Altec Lansing Flamenco 848 vs Valencia 846a

[Rush Selden]

Hey, thanks for the quick reply and help! I've uploaded a photo of the Valencia with no ports, that I can see, and cannot see any modification. There was also a photo of the rear, but it was solid (with a square piece of wood in the middle at the top, a few inches square screwed into the main cover). But to your knowledge most Valencias are ported?

 

[michigannick]

ok these are ported too if you look closely at the outside edges of the horns just like on my 848 Flamencos these are the ports and to my uneducated understanding those were filled with foam to damp the response.... this my understanding but I am REALLYYYYY not well versed in Altec it is probably an insult to Altec lovers i even have the 848s at all! Especially sitting in my garage (don't worry people its a conditioned space its a work shop) with one stripped down and the other original waiting for me to have time to do something nice with the wood) on the bright side the wood is in fantastic shape the varnish had gotten hosed but they are in great shape just awaiting some love .. but to each side of that horn are for sure vents

 

[Rush Selden]

Ah, yes, indeed, I see the ports to the outside edge of the horn. Ok, at least that lets me know that all of them are ported, just in different places, which probably has more to do with when they were made than a significant design change. Just FYI I posted one of the other variety just for information. Thank you for your help!!

 

[BassKulcha]

Pretty sure those "square ported" ones aren't Valencias...they look like a DIY cabinet build. The first (no ported") ones you posted *are* Valencia 846As, just with the grill and base missing. The price for those are ridiculous, though (and this coming from a Valencia owner!)

 

[michigannick]

I am with @BassKulcha those do look very DIY

 

[seacliffe301]

Hey, thanks for the quick reply and help! I've uploaded a photo of the Valencia with no ports, that I can see, and cannot see any modification. There was also a photo of the rear, but it was solid (with a square piece of wood in the middle at the top, a few inches square screwed into the main cover). But to your knowledge most Valencias are ported?

Here is a picture of a Valencia 846B, circa 1975 which shows 2 round ports.
I'm guessing that they varied throughout the years.

Ps. Those squared ported units in those pictures are definitely NOT factory cabinets.

http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/altec/catalogs/1975-home/page03.jpg

 

[toddalin]

They are not Valencias. They are Santiagos.

 

[Mike Gibson]

I have had both the 846A & B models and much prefer the sound of the A's. The ports on the A's are up on each side of the horn which is why they aren't very noticeable. They are also rectangular and there is one on each side of the horn. The B's I currently have have around ports above the woofer. I have never heard the ports on the A model "breathe" like I can on the B's. The picture I posted shows the model B's sitting on a riser I built to place the horn at near ear level. It really helped the sound IMHO. I also have them bi-amped which really improved them IMHO.

 

[michigannick]

That is a LOTAA McIntosh .. and I am not talking Apples..

 

[seacliffe301]

I have had both the 846A & B models and much prefer the sound of the A's. The ports on the A's are up on each side of the horn which is why they aren't very noticeable. They are also rectangular and there is one on each side of the horn. The B's I currently have have around ports above the woofer. I have never heard the ports on the A model "breathe" like I can on the B's. The picture I posted shows the model B's sitting on a riser I built to place the horn at near ear level. It really helped the sound IMHO. I also have them bi-amped which really improved them IMHO.

View attachment 1731777

That's a fine looking system, it must sound incredible. I'm seeing 3 amps, how are they allocated in the bi-amp configuration?

They are not Valencias. They are Santiagos.

Which are not Valencia's?, those in the OP's pix?

 

[mhardy6647]

Hey, thanks for the quick reply and help! I've uploaded a photo of the Valencia with no ports, that I can see, and cannot see any modification. There was also a photo of the rear, but it was solid (with a square piece of wood in the middle at the top, a few inches square screwed into the main cover). But to your knowledge most Valencias are ported?

Those are 846 "A" morph Valencias, with 16 ohm drivers (at least, as built and sold). Nice loudspeakers; much of the value's in the components inside 'em, though.

This photo of one of mine (which I sold, years back -- keeping a pair of Santiagos instead, FWIW) should make the 'ports' located on either side of the 811B treble horn fairly obvious:

P1020753 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[bowtie427ss]

Which are not Valencia's?, those in the OP's pix?

He's missed a couple small details, we all do now and then. No biggie.

Aside from the Altec catalog page, all of the cabinets in this thread are 416 loaded bass reflex boxes.

If Todd could visit the Santiago in the flesh, he'd note 2 things right away. a) the Santiago is a true sealed box system. b) the 411-8A woofer looks an awful lot like an LE-15.

