Santiago's sound compaired to Valencia

[cbb]

I have a good handle on the Valencia's and would like to know how the Santiago's deviate top to bottom and as far as sound staging/imaging differences.
Read a bit that the bass response may be different. Anyone had the opportunity to hear them back to back? Do they have the same basic character?

Thank you.

[robertbartsch]

I beleive the Santiago has a 411 woofer and the Velecia has a 416 woofer.

The 411 will play a tad lower - is housed in a seled box but it is not nearly as efficent. Frankly, I remember well that, in the day, the 411 systems did not sell to the public well.
Some of this my have resulted in that a BIG home amp in those days was 60 WPC.

My preference would be a 416-based system for home use but that is just that - my preference.

[Old Guy]

Frankly, I remember well that, in the day, the 411 systems did not sell to the public well.
Some of this my have resulted in that a BIG home amp in those days was 60 WPC.

I've heard that statement a lot but nobody ever mentions it was more expensive, and generally more expensive items don't sell as well.

The 416 has a cleaner mid bass than the 411, the 411 goes lower.

IMHO the best of both worlds is a 414 or 416 based system with a sub...but your mileage may vary and all that Jazz.

[cbb]

Thank you for the input. Any comments on the midrange?
I know the woofer is asked to go up to 800hz so I am wondering how the substitution, vs. the Valencia's 416, of the 411 impacts the sound of the midband.
Also would anyone rate the dynamics to be about equal here?

[DSauro]

I believe it was stated recently that the Santiago, as well as the Grenada were fitted with the 413-8A woofer. Same Alnico magnet structure & cone assy, only with a 3" voice coil, not 4" as the 411? Could that difference make it a little more efficient to reach 800hz? As I recall, all the 411-8A systems crossed @500hz, except the dual 411-16A'ed 9848A (crossed @ 700hz).

[Mustang Marvin]

Remember there were two Valencias. The 846A and the 846B. The 846A was a sealed cabinet where the B was ported. The B had more bass. Both had 416's. Maybe it is the box you should be looking at and not the 416. IMHO...

[Art J.]

Thank you for the input. Any comments on the midrange?
I know the woofer is asked to go up to 800hz so I am wondering how the substitution, vs. the Valencia's 416, of the 411 impacts the sound of the midband.
Also would anyone rate the dynamics to be about equal here?

The result of matching a 'fast' horn driver with a massive 'slow' woofer is smear in
the midrange. I hear it with my 9846's and there is nothing I can do about it.
Its a default mechanical mismatch condition.

Why did Altec do this?

Well, the end result with my 9846's is that it has the characteristic sound of the typical
70"s sealed box home speakers of the time. Those who loved it called it the "warm" sound.
These same "warm" people did not like the other harsh Hi-efficiency types.

The Santiago, in a smaller box, and a higher crossover point will be a lot warmer than mine.
You might really like it. Have both.

BTW, Jazz sounds heavenly on mine. Would not recommend for Classical.

I have Spring Fever bad. Is it showing?

[theebadone]

As you can see here, most guys here run subs with their valencias or votts with the 416s. With the Santiagos you will not need a sub, the box is tuned to 19 hz. with the 411-8A and 26 hz with the 413-8A. Overall i think the santiago is one of the best well rounded speakers altec ever made, intended for home use. The 806 driver is aided by a attenuator/compensator to help bring forth the highs of the 806. So the santiagos posses nice bass, and decent highs.