Do I want these?

Been a little quiet lately so I thought I'd stir the pot.

I have a spare 3W cathode follower amp that needs a home. I was thinking of moving it to the bedroom and hooking it up to the TV. That would mean I need some speakers. I don't have a ton of room in there and was thinking about these:

2 Vintage Altec 601C Speakers in Barzilay Walnut Cabinets N 3000 E Crossovers | eBay

A) Is that too much for them? This is the third time they've been listed and the price keeps coming down.
B) I've read that servicing them might be an issue. Supposedly they employ a microphone diaphram that is not available. But then I read somewhere that it was. I don't know. They look to be in great condition and I will not be driving them hard.

Worth it?

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Originally Posted by alancohen

B) I've read that servicing them might be an issue. Supposedly they employ a microphone diaphram that is not available. But then I read somewhere that it was. I don't know. They look to be in great condition and I will not be driving them hard.

Worth it?

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Availability of the diaphragm, I don' think is an issue. It's that there is only one man in the country with the correct jig to install it. Micro Mike or something like that out in California........ There's info someplace on the Altec Unofficial web site.

That's a little high in price IMO.. For a little more with some homework you could possibly snag a pair of 604's much better drivers.

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Originally Posted by Altec Best

That's a little high in price IMO.. For a little more with some homework you could possibly snag a pair of 604's much better drivers.

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I'm not in a rush, so I could wait for some 604s, but the attraction to the 601 is the smaller possible cab size. But I agree, the price is a little steep. I'll wait and see if they drop to $500;)

If the budget can be stretched, these are 16 inches deep.

Vintage Altec 844 Studio Monitors | eBay

Altec specs. here:

Altec Lansing Professional Audio - Vintage Speakers

Edit: Distance may be a killer.

Those are pretty cool, mah.

Anyone have any experience with these?

Seeburg Jukebox Ext Speaker Altec 811 Horn Art Deco TV Stand Discotheque DDS1 | eBay

There's a motivated seller of another pair in minty shape on Long Island. 15" Utahs? Never heard of them. But I'd bet they'd sound pretty sweet with my little 3w amp. Not very small though. And I believe those cabs are that sweet vintage Formica!

Great for 'horizontal dancing' in your intended location.
:o

Formica ? Yikes ! They don't sound the best from what I have heard, never had the opportunity to hear them though. The only thing Altec on them is the 811 horn.

How about horns built into the bed-base,starting at the head end, exiting at the feet end and folding back to point at the head end. Above 500Hz, the usual Altec stuff.

Did you feel the earth move? :o

It can be done but is a lot of work, as you know.

Seriously, maybe some Model XXs, e.g. 14s or 15s would do the job.

The 601 is medium quality. Lacks lows. I wouldn't pay more than 400 a pair. And only if I wanted them. Same for the Seeburgs. The Seeburgs can be greatly improved by trashing the Formica and a set of REAL boxes.

if it's for TV, you can use small cabinets and pair with a sub....just a thought.

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Originally Posted by mah

How about horns built into the bed-base,starting at the head end, exiting at the feet end and folding back to point at the head end. Above 500Hz, the usual Altec stuff.

Did you feel the earth move? :o

It can be done but is a lot of work, as you know.

Seriously, maybe some Model XXs, e.g. 14s or 15s would do the job.

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The same guy w/the Seeburgs also has a pair of 14s. He wants $1200 for them. Probably take less, but I'm still trying to be more compact.

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The Seeburgs can be greatly improved by trashing the Formica and a set of REAL boxes.

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.......... and crossovers, and if you're gonna run more than a few watts you'll need some real woofers too.

DDS1's are memorable for me, without exception the worst i've ever heard the 806/811 combination sound. FWIW, Seeburg made a smaller extension speaker that also uses the 806/811 and just a single 12 inch Utah woofer, IMO a much better sounding speaker than the DDS1, smoother at XO better overall tonal balance.

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Originally Posted by bowtie427ss

.......... and crossovers, and if you're gonna run more than a few watts you'll need some real woofers too.

DDS1's are memorable for me, without exception the worst i've ever heard the 806/811 combination sound. FWIW, Seeburg made a smaller extension speaker that also uses the 806/811 and just a single 12 inch Utah woofer, IMO a much better sounding speaker than the DDS1, smoother at XO better overall tonal balance.

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I'm not sure how efficient those Utahs are, but I doubt I would push more than 1W through them. The room is long and narrow with the bed and TV on the long walls facing each other. This system would be for late night falling asleep music, TV, or if my kids have friends over and I want to retreat.

The amp is a 3W, single KT88/ch cathode follower. It's a really creamy little amp w/ .4W output impedence and it's a shame not using it. I might just hook it up with my TangBand full range speakers till something cool comes along.