Billfort
Addicted Member
Ok - so they look pretty Bill, but how the hell do they SOUND? I've been holding off on this until I spent some quality time with the new cabinets so here it is. I'm commenting on the sound of the Altec 604-8Gs in the new boxes, as they sound driven by a Golden Tube Audio 300B SET amp, using single twisted pairs of 24ga. solid core copper. I view the Altecs/SET as a system and don't think any of the following applies to any 1 piece of gear here (the rest of my system is outlined in the Gallery section). Following are a few representative albums and SACDs - I don't listen to CDs anymore on my real system.
Sarah McLachlan - Solace (Classic Records 200g vinyl)
I just got this LP and I was going to make notes on individual tracks here but couldn't - this album sounds so nice I just listened to the music and forgot about the hi-fi stuff. Sarah's voice is syrupy sweet, sexy, haunting. Based on previous exposure to Sarah M. CDs, I was expecting a forward, aggressive and fatiguing presentation but not here - midrange is smooth and liquid, highs don't bite, cymbals sound right - SET strengths are there in a big way. The image is large and precise extending outside the speakers - kind of surprising really. There isn't much depth though, and something tells me that little mini-monitors would give a better illusion of depth with this recording. I thought this recording would expose the hot midrange of the 604s but what it really did was show me how important source is - I'm moving all CDs to the car trunk ļ.
The Clash - London Calling (Epic, Canadian pressing)
This album is in pretty rough and messed up condition but then so was I when I used to listen to it a lot. A noisy, distorted recording and pressing of the best music ever made (IMHO
) that I wanted to blast on the Altecs to see how they did. In a word - great! I always knew Altecs could rock having owned Model 19s back when this album was current but I was surprised how good the 604s did with a meager 7w of SET power. Aggressive and in-your face - just like the band and this album should to be.
"Lost in the Supermarket" has great drum kit sound with the song flying along on the back of kick drum that truly kicks with the Altecs. Great reggae back beat and full size bass line in "The guns of Brixton". "Brand new Cadillac" has great bass and lead guitar, Strummer's vocals in your face, "Jimmy jazz" is so good, has that sax, then there's "you bin drinkin brew for breakfast, Rudie can't fail". Ok this album comes alive on the Altecs - to hell with the hi-fi stuff, I'm listening to the whole thing again.
PF - Dark Side of the Moon (Toshiba-Epic, Japanese pressing and 25 yr. old Canadian Harvest pressing)
Wow - there is some major bass here that I don't remember with the old cabinets. The bass is big and effortless, no flab, no strain - I can't even see any movement in the cones. Bass like THIS is something I missed when messing around with mini-monitor fart boxes (to borrow a term). All the sonic spectacular stuff on this album can be spooky - those alarm clocks are precisely placed around the room and the sound is lightning fast and full-scale. This is nice!
The Japanese pressing is a little hot and harsh in the upper mids to treble. My old Harvest pressing is smoother but noisier. I don't remember noticing the difference this dramtically before. A source problem front and center again, or am I hearing the 604 Achilles heal starting to act up? Maybe that SACD release of DSOTM I keep reading about will do it¡K
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Couldn't Stand the Weather (Sony SACD)
"Tin Pan Alley" - amazing cut. I selected track 6 with the volume way up and it shocked me - the first few notes hit fast and thump you in the chest - now this is bass! In comes SRVs incredible guitar work and vocals, a holographic, full size image fills the room. It's almost 20 years ago that I saw him live and this cut makes it seem like yesterday. This is a definitive cut for me that makes all the hi-fi junk worth while - this cut tells me that I am on the right path with SET and Altecs.
Dave Brubeck - Time Out (Sony SACD)
"Take Five" is that jazz cut that most everybody has heard. I hate to dwell on this but it's the bass again - the upright bass sound is full & detailed - you can hear the wood body of the instrument, almost see and feel the strings being worked on the fingerboard. The drums are fast and full size, it actually sounds like a drum kit is in the room. Sax is super clear and up front - spitty reeds and all. I guess there is nothing like a horn for reproducing the sound of a horn. This cut sounds right but might be close to being a little forward too - this is a fine line with these speakers. The pitch of the piano seems better on this SACD than I hear with my turntable - it might be time to replace the belt on the Sota again. Amazing how the Altec/SET thing can make this so noticeable.
General conclusions
The new cabinets have improved the bass - it's a little deeper, cleaner and tighter. On the downside, I am starting to notice that the bass can overload the room at some frequencies - the small, almost square room might be showing it's dark side. When I build a new listening room, I'll try to get the dimensions right to keep room nodes better spaced and maybe think about tuned bass traps.
The cabinets, and maybe how they position the drivers in the room, appear to have increased the size and accuracy of the image. The soundstage seems a little higher and wider with more body and weight.
My system has become more and more source critical over the years and the current state of affairs is ruthlessly revealing of the front end. I think I'm close, and with a TT tune-up, maybe a new moving coil cartridge and elimination of CD from the listening room, I might have it. I still have this lingering thought that the 604s are too hair-trigger forward in the midrange and might play with new crossover topologies or bi-amping - I'm not quite done yet.
