New Altec owner here.. Looking forward to joining in

[orangedude71]

Hi all, recently purchased a set of 60's a7 magnificent clones. Actually haven't seen them yet. Bought them while on a business trip and waiting to get home and see them. Apparently they have not been used for some time.. Any recommendations for starting them up the first time to avoid any magic smoke release?

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heres what they look like apparently.

[BillWojo]

Welcome to the forum orangedude, your in the right place for all things Altec.
I like those Magnificents, I bet they will sound really good. What are you driving them with? Tell us more about your system.
I'm guess that if they were working when taken out of service they should be good to go. The only thing that might need attention is the L-Pad, sometimes they need a cleaning with electrical cleaner and a little lube.
So are they for your man cave or are they going into the living room? One thing about Altec's, they are not small.
Keep us posted.

BillWojo

[orangedude71]

Welcome to the forum orangedude, your in the right place for all things Altec.
I like those Magnificents, I bet they will sound really good. What are you driving them with? Tell us more about your system.
I'm guess that if they were working when taken out of service they should be good to go. The only thing that might need attention is the L-Pad, sometimes they need a cleaning with electrical cleaner and a little lube.
So are they for your man cave or are they going into the living room? One thing about Altec's, they are not small.
Keep us posted.

BillWojo

Opera consonance, KT66 25wpc tube amp. Integrated Amplifier Opera Audio Consonance 6.6 [English] These are heading to the living room. if the wife veto's then they move the den.. but the living room is the better room and where all my current audio sits. Maybe she won't notice the change :-) .. The finish in the photos makes these look very living room friendly. Apparently rosewood ply and I do have grills for them as well.

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Nice set of speakers. Never heard of speakers blowing the first time that they started up (plenty of tube amp - have that potential however). Connect them up, turn your amp/receiver to the minimum and slowly bring them up.

Couldn't hurt to look that the basic circuitry of the speakers however.

Enjoy them and welcome to the Altec team.

Matt

I do plan on opening the back to figure out exactly what i have before powering them up. Ive deduced thats a 500G crossover if my google image search skills are correct and the horn is apparently a 511b but not sure what any of the drivers are.. One more week to go til i get home.. so I'm doing all the reading i can find.. Oh.. i paid 500 for the pair for what its worth.. yes.. i think i stole them

[GM]

Ive deduced thats a 500G crossover

Cool! This is a goody with autoformer and impedance compensation originally designed for the big 'A' series theater horns. Being tar filled [or epoxy if late ones], not fun to replace caps........... That said, potted components last a lot longer, so probably don't need replacing plus if PCB filled PIO caps you'll be hard pressed to find better sounding ones.

Re cloth grills, must ideally be stretched 'tight as a drum' and braced in larger sizes, so consider using a metal grid such as wood framed fencing covered with [very] open cell foam found at pond supply emporiums.

GM

[mattvandyke]

Nice set of speakers. Never heard of speakers blowing the first time that they started up (plenty of tube amp - have that potential however). Connect them up, turn your amp/receiver to the minimum and slowly bring them up.

Couldn't hurt to look that the basic circuitry of the speakers however.

Enjoy them and welcome to the Altec team.

Matt

[Phil-G]

Hi, Orangedude71
Wow, I had no idea we had that many members called orangedude. JK
That looks like an awesome finish. Has anyone replaced the caps? Nice if they were, but if the drivers are good they can only sound better. I'm not experienced enough on these to be giving out advice. All I can say is start out with the volume down. Haha
Welcome to the board.

[Elitopus1]

Welcome to the board. Sounds like you got a killer deal on those Altecs. I am also curious what they are loaded with. Post up some pics of the drivers when you get the backs off.

[orangedude71]

Hi, Orangedude71
Wow, I had no idea we had that many members called orangedude. JK
That looks like an awesome finish. Has anyone replaced the caps? Nice if they were, but if the drivers are good they can only sound better. I'm not experienced enough on these to be giving out advice. All I can say is start out with the volume down. Haha
Welcome to the board.

Buying from widow of original owner. Pretty sure not powered up for over 10 years so probably the caps are original. Oh and the other 70 orangedudes are all scum. :-)


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[xinu]

Welcome aboard! That truly is a magnificent set of ALTECs and looks like a great deal.

I hope you post about your experiences and listening impressions.

Wasn't too long ago since I joined this board and have learned lots from the members here.

Enjoy,

Greg

[bowtie427ss]

Beautiful!

That rosewood is starving, feed it some oil and watch the contrast and depth come to life.