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I came into one of these bad boys today (cabinet 821a). I'm a newb and this is my intro into audiophile stuff. My question: What do I do with it? Yes it sounds great (in MONO) but surely there should be something better than hooking it up to the left channel of my receiver and listening to all Phil Spector and Beach Boys albums...right? What do you guys do with just one big speaker cabinet.
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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Build another!Quote:
Originally posted by Nat M.:
...What do you guys do with just one big speaker cabinet...
Reed's project
Thanks for the link! I was thinking about this but the matching components are pretty expensive. I do have a fully outfitted woodworking shop. (listening...) Wow this thing sounds nice...The Beach Boys are my favorite band so it's kinda weird that I got one of these. If anyone cares this is a good story: Over the past few months I've been building a vinyl collection of Beach Boys albums. Brian Wilson only mixed in Mono partly because he only has one good ear and cannot hear in stereo. So 2 weeks ago I'm looking for a record player to play all these old LP's on and stumble into the Audiophile world on the Internet. I've just been reading the forums and stuff and then I see that everyone loves these old Altec speakers. Then I say to myself (last tuesday) "hey don't they have one of those things at the Salvation Army down the street?" They are only open on Saturdays. I prayed to every God on earth for 4 days that it would still be there. It was. It was $30. It's now mine. Everything seems to be all original and working great. I've listened to nothing but mono recordings for the past 4 months (Phil Spector back to Mono box set...insanely good!) so maybe there is such a thing as Karma.
Nice cabinet.Image from Steve Schell at Lansing Heritage forum.
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<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ November 19, 2007 11:24 PM: Message edited by: CONVERGENCE ]</font>
Great story, Nat!
Having one's kinda like a wish sandwich ain't it...
sweet deal, I love stories like this that have a happy ending. All too many of these old speakers end up in landfills http://www.hostboard.com/forums/
Hi Nat,
You have done very well! The Altec 820 systems were made from about 1951 to the mid or late '50s and were Altec's best home system at the time. They are sought after by collectors, especially overseas. They are among the few systems that are exported intact despite the cost of shipping the cabinets. Single examples have sold on ebay for $3,000. to $5,000. This is one system that is definitely worth more intact than parted out.
The 820A used the cast aluminum H-808 multicellular high frequency horn. The earliest 820C examples used the first version of the 811 horn, the H-811. This is a rare horn, and is identified by vertical vanes that curve outward in front. Later 820Cs used (I think) the more common 811A horn. Your speaker seems to have some form of 811 lurking behind the grille cloth, though I can't tell which type.
As the 820s predated the stereo era they were sold as singles originally. Some were later combined in pairs, and a pair of 820Cs in the home of an ex Altec employee provided my first taste of the Altec sound.
As you continue to listen to this excellent speaker with its lifelike dynamics and clarity of sound, lesser speakers will no longer sound pleasing. Welcome to the audiophile ranks!
Thanks Steve. I can't believe how much difference speakers make to the overall sound. My ****** CD player hooked up to a 90's model Onkyo receiver already has my music sounding 1000 times better than on my Bose. Vocals are much more clear and separated and drums (snares in particular) really jump out at me. I can't wait to get a good turntable. I guess my next question is: would it be worthy to tie together the left and right speaker wires so the entire signal passes through?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Please pardon my opinion, but vintage Altecs deserve better than to ever be compared to ANYTHING bearing the bose name. Bose is a corporation that has reached it's status thru mass marketing originality, and specifications that are total bull-c-r-a-p.Quote:
.....already has my music sounding 1000 times better than on my Bose
Here's a lengthy but enlightening read:
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
Historicaly, they did make a few truly good products, the vintage 501 speakers were not half bad, and the 800 industrial was a very compact yet formidable PA speaker, the 1800 pro and 1801 home power amps were really fantastic units and still receive high regard from those familiar with them.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This will likely release the magic smoke from your Onkyo, once the magic smoke escapes, the Onkyo will no longer work........... if you get my drift.Quote:
would it be worthy to tie together the left and right speaker wires so the entire signal passes through?
My advice would be to find a worthy loving USA home for the 820, and get yourself a PAIR of fully restored altecs from a later generation, and put the other half of the sale proceeds in the bank.
Just my .02 y'all understand................
we've yet to have follow up from reed on how his 820's sound after a few months of listening.. tho ive no doubt whatsover, they sound fantastic! if it were me, i would consider myself a thousand dollars ahead, and build a replica of the existing cabinet. for half the cost of a pair of 820's you could have a set! pure audio heaven. in the mean time continue listening to mono recordings and live better than most.
