Need Guidance for Next/Last Pair of Speakers


I’ll try to be brief, although it’s not my strong suit..😁 I sold my pair of Altec 19 speakers a long time ago. I was the original owner, and their sheer size just didn’t work out at the time. I’ve been infatuated with audio equipment since I was a young lad, so after selling the Altec’s, I went on a long journey to replace them. Magnepan’s, Martin Logan’s, Thiel’s, Legacy Audio, Von Schweikert, Focal, and the list goes on and on. None of them have been able to recreate the magic of those 19’s.

I actually custom made a pair of speakers with a Great Plains 604 coax driver, but never could get the crossovers right, so I sold them. I now have a pair of Focal’s that are great, but they just don’t have that Altec 19 personality.

I’d love to have a pair of Avantgarde’s, but they’re well out of my current budget. I still don’t have the space for another pair of 19’s unfortunately. So the question is, what speakers should I be looking at that might have a similar character in a smaller package? I’ve not been actively engaged in the hobby for around 6 years, and I see what seem like hundred’s of new speakers/companies that have entered the market. I have to be overlooking quite a bit, so is there anything out there that I should consider? Would more of a professional type speaker be something to consider? 

Any input/guidance would be most appreciated. I was actually wondering if something like Zu Audio would fit the bill, but have read mixed reviews. As you can tell by my love of the Altec 19’s, extreme "accuracy" isn’t important. They just sounded like live music more than just about any speaker I’ve ever heard. That’s what I’m looking for. 

Thanks!

seadweller

Fellow Altec 19 owner here.  I'd be looking at Volti Razz, used Tannoy Turnberry, Cheviot, Eatons' or vintage golds or HPD's in custom cabinets, and refurbished Quad ESL-57's from Electrostatic Solutions in Kansas City.

Why not just buy a nice pair of Altec 19's? I rotate between Totem, Magnepan and Altec speakers. I really like my 9844's....they have the 902 horns for smaller rooms and sound great. Bill at Great Plains reconed 1 woofer, sent 2 diagrams for horns and was even able to sell me a pair of xovers he had on a shelf as I told him mine were toast with all the potting falling out.......each of my speakers excels in one area or another but if I could only have one pair forever would pick the Altec's. If you don't have a wife acceptance factor get what you loved.........I bough these a few years ago on a whim because I remembered the times I spent at a friends house in college jamming to some then (early 80's) relatively new 19"s. Just my 2 cents.

Any of the JBL speakers in the sub $10K range will very much be in the Altec/JBL tradition, with the benefit of advancements in driver and HF horn design as well asLF alignment. Personally, I would go for a pair of S3900s, dual 10" woofers, horn mids and tweeter. The real sleeper in JBLs line. Pro Level components, JBL quality cabinets, modern tower configuration, what's not to like