Here's a mixture of 411-8A, and LE15:

 

[Mike Gibson]

That's a fine looking system, it must sound incredible. I'm seeing 3 amps, how are they allocated in the bi-amp configuration?

In that configuration the 2205 powered the woofers and the 275 ran the horns. The 2205 was used to power the outdoor speakers.

Thank you for your compliment. It brings the music right in the room to my ears. I've heard lots of speakers that do some things better than these but none that sound more live or musical.

 

[seacliffe301]

There was also a photo of the rear, but it was solid (with a square piece of wood in the middle at the top, a few inches square screwed into the main cover).

I'm not sure if you had gotten an explanation for this, so I thought I'd chime in. That square piece of wood covers a hole that houses the HF driver that is mounted to the back of the horn.
My Flamenco's have that same configuration. I can't be certain, but it always seemed like a band-aid fix to a miscalculation on the depth of the horn and driver, with these items being slightly longer than the interior depth of the cabinet. Like maybe the cabinets were built and then the components arrived, resulting in a big "uh-oh". But, I could be wrong.

 

[bowtie427ss]

I'm not sure if you had gotten an explanation for this, so I thought I'd chime in. That square piece of wood covers a hole that houses the HF driver that is mounted to the back of the horn.
My Flamenco's have that same configuration. I can't be certain, but it always seemed like a band-aid fix to a miscalculation on the depth of the horn and driver, with these items being slightly longer than the interior depth of the cabinet. Like maybe the cabinets were built and then the components arrived, resulting in a big "uh-oh". But, I could be wrong.

It's an access panel to allow field service(replacement) of the HF diaphragm without further opening the cabinet or removing the horn. All you needed was a screwdriver, and in just a few minutes the HF was repaired and the speaker back in service.

In field serviceability was a big selling/marketing point devised by Altec that would be copied by other speaker companies in the professional audio world.

 

[hjames]

The original Valencias 846A cabinets have open space at each end of the horns acting as ports. (My Heathkit AS-101 are that design). A ported design.
The 2nd generation (846B) have the round ports below the horn area ... another ported design

I did a google and saw a 3rd design clearly stated "Custom Cherry Cabinets made by the owner" with rectangular ports below the woofer.

FWIW, on my Heathkit "Valencias" - the whole back panel is removable

Hey all, I have been interested in purchasing a pair of Altec Valencias, since I have an Art Audio PX25 SET amp that I love. I found several pair of Valencias for sale, but note some distinct differences (not just in price). The most expensive pair ($3,800) has no ports on front or back. The next most expensive ($1,600) has a set of round ports, one on each side of the front cabinet just below the horn. The least expensive ($1,200) has a set of square ports, on each side of the cabinet below the woofers. Does anyone know what any of that means regarding the Valencias themselves? I understand in general terms the difference between sealed box speakers (which one pair seems to be) and "bass reflex" ported speakers, which the other two seem to be, but wondered why the same model of speaker (Altec Valencia) would be offered in these different versions? I've read a bit about them (mostly from Art Dudley), mostly about differences in make of drivers, but don't remember anyone mentioning the difference in ports or no ports. Any insight?

 

[seacliffe301]

It's an access panel to allow field service(replacement) of the HF diaphragm without further opening the cabinet or removing the horn. All you needed was a screwdriver, and in just a few minutes the HF was repaired and the speaker back in service.

In field serviceability was a big selling/marketing point devised by Altec that would be copied by other speaker companies in the professional audio world.

Thanks. I figured that there was a logical explanation for this.

 

[alteclipsch]

My Vals have that little access panel. It's surprisingly thin, like 1/8" plywood, stapled in. I'd expect more than that in a big cabinet, although in a ported enclosure maybe the rigidity isn't that important back there. Also, the entire back is removable.

 

[OBMG74]

Reviving this thread because I ran across this information: (as noted in the comments after the article, the woofers were incorrectly stated as being 13.5" not 15")
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-169

I have renewed interest because I have enjoyed my Valencia 846A's since their acquisition in 2004 and acquired a set of Flamenco's (grilles missing-thank God) yesterday.

 

[michigannick]

Reviving this thread because I ran across this information: (as noted in the comments after the article, the woofers were incorrectly stated as being 13.5" not 15")
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-169

I have renewed interest because I have enjoyed my Valencia 846A's since their acquisition in 2004 and acquired a set of Flamenco's (grilles missing-thank God) yesterday.

The girlles are actually kind of nice if you ruh a new grill cloth behind them like many have done on the Valencia a light cream synthetic linin look turns out beautiful with the darker wood finish