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Altec A7 Magnificent Value

lakegville

lakegville

Active Member
Hi everyone. I sorta hate asking the value of things as a rule because there is data available out there for lookup. That being said this one is tough for me because of it's rarity. Can anyone help me establish a "fair" price to pay for these monsters? I would just want to not loose my shirt on them should they not work out and or i need to sell. Best i can tell they are all original and in tip top condition. Thanks in advance. vott.jpg vott 2.jpg vott 2.jpg
 
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Narrow market, uncommon speaker, hard to put a constant value on them.

Location can cause a huge value disparity with something like these. If you are not capable of moving them yourself, the only option is a professional mover/moving service which really starts to crank up the entry fee for a serious buyer.

I would be hard pressed to get 1500 for them in my area, IMO that's where their value begins. Take them 100 miles south of me, and you could possibly push that 3K threshold. Wait til the peak winter selling season, and present them professionally on ebay and you could even push the 4k barrier.
 
Bowtie is right about location being big. There was a pair of Model 19's by me that sat for over a month at 600 bucks. In a hot audio area those would have been gone in 24 hours.

I have been watching some Magnificents on ebay. There is a pair close to Atlanta and another pair in NY. Both are listed around 3k but have been sitting for a while.

If you listed them on the bay and offered to crate them for international shipping you might be able to attract a international buyer.

Btw nice looking speakers! I have some A7's and have always liked the magnificents. There is nothing like a good pair of refrigerator sized speakers;)
 
Thanks elitopus and bowtie. BTW i am looking to buy and not sell. That pair on e-bay in Atlanta was on my radar until this pair popped up on local CL. Asking price is $3,200 which is a good bit more than i would pay. I have contacted the seller and he is holding at 3k for now. Too much for me. Pulled in my first pair of Altec's last week in the 846b's. Have a pair of Altec 14's waiting to be picked up....i am trying to stay on the "Altec Trip" if possible.
 
PS there is the best looking A7's i have ever seen for sale around here for $1,500. Would be hard to justify paying nearly double for the Mag's...at least for me.
 
The Magnificent is rare, as you've ascertained. The $3k figure I took was from a local friend of mine who scoured the internet to secure a pair, and told me that he paid $3000 "which is the going rate". That was a couple of years ago, mind you.

At the end of the day, for a piece like this, it comes down to whatever the seller is willing to sell it for and what the buyer is willing to pay. It's hard to figure out an exact market price on something like this.
 
I would bet money that after the local pair sits on craigslist for 2 months with no bites, the seller will come down in price quite a bit. Most people are not allowed to bring those home because of the WAF. They have better WAF than the gray A7's, but they are still huge
 
I know a guy who paid $3,500 for a pair and drove from MN to TX to get them. They are absolutely mint and sound the same. He's a tube guy, so a great match.
 
Oh yeah I'm sure there are people who will pay that. You just have to find the right person.

I would find a pair if my wife would let me bring them in the house:)
 
seller told me that if he did not get 3k he would keep them because they "would only go up in value" . Like i said i am still trying to grasp why they command so much more than all the other Altec's. Even the Model 19? Was there limited production? Was the new retail price way up there? There were a pair of Bozak Concert Grands on a local CL for $800. Took them a couple months to sell.
 
I see 19's for sale occasionally,almost never see the mags for sale.
So i assume less mags were made,which might account for the higher selling price.
 
They are rare, that's the reason. Model 19 is only uncommon.

lakegville said:
seller told me that if he did not get 3k he would keep them because they "would only go up in value" . Like i said i am still trying to grasp why they command so much more than all the other Altec's. Even the Model 19? Was there limited production? Was the new retail price way up there? There were a pair of Bozak Concert Grands on a local CL for $800. Took them a couple months to sell.
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The guy I bought my 828 cabs from had a pair of Magnificents he built from the later 828 cabs with the horn in port. His were a little more extravagant looking and had thick slabs of granite on top for mass loading. I wish I had taken a pic.
I got his pair of extra cabs which were half converted. I decided to return them back to normal and put the horns back on top. Thats my only complaint about the magnificents is having the horn on the bottom. I much prefer how they sound on top
 
i talked with the seller today. He said he got them from the original owner recently when he had to downsize. When he purchased them new he had to go to the bank and secure a loan they were so incredibility expensive. I guess back then you could rest easy knowing you had some of the most awesome speakers around in these.

Not too far from that now.
 
elitopus said:
The guy I bought my 828 cabs from had a pair of Magnificents he built from the later 828 cabs with the horn in port. His were a little more extravagant looking and had thick slabs of granite on top for mass loading. I wish I had taken a pic.
I got his pair of extra cabs which were half converted. I decided to return them back to normal and put the horns back on top. Thats my only complaint about the magnificents is having the horn on the bottom. I much prefer how they sound on top
Click to expand...

Magnificents weren't the only 800 series cabinets that had the horns stuffed in the port. It was a common mounting for cabinets that had to be moved around.
 
Sam Cogley said:
Magnificents weren't the only 800 series cabinets that had the horns stuffed in the port. It was a common mounting for cabinets that had to be moved around.
Click to expand...

Right, the later style 828's were mostly that style I believe. My utility 828 cabs were like that and I built a new board for the port area so I could decrease port size and move the horn to the top.

I have not seen any of the earlier 825 cabs or plywood 828 that were like that from Altec. It sure doesn't mean they don't exist though:)
 
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