Altec 603

[voice of the theater]

VINTAGE Pair Altec Lansing 603-B Speakers 1951 15" Dia-Cone Great Condition! | eBay

Haven't seen a pair of these in a while -- I would think they're probably pretty rare (in good condition)...... Anyone ever heard a pair of these? Judging from the specs and graph in this link (below), it's no 604. I see it's a diacone, what's the difference between that and a duplex?

http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...1949/page4.jpg

A lot better price than this one:

Altec Lansing 603B 15" Dia-Cone RARE! Speaker 8 ohm 25W | eBay

[Altec Best]

Nice cabs ! But $1500 opening bid,crazy never get that !

[cradeldorf]

$1500 a pair....IDK he might see it. : /
Although I do see that almost every screw in the back panel has blown out where they screw into the cleats.

[bowtie427ss]

$1500 a pair....IDK he might see it.

Maybe close, the cabinets are where the money will be. In better economic climates i've seen them bring 1K empty. However, i have my doubts about them going that high. IMO&E, the 603 is one of the few Altecs that's better off forgotten than remembered.

[voice of the theater]

Maybe close, the cabinets are where the money will be. In better economic climates i've seen them bring 1K empty. However, i have my doubts about them going that high. IMO&E, the 603 is one of the few Altecs that's better off forgotten than remembered.

Yeah, I agree--it's nowhere near as good as the 604--probably only worth any money as a collectable (and for the cabs)......

[gearfreak]

Love the style and seeming practicality of those cabs. Missed (priced) out on the big ebay sell off in central PA last year.
M600's are not bad to look at, but I likes me a removable back!

[voice of the theater]

I know it's a lot different than a 604 ("multicell dia-cone", not duplex), but do these speakers use crossovers? I didn't see them in the photos and there's no mention of them in the description. From this link (below), I see there is a horn -- do they send bass into the horn (which would surprise me) or is there a crossover (or is the signal "split" some other way)?

http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...1949/page4.jpg

[cradeldorf]

I know it's a lot different than a 604 ("multicell dia-cone", not duplex), but do these speakers use crossovers? I didn't see them in the photos and there's no mention of them in the description. From this link (below), I see there is a horn -- do they send bass into the horn (which would surprise me) or is there a crossover (or is the signal "split" some other way)?

http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...1949/page4.jpg

Maybe that horn is Altecs answer to the whizzer cone?

[Cal Weldon]

but do these speakers use crossovers?

No. Aluminum dome coupled to the driver coil for high end. The horn was there for dispersion only. No HF driver.

Maybe that horn is Altecs answer to the whizzer cone?

Sort of.

From what I can gather not hearing them, is that they were not Altec's best effort. Poor man's 604.

[unreceivedogma]

Since I am new here, hello all!

35 years ago, I traded a pair of Warfdale bookshelf speakers for a pair of floor-standing speakers with a friend of a friend because they were too big to fit in his apartment, and since I had a 1900 sq ft loft, I had a lot of room.

The cabinets seemed like they were made in someone's basement tool shop. I had no idea what was inside, but I could see that the drivers were 15 inches, and I needed something big for my listening area. I opened the backs and found an Altec 604C in one, and an Altec 603B in the other.

My guess is that the 603 preceded the 604 and that this guy's dad used the 603B until stereo came along, then bought a 604C and never bothered to upgrade the other. I used them this way myself for 3 or 4 years. They worked OK together except that the 604C was slightly brighter, which I could compensate for with my Dyna PAS that had separate bass/treble controls for each speaker.

I still have the 603B. It has no crossover. It is for sale.