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Altec Model 9 - Any Love?

corpblues

corpblues

AK Member
I picked up a pair of Altec Model 9 speakers today at an estate sale. I have zero knowledge about them but they appeared well made the price was right, so grabbed them. They are in a desperate need of a refoam job, but otherwise appear to be in good shape.

I can't find but one for sale (ebay), so not sure what they are really worth. Worth doesn't really matter but I would like to know if they are good speakers before I invest any money to refoam or replace any parts.

The little information I could find on, it appears they have some love but not too commonly mentioned.
 
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I bought a pair in 1976 and still have them. When I listened to mostly rock music I loved them; they will put out a lot of bass. When I first got them, I compared them side by side with a friend's set of JBL L-100s, and they sounded noticeably better: not as efficient, so they didn't play quite as loud at the same volume setting, but more refined, with less distortion from the tweeter and midrange.

There are kits readily available for refoaming and rebuilding the woofers; I've had them both rebuilt by a speaker repair pro from kits.

Probably the weakest part of them is the tweeter; they're not as collectable as those big Altec models which feature horns, which was one of the company's main claims to fame. If a tweeter or midrange fails, it might be harder to find parts than for the woofers. But if you got them at the right price, and you wind up liking how they sound, you might be very happy with them.
 
I have a pair of model 9's also but mine are in need of a recone for the mid and woofer, the problem is that while gpa can recone the woofers no problem they have nothing for the mids, but I have read that the bose 901 foam is a damn near perfect fit if that's all they need. The 9's were my grandparents and were great sounding speakers, really nice highs. My dad had a pair of modle 7's (they share the same mid and tweeter, but use a 10 inch woofer in a 12 inch frame) and I always like the 9's a little better for the added bass over the 7's. The model 9's were the best non horn loaded speakers Altec had.
 
Model 9's like the cousins was Altecs attempt to stay in the consumer market. The only part they made was the woofer. Everything else was farmed out, or supplied by others, which is normally the way for consumer speakers that are or were affordable. If you like Altec I would look further up the food chain choosing either their professional monitors or Consumer speakers based on the monitors like the Model 19 for instance. Any time you see paper mids and tweeters you haven't climbed the latter very far or the speakers are ancient.
 
Meyers, they need a refoaming not a reconing. This is a job you can do yourself. Look for help here on AK.

I only had the Model 3 Altecs and I loved them. I think you will like them a lot.
 
Bought a pair for $50 back around 1980...still have 'em. Mine, like others around here, need a woofer & mid refoam. Good rock n roll speakers. Of course, the foam grills rotted away years ago...scraped off the foam residue & put on brown cloth. Looks nice.
 
Fair value for these Altec Model 9 Series 1?

I bought them for $50 at an estate sale. They looked too well built to pass on.

I have ordered the woofer and mid refoam kit last night. Hope they sound good after the rebuild and the sore back from carrying 60 LBS speakers around. I should know in about a week, lol.
 
corpblues said:
Fair value for these Altec Model 9 Series 1?

I bought them for $50 at an estate sale. They looked too well built to pass on.

I have ordered the woofer and mid refoam kit last night. Hope they sound good after the rebuild and the sore back from carrying 60 LBS speakers around. I should know in about a week, lol.
Click to expand...

Mind posting where you're getting the midrange foams? Inquiring minds would like to know:)
 
They're ok -- and certainly well made & attractive.


altec9 by mhardy6647, on Flickr
altec9001 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

My advice, though, FWIW, would have been to save up/hold out for a pair of "real" Altecs.
Hint: real Altecs have horns... and know what to do with 'em.
:-)

P1020753 by mhardy6647, on Flickr


In all seriousness -- the Nines may give some sense of the Altec sound -- but the classic Altecs are likely to be more satisfying in the long term.

That said, I would probably have brought home a pair in good condition for fifty smackers, too. In fact, I am pretty sure I would have.
 
electronjohn said:
Mind posting where you're getting the midrange foams? Inquiring minds would like to know:)
Click to expand...

I ordered the foams from ebay from midwestspeaker. They had a kit that included both the woofer and mid with free shipping for $40.45.

I have ordered in the past from simply speakers and greatplains audio. Very positive experiences with both of those companies in the past.

I went with midwestspeaker due to lower price and they promptly answered my question before ordering. I'll report back on the parts after the repair has been completed.
 
^^^
Well...that's good to know. Would that be the Midwest Speaker in St. Paul? I need to stop by there next time I'm in the Twin Cities.
 
electronjohn said:
^^^
Well...that's good to know. Would that be the Midwest Speaker in St. Paul? I need to stop by there next time I'm in the Twin Cities.
Click to expand...

No sure where Midwest Speaker on ebay is located, guess I will find out when the package arrives.

I also found a company, Great Plains Audio, which specialize in Altec speakers.
http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/
They do not sell the kits but will do perform Model 9 reform for $40 per driver.

Great Plans Audio was able to confirm my woofers were original altec. "You do have the original M9 speaker system, the only difference is the woofers Altec changed the frame on the M9 woofer they went to the Aluminum cast frames on the M9II."

I know times have changed, but how can a 60 lbs speaker be a bookshelf monitor? They must have made really big bookshelves in the 70's.
 
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The foams for the woofers worked perfectly. They sound great!

The Mid's are up next, but I'm too busy listening to them at the moment. :banana:

Thumbs up on Midwestspeaker.
 
With a little guidance over on the speakers forum, I have completed the re-foam.

Important tip : Glue the poly cap on the back onto the rear of the mid-range drivers. Without that cap they sound a bit muddled.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=655784

They are sounding very nice!

IMAG1429_zpspqvlwvsn.jpg
 
Finished pictures. Wanted to post a few pics before I pass them along.

I'm rather proud of how well these turned out. The color differences on the cones are only shadows due to my lacking photography skills.

IMAG2063_zpso1agmnll.jpg



IMAG2060_zps084bp5xl.jpg


IMAG2067_zpswsdupez5.jpg


IMAG2066_zps5hifqcj1.jpg
 
Those look great. I had purchased a set of these new in '75 or '76. A good friend of mine worked at the record & hi fi shop where they sold these. I used her employee discount and ended up paying about $300 for the pair. (At the time, L-100's were twice that amount).

I only had them for about a year or two when I sold them to a friend in order to purchase my Holy Grail, a one owner pair of Altec Flamenco's. A few years later, I moved into a house that allowed for a second speaker rig in another room. I tried to get those Model 9's back but my buddy wouldn't hear of it. I ended up picking up a pair of 4311's instead. Glad to see that there is still some love for the Model 9's.

I didn't notice, but did you get the grills with them? If yes, what color, and are they in good shape?


Ps. Just a couple years ago I saw that someone had sold (4) of these in beautiful shape for $150. I felt that someone got a heck of a good deal.
 
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