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Altec A7 What to do

Hello all, a Friend of mine has had Altec Lansing A7's sitting in his basement for several years, just couldn't put them in his current room setting. Many may know that I've been building for about 35 years. I built him a set of MTM's and delivered them for Christmas. He was thrilled. Well, today, he dropped off a pair of A7's and said they're yours. I sat them up and listened, thoroughly looked them over, looked up crossover design (500hz model) and now need to decide what to do with them. I have a decent size living room, but these are still huge. They do a lot of things right, but just aren't as refined as my current speakers. So, I've decided to sell them. I'm in no hurry to do so, but I know that I won't keep these forever. So, are these more desirable to sell as is... stock, upgrade parts in the crossover and sell them, redesign and trick out the crossover, cleanup, sand, minor fill and painting cabinets or some combination of the above. I have no doubt that a complete crossover redo, a bit of cabinet bracing and a good refinish and these babies would be incredible. The problem is... will people that don't know me accept or trust just how good they are? That being the case I'm looking for some advice. Please tell me how you would handle it in my shoes. Tim
timlub
rzemkoski
87 posts
 
You may upgrade x-overs and brace cabinets, but for me, equalization cured the shout and the honk of my Altec Stonehenge 3, Klipsch La Scala and my present day Altec 17 and the latest VOTT. Nothing too expensive; a 230 dollar AudioSource 200 from Amazon can do wonders for a well fed horn.

Also, try to keep your horns in the cabinet that they may better blend with the woofers. When they are perched on the cabinet, the sit way to high. These beasts were made to fill auditoriums, not residences.

Cheers!
Richard
timlub OP
2,041 posts
 
Thanks Richard, the crossover did a great job of taming the midrange honky/shoutiness. There is the slightest bit left, but very minior and I believe horn damping will end that. After the crossover change, the lower midrange on these is just superb and the upper midrange oddly enough is a bit laid back. I did not expect that. At this point... in my room, I would not consider adding a EQ, but truly appreciate the input, Tim
gvasale's avatar
gvasale
99 posts
 
They knew about WAF back then too, but then women were a bit different. Klipschorn, EV Patricians, Centurions, Georgians, Bozak Concert Grands, Jensen Imperials, Karlsons, to name a few.

Altec Magnificents & a few other of their & the above showed that size does matter. I can always throw out "Hoffman's Iron Law"

How many homes today have a piano? Let alone, bought one?
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,942 posts
 
In case there is any question, the speakers were designed when tubes were king. They tend to sound a bit shrill with solid state.
wolf_garcia
6,727 posts
 
I had a pair of A7s for years (in the 70s) and they sounded great and not so shrill really...we bi-amped them with crossovers in front of the amps, and they had this "wooden" sound that was really pleasing. Later we stuck heavy duty JBL bass guitar speakers in them for more serious "kick" miking and they still sounded great for simple home stereo use, although to make room for them you had to get rid of the furniture and drag the drunk groupies out onto the lawn. Worth it.
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