Vintage vs Modern speakers.
Hello Shkong78, Both pairs of speakers are great, but I tend to favor the Lansche pair. A bit more balanced, I feel. At my current age, I don't get out much anymore, so hearing what I've just heard has been a bit of a shock for me. Although I love the sound of my custom built Tannoys, your Lansches and the A 7's have shown me what is lacking by my Tannoys. A good part of it may be the quality provided by the equipment behind the two pair of speakers. Going back aways, I was intending to come visit you, but something came up, and I wasn't able to make it. I wish now that I had. I kind of hope what I've just heard doesn't stick with me for very long, because it's an itch I can't really afford to scratch. Hopefully for you, you're able to keep both pair of speakers, and enjoy both in turn. Do you still live somewhat south of Bellingham? Best regards, Dan |
Some folks make the claim , can't judgea speaker via YT compression/+ computer cheapo speakers,,guess headphones would be better,,,but anyway. Honestly, both have MASSIVE SPL /Soundstage. My rm is small and I listen at very near field at low/mid SPL, So neither would work for me. But to chime in a answer, honestly I hear some over hang in the upper bass/low midrange, that notorious section where most speakers get all hung up. I mean if you like huge GIGANTIC SPL,, soundstage, then yeah either one will work. Here give mine a listen. Clean/clear, zero over hang /bloating in neither upper bass nor low mid section The upload cam is a cheap Sony, all I could afford. So suffers from the cheap upload, But you get a vague idea anyhoot Be honest, if you don't like it, just say so. ain't gonna hurt my feelings. Music starts at 1:25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcjYiZztHgM&t=1s |
Altec A7 does sound much better than i expected. I picked it up only three weeks ago. It give effortless dynamics and nuanced bass with wide and deep soundstage. Although Altec does not sound boxy, I could notice more holographic imaging through my modern speaker Lansche 4.1 which I had been using since 2006. I am happy to have both. I will play each depending on music and my mood. Altec seems to work better with Jazz and rock music although it is not slouch with Classical music. |
I am happy to have both.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I morphed both low sens and high sens together, Best of both worlds , separate cabinets but one cohesive meshed soundstage. Best of both designs. Could I be happy with only 1 single WBer, Sure i could, Could I be happy with a single low sens speaker? No never again. I could not, will not. But both together, provided the low sens midwoofer is very well behaved. This is the caveat, the lone condition. |
Lansche 4.1 is also high efficiency speaker (99db/w spec but real no is around 94db) which can be drive by low power tube SET amp Thus I am driving two speakers with tube amplifiers. But they sound slightly different. Altec with 99db/w efficiency give no strain even if I raise the volume to ear aching level. |
What I hear in both speakers is called Resonances Most folks , as yourself, have absoluetly no issues with resonances. All speakers have soem degree of resonances. Some more, others less. I tend towards the very lowest possible resonances throughout the entire midrange say 200hz-5khz-6khz. This is where my ears perk up intensive and alert to this mid zone. Place you speakers in a smaller room and then you will be able to more detect these resonances = aka The Nasties. As i say, most audiophiles fall in love with a certain speaker and have no issues with the resonances, they somehwo block these nasties out or just accept the good with the bad. Or they have not heard a spaeker with very low resonances thus have no reference point to compare. I have past reference speakers thus I know what designates acceptable level of resonances and what should be a reject. Few speakers qualify for my acceptable level of resonances. My speaker system still in development has shown extremely low level of resonances and I have futher developments to work out over the comming 6 months. It will be the finest speaker on the planet, within the parimeters of this size and design and in most categories of critque. If we give points to each quality ina speakers voice, I think my design will come out top dawg. Your 2 speakers have more SPL, and so, you get high points there. Mine will offer slightly less SPL but will have superior midrange etc etc. All due to thanks to recent developements in WBer designs. No I could not come around to either of your speakers. https://www.css-audio.com/single-post/2019/09/04/understanding-distortion |
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. |
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. |
I paid 50K$ for new Lansche 4.1 16 years ago. It was like buying luxury German car (Lansche is also made in Germany), But I got Altec A7 four weeks ago at 1000 CDN(750 USD). Despite the price difference Altec A7 give more effortless sound with nuanced details. Lansche give more refined sound with holographic imaging. But with Michael Jacson and large scale orchestral music , I prefer Altec to Lansche. Thomas |
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. Nice setup! |
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. |
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. |
Billie Holiday’s voice sounds warm and sentimental through Altec A7.That’s Ella Fitzgerald not Billie Holiday! https://youtu.be/eyTSyclr-GQ |
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. |
Accuphase DG-68 Digital Voicing Equalizer We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. A great conceptsound enough to serve as the foundation for an independent democratic nation. It seems that JVS had been fascinated with Accuphase DG-68 Digital Voicing Equalizer . https://www.accuphase.com/historys/images/dg-28.jpg I had been usin DG-28 model since 2001. I set up DG-28 last night after 11PM. Using the mike, it scans 64 frequencies and then adjust the spectrum in the digital domain. It has 4 pre sets so that I can choose the adjusted results for 4 different speakers. Lansche 4.1 tends to sound sweet and warm but after room equlaization, it’s sounds get sharper and crispy. The result with Altec A7 is very satisfactory. A7 tend to be a little bit too aggressive in the treble. I mean it give slight harsh edge from time to time. But room correction and equalization through DG-28 seems to ameliorate such harsh edge. [MEDIA=youtube]jO3rwoDpvqM[/MEDIA] After equalization, Heifetz’ s violin sounds warm and full freshed. [MEDIA=youtube]VTIe50QgCJI[/MEDIA] But without equalization, his viloin sounds somewhat metallic. [MEDIA=youtube]yPHZgInSsPU[/MEDIA] After equalization, the bass seems to be little bit tighter and more extended but not a day and night difference. To conclude, I am happy with equalization on Altec A7. The most pronounced effect is to get the treble clean and make violin sounds warm and full freshed. Thomas |
https://youtu.be/4f2eiEc8V38 Her voice sounds clear and gorgeous. https://youtu.be/efcqyZvu9aw It sound much more clear and open after adding Fostex supertweeter to Altec A7. I may not need Western Electric after all unless i am greedy. This system sounds good enough to me with clean treble and effortless dynamics. |
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. Thomas |
@rocray This one may work better in your room. I bought this Vaughn Cabernett II speaker as backup for Lansche 4.1 https://youtu.be/HSTy9dkHWIw https://youtu.be/U8WXn-9e1DQ https://youtu.be/5eVo4wQGT-o Thomas |
Altec Lansing’s Voice of the Theatre Speakers - What You Need to KnowA 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...
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