The Altec/SET presentation is quite different from the effect I have heard with Dahlquist DQ-10s (which I own) or electrostatics (I've heard Martin Logans, Dayton Wrights & Quads). The DQs and electrostats are like windows (with varying degrees of transparency) onto the music and they can sound great. Altec/SETs on the other hand can bring the full-scale musical event into your room - for me, this is the most satisfying.
Billfort
Sarah McLachlan - Solace (Classic Records 200g vinyl)
I just got this LP and I was going to make notes on individual tracks here but couldn't - this album sounds so nice I just listened to the music and forgot about the hi-fi stuff. Sarah's voice is syrupy sweet, sexy, haunting. Based on previous exposure to Sarah M. CDs, I was expecting a forward, aggressive and fatiguing presentation but not here - midrange is smooth and liquid, highs don't bite, cymbals sound right - SET strengths are there in a big way. The image is large and precise extending outside the speakers - kind of surprising really. There isn't much depth though, and something tells me that little mini-monitors would give a better illusion of depth with this recording. I thought this recording would expose the hot midrange of the 604s but what it really did was show me how important source is - I'm moving all CDs to the car trunk ļ.
The Clash - London Calling (Epic, Canadian pressing)
This album is in pretty rough and messed up condition but then so was I when I used to listen to it a lot. A noisy, distorted recording and pressing of the best music ever made (IMHO
) that I wanted to blast on the Altecs to see how they did. In a word - great! I always knew Altecs could rock having owned Model 19s back when this album was current but I was surprised how good the 604s did with a meager 7w of SET power. Aggressive and in-your face - just like the band and this album should to be."Lost in the Supermarket" has great drum kit sound with the song flying along on the back of kick drum that truly kicks with the Altecs. Great reggae back beat and full size bass line in "The guns of Brixton". "Brand new Cadillac" has great bass and lead guitar, Strummer's vocals in your face, "Jimmy jazz" is so good, has that sax, then there's "you bin drinkin brew for breakfast, Rudie can't fail". Ok this album comes alive on the Altecs - to hell with the hi-fi stuff, I'm listening to the whole thing again.
PF - Dark Side of the Moon (Toshiba-Epic, Japanese pressing and 25 yr. old Canadian Harvest pressing)
Wow - there is some major bass here that I don't remember with the old cabinets. The bass is big and effortless, no flab, no strain - I can't even see any movement in the cones. Bass like THIS is something I missed when messing around with mini-monitor fart boxes (to borrow a term). All the sonic spectacular stuff on this album can be spooky - those alarm clocks are precisely placed around the room and the sound is lightning fast and full-scale. This is nice!
The Japanese pressing is a little hot and harsh in the upper mids to treble. My old Harvest pressing is smoother but noisier. I don't remember noticing the difference this dramtically before. A source problem front and center again, or am I hearing the 604 Achilles heal starting to act up? Maybe that SACD release of DSOTM I keep reading about will do it¡K
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Couldn't Stand the Weather (Sony SACD)
"Tin Pan Alley" - amazing cut. I selected track 6 with the volume way up and it shocked me - the first few notes hit fast and thump you in the chest - now this is bass! In comes SRVs incredible guitar work and vocals, a holographic, full size image fills the room. It's almost 20 years ago that I saw him live and this cut makes it seem like yesterday. This is a definitive cut for me that makes all the hi-fi junk worth while - this cut tells me that I am on the right path with SET and Altecs.
Dave Brubeck - Time Out (Sony SACD)
"Take Five" is that jazz cut that most everybody has heard. I hate to dwell on this but it's the bass again - the upright bass sound is full & detailed - you can hear the wood body of the instrument, almost see and feel the strings being worked on the fingerboard. The drums are fast and full size, it actually sounds like a drum kit is in the room. Sax is super clear and up front - spitty reeds and all. I guess there is nothing like a horn for reproducing the sound of a horn. This cut sounds right but might be close to being a little forward too - this is a fine line with these speakers. The pitch of the piano seems better on this SACD than I hear with my turntable - it might be time to replace the belt on the Sota again. Amazing how the Altec/SET thing can make this so noticeable.
General conclusions
The new cabinets have improved the bass - it's a little deeper, cleaner and tighter. On the downside, I am starting to notice that the bass can overload the room at some frequencies - the small, almost square room might be showing it's dark side. When I build a new listening room, I'll try to get the dimensions right to keep room nodes better spaced and maybe think about tuned bass traps.
The cabinets, and maybe how they position the drivers in the room, appear to have increased the size and accuracy of the image. The soundstage seems a little higher and wider with more body and weight.
My system has become more and more source critical over the years and the current state of affairs is ruthlessly revealing of the front end. I think I'm close, and with a TT tune-up, maybe a new moving coil cartridge and elimination of CD from the listening room, I might have it. I still have this lingering thought that the 604s are too hair-trigger forward in the midrange and might play with new crossover topologies or bi-amping - I'm not quite done yet.
The Altec/SET presentation is quite different from the effect I have heard with Dahlquist DQ-10s (which I own) or electrostatics (I've heard Martin Logans, Dayton Wrights & Quads). The DQs and electrostats are like windows (with varying degrees of transparency) onto the music and they can sound great. Altec/SETs on the other hand can bring the full-scale musical event into your room - for me, this is the most satisfying.
Billfort
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