Most people have wrong belief that modern speaker has more clarity and details than vintage speakers Recently I got 50 years old Altec A7 which sounds much better than my expectation.
I had kept Lansche 4.1 with plasma tweeter for 16 years which is still regarded as modern speaker.
You judge ths sound of Lansche 4.1 which go down to 20 hz and Altec A7 whcih go down to only 31.5 hz but more robust bass from the following Youtube videos. Surpising thing is that Altec A7 give as much as details as Lansche 4.1 with plasma tweeter.
Altec A7’s (with the larger HF horn) where my first PA speakers. When stored in my live in loft I used one for band practice, playing radio, records and tapes in the mid 60’s. I had no knowledge of audio. During a visit by a recording Engineer acquaintance, he relocated the A7’s, my couch and ran lamp wire to the Fisher and holy schitt! The hook went deep, there was no looking back.
Your open space is reminiscent of my loft space. I think I’ve been chasing that presentation for ever. Sadly, that loft was short lived.
In hindsight the fidelity from the simplicity and efficiency of the A7 has always stayed with me. If I had the space...
shkong78, this is a very interesting thread. Thanks for posting it. I am a horn guy. My main speakers have be DIY horns for nearly twenty years. Thus I started listening to your posted videos assuming I would prefer the Altecs. Much to my surprise on the selections you posted I I really liked the Lansches better. They are very fantastic speakers.
Someone was asking about listening to a pair of Altec Madrids 872 - listening to a pair of 872As I found for 375 - treble is not revealing but they are nice to listen to - the biflex 15” woofers do a nice job - the speakers sounded a bit rough when I got them but I opened up and tightened all the press for connections hooking up the woofer and tweeter - many were loose - now they sound much better!
Scaena 3.2 has 12 4 inch midrange drivers which work like full range without any passive crossvoer.
9 ribbon drivers are added with simple capacitor (6k hz cutoff).
They use active crossover at 120 hz. Thus two 18 inch subwoofers covers bass while mail tower covers frequency abover.
I had used two Scaena 18 inch subwoofers to augment subbass of Lansche 4.1 or Altec A7 for 30 months before assemvly of main tower last week.
My impression of two 18 inch subwoofers is positive with fast and tight bass with deep extension.
But somehow, two 18 inch subwoofers doesn not sound very weighty compared with Altec A7 bass horn.
Altec A7 bass horn give authoritiva bass although it starts tapering off at 50 hz and no signal below 30 hz.
When I added two 18 inch subwoofers to Altec A7 at 56hz using crossover of Crwon XLS 2502, they worked very nice.
Thus I had connected main tower of Scaena 3.2 above 500hz to see what happen.
They worked pretty nice as witnessed by Erik (Solypsa).
It may sound crazy to mix and match 60 years old vintage driver with modern speaker.
I had also tried 290 hz using Pap C1 active crossover.
it also work very nice.
Scaena 3.2 is one of the best speaker available in giving widest and deepes soundstage but also with clean mid range and treble using multiple drivers.
With slim line source, soundstage extend beyond my window.
Also I can easily pinpoint different instruments back and forth.
I will be out of town for three weeks to spend time with my 30 months old grandchild.
Well if you are using the same amp to drive all 3 pairs, this will have a profound impact on the sound. The Altecs should be very easy to drive with tubes the others probably not.
A design by John Hilliard, Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre systems originally targeted movie theaters. The entire series was gradually expanded for use in general sound reinforcement and later converted in extreme high-end audio segments for hi-fi home use. Dorsey knows cinema sound inside...
audioxpress.com
After reading the above article, I had decided to go for active bi amplification without using internal network.
I use Lyngdorf 2170 which has speaker output, analog output and digital output with highpass or lowpass options.
I set the highpass at 500hz on digital output and going through my dac and integrated amp to drive treble horn.
Initially, I had tried to use speaker output of Lyngdorf 2170 with lowpass at 500hz to drive bass unit of Altec A7.
But bass sound is lagging behind the sound from treble horn.
Thus I had used analog output with lowpass at 500hz to Crown XLS 2502 which drive
bass unit of Altec A7.
But bass sound is still lagging behind the sound from treble horn.
Then I had used analog output with lowpass at 500hz to Rogue Cronus Magnum II which drive
bass unit of Altec A7.
Now it is working fine with treble horn.
