Interesting add on Dallas CL. Worth this kind of money???

[cls500]

For sale is a very rare pair of ALTEC 820C corner horn speakers. The 820C was ALTEC top of the line flagship home speaker in the 1950s. Cabinets are not OEM, but were built from ALTEC plans. Each cabinet has an 804A 16 ohm driver with a 511B horn 2- 803B 16 ohm 15 in woofers. With an N-500D crossover. This is some what like a VOTT, but with 2 -15in woofers. Speakers are VERY LARGE and HEAVY. . .each speaker is 54in h x 50in w and 32 in d. With the weight each of around 250-270lbs. Yes the pair sound great. . .. . ..You do not see this model too often. In 1950s there was no stereo. . .it was mono. . .so finding a pair is rare. . ...One grill has a 6-7in tear a long the wood trim, as can be seen in the photos. . .Own a piece of ALTEC HISTORY
$3,000. OBO

[Altec Best]

Where is the link ? I got it...

http://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/ele/2890263690.html

They definitely would have been worth that especially if the HF horns were the H808's as in the 820A.This one looks like a 1953 820C as listed (Component Wise).The grills are all wrong on these,could be homebrew.If they are ? Then they aren't worth it. Here's a nice link with lots of old Speaker pics.Just happens to have a real 820C in there.

http://soundslikefunaudio.com/?p=55

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

Same setup as in the thread OldGuy started. Both the Ebay and Craigslist ad say they're not OEM cabinets, point blank...... no guessing.

ALTEC 820C CORNER HORN SPEAKERS 1 PAIR IN CUSTOM CABINETS EARLY 1960s VOTT | eBay

[bowtie427ss]

If they are ? Then they aren't worth it.

Is this a blanket suggestion that homebuilt/DIY cabinets aren't worth as much as factory? If so, it is VERY incorrect.

Well executed cabinets(those are not) would easily be worth the asking price WITHOUT internal components. Remember, empty original Barcelona cabinets can fetch 1500+.

As for the speakers in the OP, i agree that they're not worth the asking price. But that has less to do with the cabinets and more to do with a heinz 57 variety of internal components, several of which shouldn't be found in anything intended to be a facsimile of an 820.

But, the cabinets are nothing to write home about either. Absolutely agree with AB about the grills. Appearance is everything at first glance, and the devil's in the details. Of course, these just get worse as we look inside. IMO&E, those cabinets are worth less than the cost of the lumber in them at this point.

EDIT: just looked at the pics of these in the ebay listing that OG posted. The cabinets are not as bad as i first thought, some of what i first assumed was particle board(CL pics suck) is actually deteriorating foam rubber damping. These are still a ways off from being "faithful", and IMO, their value still suffers from that. But, all things considered they may be getting close to the asking in a retail value sense. It wouldn't hurt if they had period correct 802's either.

If they're to remain faithful to originals and be called Altec 820's, then 511's don't belong in there, N500's don't belong in there, and in no case does an 804 really belong on a 511.

Is there anybody left here who remembers Reed Hinton's 820 build? ................. his 817 build? They were/are fabulous!

[Altec Best]

Is this a blanket suggestion that homebuilt/DIY cabinets aren't worth as much as factory? If so, it is VERY incorrect.

Well executed cabinets(those are not) would easily be worth the asking price WITHOUT internal components. Remember, empty original Barcelona cabinets can fetch 1500+.

As for the speakers in the OP, i agree that they're not worth the asking price. But that has less to do with the cabinets and more to do with a heinz 57 variety of internal components, several of which shouldn't be found in anything intended to be a facsimile of an 820.

But, the cabinets are nothing to write home about either. Absolutely agree with AB about the grills. Appearance is everything at first glance, and the devil's in the details. Of course, these just get worse as we look inside. IMO&E, those cabinets are worth less than the cost of the lumber in them at this point.

EDIT: just looked at the pics of these in the ebay listing that OG posted. The cabinets are not as bad as i first thought, some of what i first assumed was particle board(CL pics suck) is actually deteriorating foam rubber damping. These are still a ways off from being "faithful", and IMO, their value still suffers from that. But, all things considered they may be getting close to the asking in a retail value sense. It wouldn't hurt if they had period correct 802's either.

If they're to remain faithful to originals and be called Altec 820's, then 511's don't belong in there, N500's don't belong in there, and in no case does an 804 really belong on a 511.

Is there anybody left here who remembers Reed Hinton's 820 build? ................. his 817 build? They were/are fabulous!

Bowtie are you talking about the exception or the rule (Reed Hinton). Will you pay $3000 for these ? I'm not talking about all DIY ! And how you come up with this assessment is beyond me.Were did I say ALL HOMEBREW. I'm talking about this particular pair ! Look how the woofers are mounted to the baffle.The baffle board overhangs the edges of the horn.Plus there is no bracing from front to back.

Heck I have $2000 in my own Homebrew project ! Do I think they are worth it ?Absolutely ! But I won't be posting them on eBay stating Get your piece of Altec History here either.That is basically were my argument lies.


ABG - Ad also says OWN A PIECE OF ALTEC HISTORY.. Clearly deceptive IMO.The only thing he has there are Altec Components. That is an eBay Dispute waiting to happen IMHO.

[bowtie427ss]

AB, it was the inference of what you didn't say, that is "if they were factory, they would be worth it" ......... all else being equal. You know i like to pick nits. Please don't take it personally. I agree with your assessment after all, and i DIDN'T quote you for the purpose of offending you.

Look how the woofers are mounted to the baffle.The baffle board overhangs the edges of the horn.Plus there is no bracing from front to back.

Not to argue AB, but they look pretty correct to me. I'm not sure of the front to back bracing you're referring to. The baffle has to overhang the horn throat edges as it's 16 inches wide and the horn throat is only a ~10 inch wide opening. Look at the other pics you posted, the black paint makes it difficult to see the "overhang" but it's there.

This is where DIY cabs can be a real crapshoot, and i can't really blame anyone for undervaluing them. They cast a lot of doubts and arouse a lot of suspicions.

The link that OG posted has more and better pics. The overall cabinet construction doesn't look so bad, the grills are a mess and IMO might better be done over from scratch. I think a fella could take his time on a new pair of grills and end up with a pretty faithful looking end result.

Would i pay 3K? Heck no! you're spot on there, and you know it. But, the real killer for me is the incorrect and broken components. If i were hell bent on a pair of 820's, i'd have to look at those much closer, correcting the flaws on those might be a lot cheaper in the long run compared to a scratch build.

[Altec Best]

I know like I said I guess the real issue for me was "Own a piece of Altec History". To me they have to be all original to be a piece of history. You know I almost posted "Argumentative" No ! "Nit Picking" Yes ! In full Crochet Mode..


FWIW It is really hard to get a good look at some of these speakers.The photos leave a little to be desired. Mistakes can be made quite easily.