intotubes

I like watching curling. Didn't understand it at first but now I enjoy it. Now crosscountry skiing........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ditto in the vintage Altec Lansing. But they are pricey. Unless you get lucky. []http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/672771/ShowPost.aspx I was trying to find a match for mine but the prices are through the roof compared to a nice set of Cornwalls. I love my Altecs but I don't see losing my Cornwalls anytime soon though. The four of these will make a dang good HT someday.

You're gonna love that unit. I snagged one last month at a flea market for $100. A little deoxit on the pots and it sings. LOTS of power. Really suprising. Sounds so sweet I put my tube integrated on hold for a while so I can enjoy this gem. The tuner is excellent. Very sensitive. To be honest, I've been so busy listening to CD's I havent played any LP's with it. Shame on me. I'll get around to it soon though. Have fun! This is a sweet, underrated little amp.

A Scott 299B for $100?? Where do you guys get all the great deals? jeeez

Duke, describe what "spank" is and why JBL doesn't have it but Klipsch does. I'm not sure I understand completely. Thanks, Mark

Bill Hanuschak from Great Plains Audio ("modern" Altec manufacturer) told me the 902's will extend to around 17000 Hz. Plenty for most 40+ yr olds with normal hearing. I have some 811b horns I was considering swapping out the 804's with 902's forthe extended HF. The 804's roll off around 12k, still very smooth though. I like the sound of these horns a lot.

I voted a little harsh sometimes. Usually at high volumes. I admit I haven't replaced caps in the crossover yet. To be completely honest, my Cornwalls are stacked in a corner unconnected. [:$] I've been enjoying the sound of my recently discovered Altec Lansing's. What people say about the 811b horn is true. Although it rolls off around 12K (remedied with a modern driver I suppose) it sounds very smooth and even. So clear and detailed. I think I'm falling in love with this sound. I almost hate to hook up the CW's and ruin it. I'm goint to do an HT with them all. I need to find a center channel. Thinking of using another 811b horn and some woofer in a ported enclosure. Of course if I found a pair of Khorns I would use them as the front and the CW's as the rear and the Altec as center since they "lay down". -Mark

I found one in a thrift store locally in very good to excellent condition. I went ahead and bought it, a bird in the hand etc. Of course, as is my habit in buying vintage gear, I paid top dollar. I am really impressed. I think it is a VERY good sounding amp. Great tuner too. I've been driving a pair of Altec Lansing two-ways with it and it sounds super. Plenty of power for a 40 watt amp. IMO the old HK stuff was top shelf in it's day. I would have cutt of my left @*# for one 15-20 yrs ago. Now I have one. Vintage is the only way I can afford high end gear. I can't speak for the board but that's my fascination with them. -Mark

14 ga. zip cord. Comes in brown. Easily hidden under molding etc. Made with the audiophile "stranded copper" for an excellent sound stage and unbelievable imaging. When I first used it it was like lifting a veil from in front of my speakers. []

AAH, Valencias. They must sound glorious with that 15" woofer (right?). I don't know if I mentioned I was keeping them. [] Here's a pic of my (temporary) stack. LOL, not a lot of WAF.

You don't see these beasts on E-Bay. There is a pair of Malibu's up right now. It'll be interesting to see what they go for. I am actually considering having a cabinet maker friend of mine make me a pair of Malibu cabinets to put my components in. They will match my CW's better. Might even use the black Cornwall fabric you can get at Partsexpress(?) for a better match. For the record, I am NOT selling these. They are in the same league as Klipsch for sure and suit me just fine. I guess I am a sucker for horns. I can't get enough of listening to them. BTW the guys at the Lansing forum arent' nearly as prolific as the fanatics here. A lot less action. I saw a few familiar faces over there though. Man, are these old speakers (Altec & Klipsch) cool or what?

