Altec Lansing Model 14 for $1000

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When those were new, i borrowed a pair for the weekend (we were allowed to do that) from the store I was working at. By their appearance, I thought a scaled down 19. In short order, I managed to "pop" one of the voice coils out of the gap thereby freezing the woofer.

I assumed. for some reason, the woofers had a voice coil similar in size to that of a 19 but it was only 1.5"

The service guys put them right, but I completely lost interest in that model. The speakers I owned at the time were Double Advents which were to me, a lot better sounding. That horn in the 14's was a screamer.

Good looking boxes though - that's what attracted me in the first place.

I hated them, you may like them,
 
Gee wizz. Some people consider the Model 14 to be "Model 19 slayers". My experience the Mantaray horn a significant improvement over the 811 which did have a shrill quality to me. I don't use the 14s for complex orchestral but for smaller arrangement music, they can really shine with incredible realism.

Perhaps the choice of electronics and/or material played some part with the disappointing experience reported above but the user reviews posted online have been overwhelmingly favorable.

I've used mine with tube and solid state McIntosh amplifiers and the speaker seems to perform equally well with either.
 
62vauxhall said:
When those were new, i borrowed a pair for the weekend (we were allowed to do that) from the store I was working at. By their appearance, I thought a scaled down 19. In short order, I managed to "pop" one of the voice coils out of the gap thereby freezing the woofer.

I assumed. for some reason, the woofers had a voice coil similar in size to that of a 19 but it was only 1.5"

The service guys put them right, but I completely lost interest in that model. The speakers I owned at the time were Double Advents which were to me, a lot better sounding. That horn in the 14's was a screamer.

Good looking boxes though - that's what attracted me in the first place.

I hated them, you may like them,
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Ok then.
62caddy said:
Gee wizz. Some people consider the Model 14 to be "Model 19 slayers". My experience the Mantaray horn a significant improvement over the 811 which did have a shrill quality to me. I don't use the 14s for complex orchestral but for smaller arrangement music, they can really shine with incredible realism.

Perhaps the choice of electronics and/or material played some part with the disappointing experience reported above but the user reviews posted online have been overwhelmingly favorable.

I've used mine with tube and solid state McIntosh amplifiers and the speaker seems to perform equally well with either.
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Ok so what about the value? Would you jump on these given you like 'em?
 
Dave_1962 said:
These are less than an hour from me - I'm single and I have the cash. I'm not sure how a MANTARAY constant directivity horn sounds but I'm very sorely tempted to find out. What say you?

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649496329-altec-lansing-model-14-speakersmonitors/
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14's sound good to me. Price a tad high for the condition, imo. A grand could put you into a pair of NS-1000's, ADS 910's, Possibly JBL L112's...Speakers that I would consider to be in the same ballpark or better.
 
UncleBingo said:
14's sound good to me. Price a tad high for the condition, imo. A grand could put you into a pair of NS-1000's, ADS 910's, Possibly JBL L112's...Speakers that I would consider to be in the same ballpark or better.
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So if the price is a tad high for you you'd offer_ leading to settle at no more than _:dunno:
 
Dave,

I have had 2 pairs of these and honestly I really enjoyed them. There is an article that a company made about how to get really crazy in modifications (Internally) that make them a whole new level. It really depends on what you want to do with them. Are these going to be something you have heard before or will It be your first time? Do you like the Altec sound or is it something new all together in this aspect?

I would say bring the full amount and offer 800.00 cash in hand. Spend some time listening to them from various points in his room. Look over everything and get a good feel for how they were cared for. I'd say for 800.00 I'd be happy to buy them, 1000.00 is a bit much out of my comfort zone to be honest. Granted he has recapped the XO, but still it's what I feel would be a good starting point to discuss.

These woofers are only shared with the LF-1 sub that Altec made if I recall. In my area a pair almost identical sold for 750.00.
 
My advice (FWIW) -- look for a pair of Fifteens.

altec_Model_15_blog(1).jpg

Here's why:
http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2018/02/altec-32a-32b-emilar-eh1210-eh800-eh500.html

The WE/Altec 32 horn family is just a little bit special... :)
 
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$1000 CAD is about $850 US.

I have a pair of 14's and a pair of 19's. The 14's sound awesome at lower volume levels and the mantaray horn is very smooth, but the 19's sound incredible given the right setup and the space to breathe. You won't be disappointed with the 14's and I'd say offer $800 CAD and you'll be happy.
 
x3workshop said:
$1000 CAD is about $850 US.

