New To The Family

[amandarae]

Hello,

I like to introduce myself as a new member here. I am an audio enthusiast and I am located in Southern California. Here's a pic of my first Altec (604-8G's in original 612C cabs).

I got the Altecs from a recording engineer and everything is original since he first bought it in 1974-1975 or thereabouts. My wife and I drove 1000 miles roundtrip to get them intact. She want to see the place (Napa), I want to get the speakers, so "two birds in one stone" kinda trip. It works for me!


As you can see, they have company in my listening room (Linkwitz Orion Plus). The photo was the first pic I took as soon as I brought them in in the room.



I do not have the "proper amps" yet but instead, I am using a Dynaco ST70. I have a 300B SET but it hums loudly with these speakers and I am now working on it to convert to a 2A3 type.

I am very glad to be part of this group who loves Altec speakers. I am a newbie here but I want to say that I read most, if not all, post on this site regarding the 604's and I learned so much from the contents that helped me decide to hunt for my first Altec speakers.

Later, as I know the speakers better, I might jump to building or buying a 620 cabs or go the Open Baffle route. I believe that until I heard this speakers on SET amps, I would not be able to decide where I should go. At the moment, the Dynaco ST 70 keeps me awake on the wee hours at night and I am very excited of the outcome I will get from trying different amps for the speakers.

I came from the electrostatic/SS camp, then the planar magnetic/SS camp, then briefly passed through vintage/push pull (Bozaks and Eico monos), single driver/SET (Fostex 167E on MLTL cabs and the 300B amp I mentioned). Before acquiring the Altecs, I have been very happy with the Orions (active XO, dipole) but I was intrigue by what I learned when I stumble upon this forum.

Thanks for reading my story! Here's another pic of my new babies with the grills on.



regards,

Abe

<font color="#FFFFFF"><font size="1">[ February 13, 2008 04:37 PM: Message edited by: amandarae ]</font></font>

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ February 13, 2008 05:09 PM: Message edited by: amandarae ]</font>

[rghinton]

Very cool. Welcome. I have owned Altec speakers since 1969. There is nothing that I have ever heard that sounds as good to me as my Altec speakers.

[selmerdave]

Welcome Abe,

Congrats on picking up the 604's, you should think about picking up a turntable for your system though

What is the one in the centre?

Out of curiosity how would you characterize the difference of sound between the Linkwitz speakers and the Altecs?

Happy listening,

Dave

[amandarae]

Thanks Dave and Reed!

What is the one in the centre?

Out of curiosity how would you characterize the difference of sound between the Linkwitz speakers and the Altecs?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The TT on the center is a Teres 255 with Rosewood plinth. Its been in my possesion since 2003-2004.

Its is very difficult to compare the Orions and the Altecs at this point. First off, I am new to Altecs I have to provide them with good amplification and better cabs first before I can truly do some personal assessment of how great they really are.

The Orions are the best I ever have from all the previous speakers I owned. Totally different concept than conventional speakers because it is a 4 way dipole that uses 12 channels, yep that is right, of amplification for the pair, with an active crossover. More info can be read at the Linkwitz site about them.

Again, thanks for the responses guys!

regards,

Abe

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ February 14, 2008 12:41 AM: Message edited by: amandarae ]</font>

[RonSSS]

Very cool Abe.

You are clearly "into" this hobby.
I dig the fact that you like tubes.
Personally. I think tubes and Altecs are a perfect match.

I'm not surprised that your 300B SET hum with the Altecs. These are VERY efficient! Are the amps home brew? If not, shame on the designer.

You can build SET amps that are very hum free, but it's not easy. Don't blame the 300B tube, it's more about the circuit, filament and B+ power supply.

If you had a quiet 300B amp, another thing the Altecs will reveal is the microphonics of the 300B. The grid structure is very long....and microphonic.

The amps on my Avatar are PP 300B, all transformer coupled, and are very hum free. Home brew BTW. Of course PP is easier to keep quiet. But I for sure hear the microphonics. Maybe that's part of the 300B charm? 2A3 or 6B4G or 6A3, 45's and VT52 etc don't have the same issue.

BTW....I've had A7's, 904-8A Duplexes, (Similar to a 604) Model 19's and Santana's. Still have the later 3.....the duplexes are the best.

Try yours on some stands, it makes a difference!

And Welcome!

Ron

[amandarae]

Hello Ron,

Thank you for the pointers! I will keep them in mind.

Gorgeous amp you have there. I wish I am capable of building one and hum free! In due time, perhaps. Thanks again!

Best regards,

Abe