Wow, what a difference. Those look very nice. Your hard work paid off for sure. Thanks for the pics. It gives me encouragement that the beat up Altec Carmels I have can be saved. What is hard maple filler? Is it made of wood? Do you have a brand name? Thx, Mark

I'm reluctant to start over with a new crossover design. I saw a thread on an Altec BB where a guy had the components (less crossover) of a Carmel and then found a cabinet. He put it together but has been wrestling with a crossover design that sounded right. I don't want to depart too far from the original design and end up losing what I have heard called the "Altec" sound. They sound pretty good right now but being over 40 yrs old the caps are no doubt causing some problems. I liked the idea of using the old network and laying it out on a board. Without looking at one, I don't see why that wouldn't work. Thanks for the discussion. I appreciate learning more about these guys from my trusted group here at the Klipsch site.

The attenuator is a little scratchy on one. But you're right, I haven't looked at the network yet. It's in a plastic box on the inside of the back panel. Won't replacing the caps be an improvement or am I oversimplifying? Are the value of the caps known?

Yeah, I'm still listening to these. Their fantastic. I'll probably have to get some new caps for the antique crossovers. The cabinets are pretty rough but I think I'll live with just cleaning them up and some Old English Oil. I stuck 'em on top of my Cornwalls vertically so I can walk around in here. Definitely keepers.

One more:

Man, I should have never hooked these baby's up. I was gonna part them out on E-Bay to help fund my hi-fi addiction but whoa, they kick some serious butt!! Nice chest thumpers. They have an attenuator for the horn. I have it set about halfway and had to tone it down a hair. They have had a good long life, I don't mind taking them out of circulation. I don't know where they came from. Probably an estate. Didn't get to see the old lady but I bet it was more like the kids that unloaded these beasts. They were stuck way in back. No one gave them a second look. Pics:

I thought scores like this only happened to other people, I never score. I'm the one that pays top dollar for his vintage hi-fi stuff. BUT..... Tonight I spent 5 hours in a smokey small town auction house *cough* and stink of *cough* ciggy smoke. They had a pair of Altec "Carmel" 838A's in reasonably good condition. Nobody wanted them. A hi-fi buddy told me they sat there last wek and didn't sell. They almost didn't sell tonight except I was lucky enuf to be there. 5 BUCKS! They have pristine 804 horns and a pair each of 414Z Alnico (15"?) woofs. Wow. I can't wait to fire 'em up tomorrow. Any info on these giants from the vintage horn experts will be appreciated. -Mark

? Sorry you're having a bad day. Didn't mean to annoy or offend anyone. Just making some lighthearted bulletin board banter.

Well after my thread was mildy hijacked (interesting though) I will bring it back to the original subject. I didn't get either 730. I am going to wait for one in a little better shape. Even with missing lights and scratchy controls they are still going for close to $100 after shipping. I missed a nice one at a local thrift store for $120 in near mint condition. Oh well, snooze, lose and all that. I went for a 930 in nice condition but it went for more than I wanted to spend. At least I tried on that one. No telling what the winner's max bid was but it was more than mine. There is another 730 up for bid right now. I am watching that one. The guy only takes money orders though. For some reason he thinks there is still an element of trust on E-Bay these days. He hasn't sold anything for 3 years. I may take a chance anyway. No paypal will keep a lot of bidders away.

Right about the time I was starting to think maybe Mathews has somethng to say he say's he likes to listen to disco through his Klipsch. I can't take it. I'm so confused..............

Bottlehead seems a little too proud of their stuff. The prices on the Dynaco iron and boards didn't seem too bad at first glance.

So is it possible to build an entire, say ST70, from these kits? Anyone tried it? I wonder if it would be an economical option to homebrew one instead of finding one on ebay or something?

Gaaaaaa!!!! What was I thinking?!? Oh yeah........SS with "tube like" sound and maybe SS reliability. I love my tube integrated but what the heck, let's not be dogmatic and (too) anal. That H/K is one sweet amp ain't it?