Altec Lansing 911A?

I currently have the AL connected to some Cerwin Vega series 26 speakers, not the greatest sound, but they get the job done. I will be upgrading speakers as well, but it will be after I get the system upgrade. It didn't come with the original AL speakers, but I would be interested in hearing what they sound like with the matched head unit.

The speakers packaged with the 911A were OK 2-way bookshelves to help get them out the door as an all-in-one audio system, but the 887A's weren't that great of a match with the main unit. They were acoustic suspension and the bass power rolloff of the 911A produce the current required of the 887A's in the lower bass. I found that out when I hooked 'em up to a high current SAE power amp (Mk XXXIb) of the same era and got what seemed like an extra 1/2 octave of bass.

They did sound good with the Altec 874A Segovia 3-ways. These were 4-ohm acoustic suspension "large bookshelf" (14"x12"x25") which had a relaxed feel to them and good deep bass response. I also had great success connecting them to VOTT studio monitors. Generally I think the 911A matches better with a large high-sensitivity ported speaker, and with your Cerwin-Vegas you're probably on the right track. The current Cerwin-Vega CLS-215 floorstander has gotten enthusiastic reviews both from The Abso!ute Sound
and Soundstage. They are about 95dB efficient, have a Scandinavian-sourced 6-1/2" cone midrange, and two 15" woofers reaching down to about 26 Hz. Being CV's, economy of scale makes these full-range efficient speakers available for about $1K/pair.

I still think that you should take it off my hands Johnny.....

Well thanks, but I already have too much old gear including an old Sherwood receiver, some EPI speakers from the early '80s, four VSP Labs TransMOS amps, the matching preamp, an Outlaw 950 pre/pro, an Amber Model 17 preamp, a Vector Research receiver, an old SAE amp, etc., etc. And that's what's in the garage. I have four active and working sound systems in the house besides. So nostalgia will have to take a back seat for me. I'm outta space!

I'll never forget the excitement when I brought that system home and unboxed it, but 38 years later I don't need a visual aid for the nostalgia. :-)

Thats a good idea Johnny, who knows what Ill end up with when its all said and done.

I currently have the AL connected to some Cerwin Vega series 26 speakers, not the greatest sound, but they get the job done. I will be upgrading speakers as well, but it will be after I get the system upgrade. It didnt come with the original AL speakers, but I would be interested in hearing what they sound like with the matched head unit.

I still think that you should take it off my hands Johnny.....

Since your main goal is to upgrade your vinyl playback, maybe you should keep the 911A and get a turntable and phono stage (Cambridge 640P or Musical Fidelity V-LPS) and plug it into the Aux input. You could still use the built-in Garrard to play 78s if any come your way. Other than the rolloff in bass power (that's about 2.5 dB down from the midrange peak power) it's a nice unit--clean, smooth, and as I said, great tuner.

Do you have the 887A speakers that came with it? If not, what speakers are you using with it? One year in college I powered a pair of Altec 9845As with the 911A unit with good results. It's the battleship grey monitor at the front right in the picture. I was in a music group that used a pair for our PA system and we "stored" them in my dorm room when not gigging. When we disbanded we sold them to a theater. That's how much output they had.

Wow, thanks for the info Johnnyb, you had more information in your head than anything I could find on the internet! Walnut huh, I have been wondering what kind of wood the case was made of.

I took it to the dealer today, which by the way is no easy feat, it must weigh 40lbs, but he said he was not in the position to take on any additional equipment at this time. I tried to explain to him that I merely wanted some store credit but he wouldnt budge, no telling how long he had it before I bought it. Maybe it being rare keeps people from being interested in it. Too bad, its really been a solid system for me thus far. So back home it came.... Maybe me and this beast are meant to be. Unless, Johnny you want to be reunited with your long lost love????

The Altec 911A was my first stereo! I bought it with my own money in 1972 as a sophomore in college.

Back when a decent 40 wpc receiver was $400, the 911A was a stone cold bargain. It integrated Altec's 44wpc 714 receiver ($400 MSRP) with the Garrard SL95B set into the top ($100) with a Shure M93E elliptical cartridge ($39.95) and a pair of their 887A Capri 8" 2-way acoustic suspension speakers ($180/pr). The SL95B was the top of Garrard's home line when this product came out (soon bumped to second by the Zero-100). It had a 11.5" platter when the Garrards below that had a 10". Everything in the 911A package was finished in real walnut and I bought mine new for $419. Adjusted for inflation, this "bargain" would be $2,124.88 today. Could you imagine a student paying his own way through college today spending that much for a stereo? Back then, though, it was like getting the turntable, cartridge, and speakers for $19. Every component was made in the USA or England (turntable). Altec also offered a 912A model which added a built-in Dolby cassette deck to the package. Those are *really* rare.

The one compromise in the design vs. the standalone 714 receiver was that the power supply was downsized to share space with the turntable's underpinnings. Where a real 714 made at least 44 wpc from 20-20KHz, the 911A fell to about 27 wpc at 20 Hz. I know because I had mine bench-tested at the audio store I worked a couple years later. The tuner, however, was absolutely superb and I'd stack it up against $500-600 receivers (at least) from Marantz and Kenwood at the time.

High Fidelity mag reviewed the 911A in their July 1971 issue. I think you can download the user's manual here.

As for value today, it depends a lot on the buyer. Although Marantz, Altec, and HK tried to elevate the format, the compact never got beyond the "beginner's audio" stigma propagated by Electrophonic, Longines Symphonette and the like. OTOH, the 911A is rare, both as a specific model and as a genre--high quality compact. The 911A was introduced in 1971 and was gone from the lineup before the 1975 catalog. My guess is that a vintage collector might be willing to pay a $200-400 for one in representative shape. Otherwise it might show up in a thrift or pawn shop for $20-100.

It is an "all in one" system with a Garrard 95B TT built into the top. By all in one I mean that the TT does not require a receiver or amp to drive the speakers. I believe that they were made by Altec in the early 70's.

I think Im going to stop by the dealer who sold it to me a few years ago and see what he will give me for trade in value towards a TT.

dunno what the AL911 is; maybe a compact?
Try asking about 1/3 to 1/4 of the purchase price if it's even worth that.