Nice review of the A7

[cclark65]

I ran across this while searching the net, thought I would share it with everybody.

http://www.hedmag.com/Product-Review...-a-Classic.asp

[thevott]

Oh, what a touching review. Sparkomatic must revel in their rich heritage

[LICORNE]

UNFORTUNATELY ITS BETTER THAN NOTHING. AT LEAST THEY ARE TRYING HARD TO GET ALTEC LANSING BACK ON THE TRACK. PERHAPS ONE DAY WE WILL SEE THE CINEMA PRODUCTS AND I HOPE THEY WILL DIVERSIFY INTO LINE ARRAY SYSTEMS. WITH ALTEC LANSING TECNOLOGY IT WOULD BE THE BEST SYSTEM FOR TOUR CONCERTS.

[dhook17322]

I wish that were really true, but no commitment like that will come from the company that bought the name but not the herritage, the people or the commitment to a product line that is history itself. From what has been posted in the past here, Spark-o-Lansing bought the name and had to produce some product or lose it in some fashion - Todd knows the exact scenario.
If you want an exercise in futillity, call their sales staff and ask about why they stopped manufacturing all the great theater speakers and such. You will quickly get a real taste of the "rich commitment to the Altec herritage"! Sorry, but I get pretty ticked off when superficial people lie to you and think nothing of it. Last time I called, the sales guy told me their professional division burned down and they didn't bother to rebuild. That's the insult heaped on the sad truth.
The new A-7's appear to be a fine version as they are partly a product of GPA. GPA and Iconic are what's left of the real Altec. I would bet that few people would buy the new A-7's at $8K per pair when you can get them off ebay for a grand or so. Or you can build a set even cheaper that are physically and acoustically superior to the origninal (with the Jim Dickenson upgrades) and with higher end drivers that the originals. I wouldn't be surprised to learn they never intended to manufacture them and set the price accordingly.
I use to build A-7's for rock bands and their performance was stunning compared to most of what was around at the time. And those were done on a budget without the expertise that exists here and the access to the better components that are readily available now.
Sorry for the soapbox, but while it was a good article, it kind of twangs some nerves to hear the gushing over a company that is Altec in name only.

[boltupright]

Here here!

[scott fitlin]

Not only is Dave absolutely correct, but I have called them from time to time about the " Legacy " products A7 speaker system, and I just love it when the person answers Altec Lansing, and I ask about the A7 speakers, and the person has NO idea what speaker Im talking about!

[Russellc]

I understand about the sparkomatic thing, but it is nice to see a review of what is basically the same speaker. Especially how well this aged technology seems to have passed the test of time. I myself listen to A7s and would love to see them in theaters again! As to the high price point and being able to actually purchase them cheaper on ebay, Have you seen the prices JBL wants? While $4k sounds ridiculous, compare wages from the altec years to wages today. How much would a woodworker charge to build a set of A7s today? I am truely thankful for resources like GPA and Iconic. I understand that GPA made the drivers for the sparkomatic versions, so at least the sound quality should be good! Iconic I believe remanufactures the model 19 cabinet, is working on a super 19 crossover etc, does anyone have a price they would charge for a completed model 19 redo? Are they ( Iconic) planning on redoing the A7? Also, I realized that Bill H at GPA was from the original altec factory, I did not realize that Iconic also had ex altec people as well. Is this correct? What a great resource! My hat is off to you GPA & Iconic. It sure is nice to know where I can get recones,repairs,parts,advice etc. And of course, this forum as well.

Cheers, Russellc

[MikeInNH]

What I didn't like about the review was how Sparkomatic was being portraid as the Origional Altec Lansing.

"Since the demise of the original A7, Altec Lansing has shifted its attention to computer speakers, but the culture of meticulous engineering and craftsmanship that created the A7 survives. "

NOT True....The Real Altec was still around when Sparkomatic was making computer speakers. That sentence makes it seems like Altec stopped making Professional speakers and shifted to making computer speakers. Anyone who isn't familiar with the true story will think it's the same company.

[MikeInNH]

should have gone through spell checker first...


it's protrayed...not portraid.