Older Altec horn speakers

Thank you Duke, for an insightful/informative post regarding 19s. All I know is I like'em. I got mine for about $1200 about 15mos ago and I consider that the best bargain in speakers I am ever likely to get.

I am using an Altec 604 based speaker from Serious Stereo. This is by far a better speaker than the others I have used of which several are highly acclaimed. I feel that some of this older technology can be as good as the best of what is made today as long as the implementation is done right.

I am using Altec 19's which are fully upgaded,woofers,crossovers,etc.The set up I use is a highly modded moscode 600,AR LS7 Theta DAC,Theta transport. This system is in a room with Acoustat 2+1's powered by a modded Sumo Gold.The Altec's far better sounding speaker.The biggest thing about the 19's is they speak the truth about recordings.Also the truth about the gear used. I agree some of this older technology can be as good as the best of what is made today as long as the upgrades are done right.I also have JBL 4412's.Energy Veritas 2.8's,Klipsch Chorus II's,Vandersteen's etc.What the 19's do is MAGIC.Look at Magico's flagship speaker at $350,000 it's a horn.

I have now got out of tubes and back to Solid State, and I'm using real inefficient speakers! lol

But hey, it all about what sounds good to you, huh?
I would still like to try SET amps one day...
Tube are great and more musical than most SS
BUT not more musical than my P-300, IMO

Thanks for all the tasty info, perhaps when I do get to try SET, I go for one of the better Altec.

Thanks for sharing your thought everyone!

FWIW, I bought a pr of (absolutely mint, one-owner) 1977 Model 19s and am very impressed. Especially on a fairly tight budget, these things are very impressive. Only downsize is the weight & size, if you consider those things negatives.

You can find pairs in good shape in the $1200-$1500 range.