I have a pair of 14's and a pair of 19's. The 14's sound awesome at lower volume levels and the mantaray horn is very smooth, but the 19's sound incredible given the right setup and the space to breathe. You won't be disappointed with the 14's and I'd say offer $800 CAD and you'll be happy.
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Galaxie65 said:
Dave,

I have had 2 pairs of these and honestly I really enjoyed them. There is an article that a company made about how to get really crazy in modifications (Internally) that make them a whole new level. It really depends on what you want to do with them. Are these going to be something you have heard before or will It be your first time? Do you like the Altec sound or is it something new all together in this aspect?

I would say bring the full amount and offer 800.00 cash in hand. Spend some time listening to them from various points in his room. Look over everything and get a good feel for how they were cared for. I'd say for 800.00 I'd be happy to buy them, 1000.00 is a bit much out of my comfort zone to be honest. Granted he has recapped the XO, but still it's what I feel would be a good starting point to discuss.

These woofers are only shared with the LF-1 sub that Altec made if I recall. In my area a pair almost identical sold for 750.00.
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I'll offer 8 and see what happens. I'll be back.
 
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Galaxie65 said:
These woofers are only shared with the LF-1 sub that Altec made if I recall.
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Both coffee table subs used it, one of them used a modified version with dual voice coils.

The model 8 also used the 14's woofer(034633) as did the last several pairs of Santana II to leave the factory.

Compared to the model 15 woofer(033785), the 14 woofer has a downward shifted frequency response, and is slightly less sensitive with it's overall smaller motor.

The model 14 would be the first and only home loudspeaker from Altec that used a constant directivity horn. With it's 7/8 inch throat it was designed specifically for use with the new ferrite 900 series compression drivers which enjoy a frequency response that is shifted upward nearly a full octave above the 800 series alnico drivers. It definitely has a different sonic signature from the classic exponential horn equipped Altecs.

The end result for the model 14 was a speaker system with a broader and smoother frequency response than any single box Altec had offered prior. Just don't expect that broad smooth response when you drive them up to their rated power.

The cost/compromise is that the mid-range acoustic output of the system cannot keep up when driven hard. Even though the marketing would have you believe they were intended for high power solid state amplification, high acoustic output(spl) is not where they shine best.

The 40 year old crossover engineering saw several revisions during the short production span, and given the advancement in consumer based analysis hardware and software, further improvements can likely be made by those willing to make the personal investment.

All that said, if a person takes the time to get their placement right and feeds them with decent quality upstream gear, they can be a very rewarding, and satisfying speaker. Feed them a few good watts and joy will follow.

Just my .02 y'all understand..............................
 
I listen to a wide variety basically everything but opera and classical. not that there's anything wrong with either Speaker wise I have most recently enjoyed the heck out of a set of Klipsch Cornwall II's which have raised my "listening consciousness" to a new bar with which I might compare the 14's. I don't mean to whip out fancy sounding bull crap to sound 'phile-ish; I just mean they sounded so fantastic I had to go through my 850 cds because it was like hearing things for the first time that weren't distinguishable before. I was blown away. As newly converted horn fan I wonder how the MANTARAY horn + one 12" woofer can stack up against the Klipsch 2 horn + one 15" woofer line up. Sure specs are great to read but you can't hear 'em. Looking for the same type of revelation the Cornies gave me but somehow I'd be doubtin' 'er. The horn dispersion angle diagrams for the 14's are impressive though.
 
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I had a pair of 14’s for awhile and I really enjoyed rotating between them, ADS 1290’s, and Sony SS-M7’s. I picked up the Altecs for $400-$500 can’t remember which. Eventually sold them for what I paid and everyone was happy. I kinda miss them and would grab another pair if opportunity knocked. I think the ask for your pair is high but these things are often dependent on location. In these parts larger, older speakers can be tough to move. Of the three speakers mentioned only the Sony’s remain.
 
UncleBingo said:
14's sound good to me. Price a tad high for the condition, imo. A grand could put you into a pair of NS-1000's, ADS 910's, Possibly JBL L112's...Speakers that I would consider to be in the same ballpark or better.
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I think a grand a decent price for the 14's. I got mine 6 months ago for $700 from a friend (he wanted quit a bit more for them) I respectfully disagree with Tom about the NS-1000's being in the same league. I've had a beautiful set of the NS-1000's and hands down the 14 is the superior speaker. IMO the NS-1000 is maybe of the most overrated and overpriced speakers out there right now. I couldn't wait to get rid of my pair. I think my NS-680 out performs the NS-1000. I love the sound of the 14's I especially love the Mantaray horn!
 
Cornwalls and Nineteens easily fall into the high sensitivity category at around 100db. They can give a presentation that is huge and effortless in terms of dynamic impact and scale.

Altec claims 95db sensitivity for the Fourteen which is probably a bit optimistic on the LF. To get the 14 to match the acoustic output of a Cornwall or Nineteen will require a near twice doubling of input power at any given SPL.
 
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