intotubes Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in ABQ Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Super score Mark! I'm not that knowlegeable about Altecs but sounds like a great price for some great drivers at least. Check out the Altec Heritage forum/pages for some information. [Y] http://www.audioheritage.org/intro.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Check this link out as well http://alteclansingunofficial.nlenet.net/index.html and this one http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/ Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 wow, great score. congrats! pictures please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyholiday Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 BA BAM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Very nice indeed. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I picked a pr of these the other day... still haven't been able to figure a way to sneak them by the wife... Wharfedale W70 3-way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.records Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Wow, excellent score there Mark. You did well. But don't you feel guilty? Just think of the old lady who took those to auction. Maybe your bid should have been $500 instead of $5.[] Seriously, good score. I am looking forward to hearing your impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I don't know anything about the 804, but the 12" 414Z are very in-demand woofers. Search completed items on ebay for altec 414*, and you'll see what I mean. Great score, and I'd bet they sound very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotubes Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 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: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotubes Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotubes Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 One more: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Tell me about it. I was going to do the same with my 9844A (similar but uses 811b horn, and has a small slot port). I still have them but haven't given them much of a listen other than to decide that I'm keeping them at this point. Reconfiguring of audio around the house should chagne that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotubes Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Don't get rid of them until you have lived with them for a while. I am not speaking from experience because all of the goodies that I have purchased are in storage awaiting install, but it seems like a common theme here that both Altec and JBL make (made?) superior horns and drivers than our beloved Klipsch. $5, nice score! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Take a peek in the crossover. If they're like mine, it's be easier to biamp or build a scratch passive netwrk than to update what's in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotubes Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I'm on board with the idea of upgrading the crossover components & I don't think it's an oversimplification at all. It's simple and true, in my experience. The physical layout of those crossovers is pretty crowded, though. Laying one out on a board as Klipsch did would be easier than refurbing the Altec network, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 How about going to an active crossover? They let you set the xover points to suit your system and room and most offer gain and damping control. Active crossovers usually have a better S/N ratio than most components so noise is rarely a factor and unlike passives, they don't bleed power away from the amps (very useful when using low-power amps). The Marchand xovers ( http://www.marchandelec.com ) start at @$200 and are very-well regarded. NOTE - I'm a bit biased as I have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Sorry - wrong pic... Here's an example... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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