Many people may think that SS amp sounds faster than tube amp but it is on the contrary.
I had used Telefuken ECC 83 and Amperex ECC 82 in Rogue, but after replacing Amperex with GE 12bh7a tubes, Rogue sound more robust on bass.
After getting rid of internal network, Altec A7 sounds more transparent with clean details.
Since I am happy with sound out of Altec A7 after active bi amping, I retired Lansche 4.1 to attic on the third floor.
Please note that I had been using Lansche 4.1 since 2006 after buying it new at 50k$.
P. S. ticking noise is from my chair while I reord the music sitting in the sofa.
Congratulations on the great find. Now on to the $64,000 question. Which one do your ears prefer? I would love to sample large full range speakers,but they just wouldn’t work in my house. I think your listening room is larger than my house. :-)
Thomas, I don't know what you did from the first time I listened to the A7's, but this time, they sounded much better, smoother that the first time. That I could live with untl my time runs out here on this Third Rock.
I also loaded similar information on other audio forum.
Another person could not have Altec A7 because of WAF.
Personally I’d love to have a pair of Altec A7’s or something similar with tube amps in my living room system, but I’m married and plan to stay that way. Something about the presence and immediacy of these systems makes them so engaging.
The previous owner of my Altec A7 had to sell this because of WAF.
After renovation of beautiful house in West Vancuouver BC overlooing down town and bay, his wife want to have neat looking modern speakers in their living room.
But A7 rocks with suitable source and amplifier although it may look like a big refrigerator box.
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Altec A7s need to be in 8-10,000 ft3 room minimum, otherwise the 2K bump will drive you crazy, likewise they really are at their best with a tube amp. Those big 515 woofers kick back a lot of EMF that most solid state amps weren't designed to handle. That back EMF can trigger current limiting, or leak into the feedback loop, neither of which helps sound quality.
But, in their place, and with a proper amp, their dynamics and clarity will amaze you.
The A7s were made for large spaces like movie theaters, recording studios, live theaters, outdoor concerts, while the Lansches are more suited for the home. Both sound excellent, the Lansches are more refined while the A7s have a bigger sound and presence. No bad choices here.
Altec A7-8 components bought new directly from Altec in 1974 and installed in custom cabinets to Altec specifications. Driving them with Luxman Neo Classic 10 wpc Amp with upgraded Mazda of France power tubes and Telefunken Preamp tubes. Great clarity and presence, detail is also great. You are pleasantly rewarded when the recording is clean, but a bad recording or scratched vinyl, not pleasant to the ears. Everyone who listens to them are impressed, the only negative is how big they are and how much space they take up. Price for 4 drivers, two horns, and two crossovers in 1974 was $462, and 4 sheets of AA marine grade 3/4" plywood was less than $100. Efficiency is 97db measured.
The a7 can run with a 50k audiophile loudspeaker but I knew that already and it only gets better an a2-4 -a5 all are far better than an a7. Shearer designs even better than those. I have had jaded audio designers rethink life's work after hearing Shearer horns. One doesn't need to spend 50k if wanting great sound you can just buy an Altec or other similar vintage theater horn and lite modify it. A big difference between 1-2k and 50k you could build a dedicated audio room with a pair of modified Altec a5s for 50k.
Have you ever heard a pair of Altec Madrid 872B’s by chance? I’m guessing the A7’s are an all around better speaker compared to the 872B’s, but they were the first real speakers I ever heard and the speakers I grew up listening to. Paired with a marantz 2270 (which I still have), that was truly a match made in heaven. The lows were so full…I miss those speakers. There’s just something about a big 15” woofer that cannot be replicated by multiple smaller woofers.
I find the Altecs slightly spotlit in the upper mids and treble. I prefer the Lansche in those areas. Is the bass adjustable on the Lansche? I hear too much mid and upper bass on them. Not a lot, but enough to obscure / cloud the mids a bit. The Altecs are better in that area. If the bass can be brought down a touch, I would take the Lansches in a heart beat. Both are nice as is.
The Altec has more immediacy, more presence, more you are there (or is it, they are here?) feel to it. But then when heard against the Lansche, the Lansche make the Altecs sound a little lean (i.e. not full-bodied) in the timbre department. The Lansches sound to me as if they would be more forgiving on poorly recorded music. Fascinating comparison. Congrats.
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