Nice reciever, too. Bet it sounds sweet!