A5s on eBay again

**Altec Best** · October 8th, 2011, 02:55 PM

That is a good deal !

**cradeldorf** · October 8th, 2011, 03:47 PM

Those Horn drivers look huge, I thought they were all the same size.

**Panomaniac** · October 8th, 2011, 05:18 PM

You should see the 290s that Gary sent me. Real monsters!

**Old Guy** · October 8th, 2011, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

You should see the 290s that Gary sent me. Real monsters!

Actually the 290 is the same size, but has a big sheet metal can for a transformer on the back.Take off the can and there is an aluminum cover for the fram.

Those are normal drivers on the eBay horns, guessing 288B or C.

DUH! Just noticed says 288B in auction.

**Panomaniac** · October 8th, 2011, 07:28 PM

Yes, the transformer cover is empty, but it sure looks impressive. When visitors stop by I always put a 290 in their hands and say "This is my tweeter."

**Old Guy** · October 8th, 2011, 08:02 PM

ROTFL

Altec had a LOT of them when Vietnam ended. They were used in HUGE arrays hung from copters. You could understand what was being said ten miles away! They were used for propaganda and such. I have pics in one of my storage bins of them being assembled, along with millions of pieces assorted other 70's crap. Finding them is a daunting task though. I'm a disorganized packrat.

Anyway I bought 24 290E's for a sytem I built, and probably sold another 300+ to other sound companies. They won every time in an A/B against 2480's. The macho look did not hurt, for sure.

Many sound companies were not even aware of the 290. Altec really thought since they owned theater installs at the time, they didn't need to market much to pros.

It was really hard for a lot of dealers to get Altec. They were trying to protect their contractors.

JBL was much more available and better advertised.

**Altec Best** · October 9th, 2011, 02:13 AM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

When visitors stop by I always put a 290 in their hands and say "This is my tweeter."

You know I do the same thing with my 30 lb 299's that are now mounted to my Tar-Filled 1005's and say these are my 100 LBs. tweeters !!

**gvasale** · October 9th, 2011, 08:25 AM

Something tells me it was University Sound who made the system used in Viet Nam. IRC, 16 drivers on a single horn. Would take a long time for me to find the magazine...