Heathkit AS-101, Hendersonville, Tn. $800
- Thread starter danrclem
- Start date
Lazarus Long
Super Member
Good price as well.
If I was closer those would be mine, somebody local should jump on those and biamp them.
Yes, that's a good deal. A lot of work went into refinishing the cabinets and they look a lot nicer now. I would want to verify that they have the original diaphragms but other than that they should be good to go.danclem, they don't have the same cabinet volume as the Model 19's as well as the same crossovers. They will still sound quite nice and if you do some searching there is a lot of mods that can make these even better than they are now.
If I was in the market and they were within driving range I'd be all over these.
Edit: Picture added for preservation. Not to many pics of refinished AS101's.
BillWojo
So - mine have a dark pecan finish with kind of a gradient fading added to it.
Do you think these just came with that (maple?) finish, or did someone strip that
faux-moorish finish mine have, and refinish them this way?
I found an older thread from jcricket where he showed this pair with a similar finish -
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Excellent!! Once mine are done, I'll check around and see what it takes to strip and redo them like that -
I really hate that pecan finish, doesn't match anything in the house,
and that maple color is more my preference (tho I might keep the cool grille cloth!) !
I agree 100% with everything you said. I do believe that the actual wood is oak but that's going from memory of the last set that I saw redone.
I think the grill cloth is killer and wouldn't want to mess with it myself. I wonder what it takes to remove the baffle? In the solid areas the cloth is right up against it. I suspect it's been stretched and stapled to the back.
BillWojo
I think the grill cloth is killer and wouldn't want to mess with it myself. I wonder what it takes to remove the baffle? In the solid areas the cloth is right up against it. I suspect it's been stretched and stapled to the back.
BillWojo
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
Model 19's use different drivers with an EQ'd and compensated XO, in a larger volume cabinet that includes a resonant cavity.
A closer comparable Altec would be the 846B Valencia. They're a fine loudspeaker, and i think the Heath cabinet is more attractive and at least as well built.
SoundsAlike
Super Member
I think $800 is too high. I've owned several pairs in original condition, and none of them sold above $600 -- people want Altecs and not Heathkits that say Altec.
danrclem
Super Member
Thanks for the replies on this but I was wanting to know how the sound compares to the Altec Model 19 rather than the physical makeup.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
I know, you want me to step in the doo doo.
Let me put it like this:
The model Nineteen would be the final iteration of the famous and legendary 2-way, Iconic loudspeaker system from Altec.
It began with the now highly coveted Lansing Iconic speaker system of the 1940's. In the 1950's the Altec Lansing Corporation would revisit the design with a lowboy type cabinet(826A Iconic), and then on to a more traditional aspect ratio known at first as the model 846 Iconic. It would later(early 1960's) be re-named the 846a Valencia.
Circa 1973ish the Valencia would be revised to the 846B model, system impedance dropped to 8 ohms, crossover was revised, and the cabinet was given tuned ducted ports, something off the beaten path for Altec.
Late in 1974 the 416B woofers and 802G compression drivers went into production. They were significant revisions from the previous models. By early 1976 the engineers had designed a new speaker system specifically tuned to, and engineered around these newly developed drivers. It would be a whopping success. It would be the model Nineteen.
In a nutshell, and IMO you really cannot compare them to NIneteens as the nineteens enjoy more modern engineering and component technology. For many the Nineteen is Altec's flagship, and with good reason, it's all about the sound.
Nineteens do need a fair amount of space and are sensitive to the acoustic quality of that space. In the average home, average size rooms, it's more often going to be easier to get the most out of the Valencia type system, where the Nineteen really needs a bit more room to be at their optimum.
Nineteens with proper component load and in proper nick can reveal the subtle variations between very high end upstream gear, don't let anybody bullshit you that they are obsolete or outdated.
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