My big ten inch ---ALTEC 756B

[Altec Best]

Awesome Joe ! Great thread ! Thanks again for the encouragement and kindness ! I will be following this with great interest.. There is a Melodist on eBay right now unmolested with the original 756B + 3000 tweet and network. (Sale price should be in the $3000 range).

Vintage "Very Rare" Altec Melodist 700A (756B + 3000a) Speaker Cabinet | eBay

I also agree on the brotherhood... And I have had the pleasure of doing business with Bowtie as well...(Good Peoples) and friend. He also packs his stuff to be bulletproof !

Looking forward to see how this progresses... I always loved the sound of those early 700 series drivers 755,756B,728. I never had the pleasure of hearing the 728 though,but if the 755 and 756B are any indication,(drooling) .. The 728 I think is almost a non-existent driver these days..If there are any left they are few and far between (Very,Very,Rare)....

If I can help out Geekstar,let me know ! And Thanks for your understanding !

[Geekstar]

Well, I am probably not helping the price situation by talking these things up but word is out and Altec madness is already global. I see more rare early Altec in Korea than I ever saw here. Money is gravity for vintage audio gear.

Now that the Japanese population is aging and kids are going to various digital delivery systems, Korean and Chinese buyers scour Japan for good vintage the way the Japanese used to scout in America.

Back in the 80s, Altec users were few and nothing could be more unfashionable than Altec. Then as now, most Altec guys couldn't care less about "high end audio" and many probably didn't even know what it was. I remember after publishing an article on Altec, a drunk old engineer called me up and cursed me out...he cried that I was "putting audio back 15 years." I told him that I was actually shooting for 40 or 50 years!

Maybe he has Model 19s now, the old coot.

Personally, out of everything I have heard, nothing gets into my head like these 40s Western Electric designed cones. Walt Bender's son Early was recently quoted in an Art Dudley article on vintage speakers that the 755A will let you hear things you don't hear on other speakers. I agree.

Last night I was listening to some old Sun Ra recordings with rhythmic hand clapping. I felt like I could almost see big hands clapping and it sounded like skin on skin in a very eerie and realistic way. Psychedelic!

These drivers are also very revealing about recordings and it is easy to hear problems in the mix. I played a late 40s/early 50s compilation of Johnny Otis Orchestra cuts, music contemporary with the speakers, that were dubbed from 78s. Every song sounded totally different and I could really hear the quality and condition of the original shellac and the filtering employed to clean them up.

Yeah, we always hear about detail and transparency in modern speakers, but I have heard many many modern speakers and don't hear anything that can do what the WE cones do. Tizz and brightness ain't resolution.

I will also note that these speakers are really picky about electronics. Use a bad amp and you will die. Use the "right" amp and they will be open, punchy, crisp, and colorful. My Korean bud says that the 755A is like a 12 cylinder car, a super hot rod. Must be taken seriously. Can't just hook up anything.

Sure there is a lot of rarity/collector appeal factored into the pricing on these things, but if you shop for modern high-end speakers, there is a lot of very unimpressive junk out there for $3000 or $6000 or any price, for that matter. My main complaint is that I can't afford the stuff anymore and I sold off many units when they were more accessible and more reasonably priced, now unreplaceable.

But if I had stupid cash and wanted a speaker that I could really be happy with, I'd pay the ticket.

As it is, I'll just sit back and let a second 755A find me. I will have a pair again someday. In the meantime, I'll listen to the 756Bs.

Still figuring these ten-inchers out. So far, I am fascinated to hear a new-to-me member of the 700 series clan. Brings back memories of those days of innocence and wonder when I discovered this stuff for the first time.

That in itself is worth the expense and effort.