I would recommend that you keep it. It is like finding a 356 Porsche in some old garage and getting it cheap. Later in life you will kick yourself for getting rid of it. Most receivers have a mono mode which sums the signals. I have about come to the conclusion that for me stereo is overrated. Most of my old Jazz records sound better in mono than stereo.
Jim N
I agree about the mono. I have been preaching mono long before being "stuck" with mono, it's kinda ironic. I am however leaning towards building another one, I have the tools, the cabinet plan, so why not. The guy at my local hi-fi store is encouraging me to sell on the basis that my listening room is too small. (25'x15') Perhaps someone here (Steve?) can help me identify my speaker system from this photo.
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oh yeah, from the tag on the back the numbers read 4684. date marked is 12/28/51.
Since it looks like yours did not come with the rare 808 horn but with what looks like an 811 with and 802 driver your only problem is in matching the 15" woofers. I am sure that Bill at Great Plains will be able to recone something to match them. I have gone from a single 15" 828 cabinet (VOTT) to a dual 15" 817 cabinet and the Bass is much better. You already have a dual woofer cabinet. Your 15x25 ft room is plenty big enough for a pair of them. If you don't have proper corners, you can always build a false corner Ala Klipsch.
Jim N
Nat, to the best of my knowledge Altec didn't start painting the components green until 1953 or 1954. Also, you seem to have an 811A horn, which followed the H-811 which began in 1952 or 1953. So, the components disagree with the date on the cabinet, which means that either the date is incorrect or the components were swapped in at some later date.
I would encourage you to build a second 820C and enjoy them in stereo. The speaker bits are all obtainable on ebay, though the 803A woofers are pretty expensive these days in good shape.
Does the local hifi guy want to buy them? My room is 17x27 about the same as yours. I would like to have a 30x50 ft room but I can't afford the land to put it on Silicon Vally ~ $5M/acre. Keep it.
Jim N
I've got some advice for you.
First, start drinking heavily!
Second, just "give" me the speaker. http://www.hostboard.com/forums/
So looks like 803A woofs. These had the paper hinge surround. The later 803B was like a 416-8A.
I wonder how that cabinet would sound with the later woofers?
I imagine it would be hard to build one to match, but it can be done. Finding a mate is also possible....but the chances are slim. Finding one for $30....priceless!
Way cool find, have fun with it no matter what you do. and welcome to the Altec world. Now go get a tube amp!
Ron
That is a very nice speaker. Inspires drooling in many quarters. I'd like to hear one once myself.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Interesting question, to me, because I'm dealing with the same dilemma regarding an original Lowther TP-1. You could:Quote:
Originally posted by Nat M.:
What do you guys do with just one big speaker cabinet.
1-Set up a mono system for your mono records; as you say, it's not a bad way to listen to music and is probably best for those records. Use a classic mono turntable like the Thorens TD124 or Garrard 301 and some nice mono electronics of the era, like a Fisher preamp or the Marantz Consolette and monoblock amp such as a McIntosh, Fisher, Marantz, Quad, Scott, and so on.
2-Put it in the middle and frame it with a brace of similar Altecs. Valencias would probably be the least expensive. And get some of those RCA SACD reissues of Living Stereo recordings that were originally done in three-track.
3-Build a matching speaker, as has already been suggested.
4-Flip it and use the money to buy or build something else. This last option is least attractive to me because then I would have to confront the fact I wouldn't be willing to pay the price for a speaker I say is so great, and that I also want to stay home somewhere. But, hey . . . . maybe you could get a collectible samurai sword in trade. By the way, here's a list of things I once owned and sold, and have wanted back, either mildly or alot: Marantz 7C, McIntosh MC60's, EV T350's, a Fisher four-6550 power amp, a pair of Heathkit WM5 power amps, a Thorens TD124 with Grado arm and Ortofon moving coil cartridge, KLH Model 8 radio, Acrosound 20-20, some Hartley 220MSG's, Altec Magnificents, Jensen G610 . . . . you get the picture. Consider carefully. I would suggest at least keeping it and using it long enough to become thoroughly familiar with its sound. That actually would probably make it easier to let go of it at some point and not get collector's/seller's remorse.
David
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There is already one 803-A on e BAY if your interrested.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Altec-803-A-vint...QQcmdZViewItem
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thanks for all the help everyone. After a few days of listening, there is no doubt that this speaker cabinet will be with me for life. I guess I will just have to get started building a second one. I'll keep this board posted while I'm working on it.
Really cool Nat! Here is an ad for those Altecs from a 1956 issue of "Hi-Fidelity" magazine.
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