Altec Large Format Horns

[Charles Chance]

I?m in a dilemma that some of you, more knowledgeable than me, may be able to help me with. Santa was kind enough to leave me with 2 pristine, but dusty, 311-90 horns. She found them with a local sound contractor who really didn?t want them and she only paid $25 apiece for them (seems one man's trash is truly another man's treasure). My Santa is also a wheeler-dealer. My dilemma is that I have 288-16G?s on 1005 horns on A7 cabinets. I haven?t put the 311-90?s in service yet. I?m not sure my old ears would hear any difference between 311-90?s and 1005?s anyway, so the question may be academic.
1) Should I replace the 1005?s with the 311-90?s?
2) Are the 311-90?s considered sonically better that the 1005?s?
3) I?ve notice the 311-90?s were produced some of the same years that the 1005?s were. What were the typical applications of each one?

Any response from you Altec vets would be appreciated.

[Todd W. White]

If it were me, I'd put one of the 311's in place and try a blind listening test, being as non-biased as possible.

You will probably like the way both of them sound, as both were EXCELLENT horns.

However - I THINK that I would lean toward the 311's. . .

Let me know how it turns out. . .

. . .$25.00 each WHAT A DEAL!!!!

[selmerdave]

Charles didn't you make a nearly identical post a couple months ago? Didn't you try the 311's then, or did you sell them and then get another pair and wonder again if they are better or not? I guess every couple of months you get a rediculous deal on a very desireable set of Altec horns.

Dave

[Charles Chance]

Selmerdave,
You?re quite right. I did post a similar question back in October. However, those were 311-60?s rather than 311-90?s. I put them on eBay (same time Steve
Burger had his pair on there). Unfortunately neither pair sold. I am somewhat handicapped and it?s not easy for me to swap horns/drivers due to their weight, re-drilling the hornsled, etc. That?s why I continuing asking questions. Maybe I mistook the purpose of this message board.

Obviously my post irritated you and may have irritated others. For that I apologize. I won?t bother you again and I?ll sit down and shut up.

[Todd W. White]

Charles,

PLEASE don't be offended - I am sure that there was NO intent to offend, and I don't believe he was irritated!

You are correct about the purpose of this board - to dicuss and share insights and advice on how to best use vintage Altec products - and, whatever you do, DON'T stop asking questions!!! They help keep ALL of our faculties well-honed!

[selmerdave]

Charles,

Please accept my apologies if my post came across the wrong way. I was a little confused as to how the same situation would come up twice, but now it's easy to understand. This board is about sharing information so by all means continue to ask questions.

Dave

[Charles Chance]

Dave,
There's a sound contractor here that occasionally replaces old "antiquated" Altec equipment with more modern equipment. He considers Altec junk since it's not made anymore and somewhat unsupportable by him. Also, with today's mindset, if a speaker can't handle 400+ watts, it's junk. He has hauled some Altec off to the scrap metal re-cycler. Now that I know what's happening, I'm trying to stay in touch and buy whatever he deems junk. Thus the multiple purchases and posts.

Thank-you for your kind reply.

[thevott]

Its astounding how a difference in perspective can drastically alter the perceived value of an item. I recall a single, fully functional Model Nineteen on Ebay once that was pulled from a dumpster! I wonder how many tar fill-ed horns sit in landfills the world over?

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ December 30, 2003 04:31 PM: Message edited by: Todd W. White ]</font>

[dhook17322]

Some of that is based on how much money he can make on new equipment rather than rejuvenate old equipment that can still serve well. Shouldn't complain though, puts a lot of great old equipment on the market usually affordable (except the huge multicellular horns).

[kevin grier]

Hi Charles: are you at all interested in selling the 3-6011 horns you have? I'm interested in a pair of them along with an adaptor so I can use a small format driver on them.

best Kevin Grier