are Altec S.S. amps anygood?

**juniper** · January 12th, 2012, 11:11 AM

Just curious if anyone has any opinions on Altec solid state amps. I see that there are 17 amps/mixers on ebay for a very small price. The build quality of the amps I have seen from pictures seems to be very good. Are these just PA type amps or for critical playback. Thanks

**just me now** · January 12th, 2012, 11:31 AM

i've read on DIY that some of the altec amps, with very minor modification, are stellar performers...
seems bypass caps are added to the input caps and feedback loop...

Originally Posted by on DIYaudio

With the addition of 0.1?F film bypass caps to the input coupling cap and the cap in the feedback loop to ground, the Altec 9440A sounds better than 99.9% of all amplifiers.

I don't have experience with them, but would like to at some point in the future...

**Old Guy** · January 12th, 2012, 11:36 AM

"any" is a loaded word. They are certainly not bad.

As noted slight mods can often make them better. They are much better made than 90% of what passes for Hi-Fi.

So very usable, can be made better.

Some speakers that present weird loads will sound better on an amp with an output transformer.

As I'm fond of saying, any system is only as good as it's weakest part.

**Altec Best** · January 12th, 2012, 03:01 PM

Great points OG ! You can have a fabulous system,speakers,top of the line Krell,Mac's,speakers,costing tons of money and just 1 cheap component that the signal passes through and that's as good as it will get ! Absolutely !

And a lot of those Altec S.S. you can get for a song.Unlike the tube amps.I seen one listing one time 3 of those amps I think 9444 for $100, IIRC the model #. It was awhile ago now.But they are still very reasonably priced IMO.

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · January 12th, 2012, 05:09 PM

The 9444A and 9440 are well thought of. The 9440 typically commands high prices on the used market, the 9444A is much more reasonable.

The 1590, 94, and 93 are okay, with some caveats. The 90 isn't as well suited to HiFi as the other two, I've been told. It's a 200 watt mono amp...... actually they're all mono. The A versions are "positve ground" (at least the 1594A is)...... which isn't something I understand since they're not automotive amps. The A's are a hard sell.

1590A, B, C 200 watts
1594A, B, C 100 watts
1593A, B, C 50 watts

I've actually got a pair of 1594A's and I think they sound fine, but I'm no critical listener, either. I used to have a 1590A, but after trying several times to sell it, or even give it away, I finally gave it to Habitat for Humanity, and never saw it again..... I'm guessing it's either still in their warehouse, or they scrapped it.

**SOOTSHE** · January 12th, 2012, 06:16 PM

Juniper,

I have some vintage Altec gear that I posted a while back, that you are welcome to if you have a use for it. There are some amps amongst it, although they may not be complete. If you're interested, I'll dig up the thread with the photos in it & post back here.

Don't want anything for them, just the freight cost.

Cheers,
John