Amplifier for Altec Valencia speakers

Unoear - I had a chance to acquire a very nice pair of 16-ohm Valencias about a year ago and foolishly passed on the opportunity. They were being driven with Shindo electronics - the Cortese stereo amp and either the Monbrison or Masseto preamp. Incredibly musical combination! The Cortese is a superb amplifier; it was fantastic with the Valencias and the Shindo pre.

I run Valencia 846A's (16 ohm) with Shindo Aurieges linestage and Cortese amplifier. The combination is magical. Make the effort to hear Valencias with Shindo equipment. I think you will be astounded how good these speakers can sound when paired with electronics that are appropriate for them.

Hello 4musica44107 and Bnrlaw, thank you very much for your Shindo suggestions. In the past I have had the pleasure of having the WE 300bLTD and Lafon 300b amplifiers in my system. I have also had a chance to listen to the CC 80 and the Cortese. The Lafons and the Cortese were paired the Vosne-Romanee preamplifier and the A23 Solovox speakers and the WE 300b LTD was paired with the Petrvs preamplifier and the Shindo "Baby" 12" field coil Latours. The Shindo Cortese should match up nicely with the 16-ohm Valencias. I am also thinking of trying 2a3 and 45 based SET amplifiers. Bnrlaw...yes, the Aurieges and the Cortese are a really nice fit. The Valencias will be placed into a system that is going to go into a loft office space.

If you haven't already, go to http://www.diyaudio.com, http://www.altecheritage.org or http://www.audiokarma.org for several specific discussions about the 846A and B. I gutted the cabinets and I'm at present building two enormous Onken type enclosures for the 416Z bass driver. When they're done I'll put the horns with new drivers on top of and outside the cabinet. It's an ongoing project, but the plan is to bi-amp through an active crossover using diy 2A3 SETs for the highs and maybe Classe solid state monsters for the bottom. Once it's finished, I'll have to get the whole thing past my wife.

I acquired a very clean pair of 846A's last month from an original owner (actually his dad's speakers which were purchased brand new and subsequently passed on). They are in excellent condition down to the intact front lattice grills; I am driving them with an Audio Research VT100 mkii paired with my ARC SP-10 and an SP-11. Playback has been mostly analog with a Thorens TT and a Denon Dl-103R cartridge swapped out with an Ortofon SPU. I've been marveling at the Valencia's presentation. Eventually, I hope to pair these speakers with a Shindo Monbrison preamp and a yet to be determined SET amp; but for the time being, they are a joy to listen to and a lot of fun.