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The speaker you describe may be the Magnifcent. A pair cropped up in the San Francisco Bay Area about a year ago and the new owner is very pleased with them. I listened to a speaker that was basically the same for a couple of years. I enjoyed the classic dynamic high-presence Altec sound that they gave, although I was never deluded into thinking it was really accurate reproduction tonally. I used them with a variety of amps, but I liked them best with classic tube equipment like the McIntosh C20 preamp and the Citation II, both of which I still have. The speakers are long gone. Looking back on it the most amazing thing was that my wife tolerated these speakers in a house that had a total of about 1100 square feet of living space. We also had two kids, a dog, three cats, a minilop and a tank of fish. It was a lot of fun.
David
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Has anyone listened to or owned a pair of A-7 500 in walnut with carved wooden grills made in 1966? My dad has a pair of them and they have never been out of the listening room. I basically grew up listening to these babies and they are really nice. I have never seen these speakers anywhere else (sure there are lot's of utility models still out there).
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Yes. I'm certain what your are describing are The Magnificents. I've had a pair in my living room since August of 1980. I believe they were produced until 1972. They are are the finest two pieces of furniture I have.
Working at the Anaheim plant, a pair of empty cabinets that had never been loaded found their way to me. The backboards were cut for what were the "new" crossovers (Model 19 style). I loaded them with a pair of 515-8LF's, 288-8G/511E's, and a couple of N501-8B networks. that I had lying around.
If yours are original, I would quess they are the 416/802 combo with 511 horns. Very nice, indeed.
Dave Sauro
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Hi, DSauro,
Some of us were discussing the 511 variations on a recent thread, but were largely at a loss regarding info on the 511E (and "A" as well). Could you please share some insight on these poorly-documented horns? Many of us have never seen or heard them, and the limited online info is contradictory at best.
Thanks
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I believe they are the Magnificant. My dad got them straight from CA in 1966. I was a mere 8 years old when they arrived. They have the low freq horn, 500hz. He still has all the paper work, bill of sale, ads, you name it. There is not even 1 scratch on them and I am told they are mine when he passes. We spent hours together listing to records and reel tapes when I was growing up. I am sure he's probably never had more than 5 watts pumping them at anytime. Still plenty loud with that. I would love to hear about any stories folks have on these. I have a home recording studio now and have a pair of JBL Century L 100A and some really old KLH with 12". I drive them both in parallel and they sound pretty good together. Still to me, nothing sounds quite like the ALs.
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Bfish,
Actually, the E came painted the same gray that all the larger horns are. i.e 1505's 1003's etc etc, on and on. They came tarred with the same coating as the others, also. The driver mount is a tad thicker and is drilled for the larger 288, 290 & 291 (3 holes). Never have tried to drill a pair for the smaller driver. Would probably cure the ringing experienced with 511B's & 811's.
As for the 511A, I think I'm experiencing long term memory loss. Those go way back. Probably green with very little (if any) design difference from the B's.
Dave Sauro
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Ya, I have a pair of those as my front two channels in a 7:1 surround system. I added a pair of fostex super tweeters to them to have some highs. The Altecs don't seem to have much really high or really low. 100 to 10,000 sounds sweet though.
Jay
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There have , recently, been a few pair of these on e-bay. None of them referred to as "Magnificents" however.
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Hi,
Saw this photo long time ago and saved it. I do believe it's the magnificent.
http://www.geocities.com/rafaleconve...?1141842794810
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