Altec Bolero vs Boston Acoustics VR40
- Thread starter MezcalOxa
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Got_Horns
Active Member
I have never listened to the boleros but have had many model BAs. Probably depends on what kind of music you listen to, but the BAs always had amazing vocals. Maybe not the best low end but very nice mids and tweets. I would go with those and save the long day trip. Would have to be something great or a super deal to get me to go that far. Gas money or not
I think 890C Boleros easily have $500 worth of sound. (I've no experience with earlier versions of the Bolero.) I think Boston Acoustics are run of the mill and nowhere near the quality of 890Cs, which I think are in an entirely different league. If big dog Altecs like VOTs, 604s, Model 19s and Valencias are the Majors the 890c is AAA. My opinion.
For my first set of Boleros I drove from Chicago to Ann Arbor. That was about, oh, 18 years ago? Well worth the drive.
For my first set of Boleros I drove from Chicago to Ann Arbor. That was about, oh, 18 years ago? Well worth the drive.
AudioWill
Member
If the VR's sound anything like the VR-M series that I'm very familiar with then they are keepers.
As far as the Boleros, I recently picked up a nice pair of 890c"s for an insanely low price and have been listening to them daily for a few weeks now. Knowing what I know now sound-wise about them, I might consider that drive and the price.
In good working order I don't think you'll be disappointed either way. Price on the other hand is for you to decide and try to negotiate.
As far as the Boleros, I recently picked up a nice pair of 890c"s for an insanely low price and have been listening to them daily for a few weeks now. Knowing what I know now sound-wise about them, I might consider that drive and the price.
In good working order I don't think you'll be disappointed either way. Price on the other hand is for you to decide and try to negotiate.
Thanx guys, puddle under the car this morning toy fund is now car fund ( sighhhh like my 7yo grand niece ) I have seen the Bolero's as high as 2K mint, this would be a purchase to love for a year and move on, Upscale recentish BA with the right caps in the XO are giant killers, these cabinets are far from mint so I would be stuck with them. Maybe wait for a price drop.
Last edited:
elitopus
Addicted Member
It’s amazing how much prices have risen in the past 5-10 years. I remember looking at Boleros for $200 a pair not that long ago and being on the fence about spending that much.
It’s not that they aren’t worth the money, but there are still deals out there. In the past year I bought a pair of 892 Madera for 50 bucks. Advertised on FBM for days before I bought them. And a few years ago I got a pair of 892 Madera for 100 bucks from eBay. It was an auction and I was the only one who bid.
I know Madera aren’t Boleros, but they do have the same woofer and horn.
It’s not that they aren’t worth the money, but there are still deals out there. In the past year I bought a pair of 892 Madera for 50 bucks. Advertised on FBM for days before I bought them. And a few years ago I got a pair of 892 Madera for 100 bucks from eBay. It was an auction and I was the only one who bid.
I know Madera aren’t Boleros, but they do have the same woofer and horn.
AudioWill
Member
The market has gone up quite a bit for them. Four or five months ago a set of Boleros were listed locally for 400 but they looked like they needed a little work. The ones I picked up a few weeks ago, the finish on the cabs could use a refresh but otherwise in good shape. The drivers are in great shape and the grills are intact, just a little dirty but cleaned up nicely. I got the set plus a working Pioneer SX-450 all for thirty dollars from the original owner. I just stumbled on the CL listing that was vague but figured I would check it out. Definitely a fluke in today's market but I'm glad I rolled the dice to check it out.
Lazarus Long
Super Member
I had a pair of boleros. They were very decent. But I sure wouldn’t travel 550 miles and spend $500. Even if they were 5 miles away, for $500 they better be in very nice cosmetic condition and function flawlessly.
Yup Audio Will. There was a set of Carver Amazing here on CL for $200, posting was 2 hours old. By the time I searched here to see if they not going to be paperweights like most old ribbons, and with BG out of business, they sold. Back on next week for $800. Gone in hours. There is a huge thrift store here, opens at noon. The first males in line, all with gray hair make a bee line for the electronics isle. lol. I have bought some no name reconed drivers from a local who scored a set of Bozak 4 way, as in curbside find, I found one pic online of these things, he thinks they maybe made 10 pairs. He is going to put a ton of work into them, be interesting how well they sell. I have a set of original as in unmolested, unrefoamed, unrecapped DCM TF600. I would think that what was an expensive and very good speaker, they still do an awful lot really well, would fetch more that $100. I wanted $200. So they are now my permanent rear channels. I was thinking of the Boleros to play with and resell, the cabinets of the BA are pretty rough, I might wait for them to drop.
I bought a set of Boleros for $50. mirrored them and recapped with Dayton 1% caps. They are great speakers and worth 500 all day long. I sold mine for 400 6 or 7 years ago only because they were too big for the room. I take road trips quite a bit so that wouldn't deter me. 2000 for a pair even mint is crazy high.
