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Altec Santana IIs

B

bman22

Active Member
Somebody is offering me a pair of Altec Santana IIs, and I'm curious what people think about them, and what would be a reasonable price? How do they compare to other Altecs, and if anybody has heard like the Infinity Kappa 7s, and can compare them. I'm leaning toward getting them, if I can get a price I like, as they are Altecs after all, but I just wanted to see what people thought as I can't find a whole ton on them.
 
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The Santanas have a very interesting and desirable woofer. I believe it's called the "Duplex" woofer. As a speaker, they are very dynamic, but overall performance is mediocre at best, due mainly to the cone tweeter. If you can get 'em cheap, you can surely flip them for a tidy profit. The Kappa 7's are much superior in terms of audio reproduction.
 
They're the bottom half of a model 15 with the top half of the smallest and cheapest bookshelf systems Altec made. Good econowave candidates.

The Santanas have a very interesting and desirable woofer. I believe it's called the "Duplex" woofer.
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"Bi-flex" is the term you're looking for, and those are only in the original 879A model Santana. The Santana II uses a model 15/model 9 woofer with a cone tweeter similar to the one in the 879A.
 
And isn't the model 15 woofer ultra hard to get your hands on if you ever need another and pretty much unrepairable because of lack of parts?

Seems I remember one of the model somethings being like that... maybe it was the 14 if not the 15?
 
similost said:
And isn't the model 15 woofer ultra hard to get your hands on if you ever need another and pretty much unrepairable because of lack of parts?

Seems I remember one of the model somethings being like that... maybe it was the 14 if not the 15?
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The 15 woofer is more common than the 14's, it was used in more models. My 15's were re-foamed at GPA by the previous owner. I'm told that GPA can rebuild them with all parts available, but that would need to be confirmed with GPA.
 
I think they would be a great candidate for an upeer end overhaul- Econwave is a good thought. ALtec did make some very nice low end drivers along with the 811 & 511 horns, the rest I am not as enthralled about.

Get them cheap and them improve them- a lot of room for growth and excellence here!
DC
 
Is $200 cheap enough? He was suggesting a lot more than that, but I pointed out a couple pair have been on eBay recently at $350 and didn't sell, so, I'll see if he can be talked down.
 
I think 200 is certainly fair, i'd not want to see anybody lay out much more than that for a pair. The bulk of the value is in the cabinets and woofers. You may also want to point out to him that the slate tops are really faux slate, functional and pretty, but not a value booster.
 
I am a big fan of Altec speakers, but the Santanas will not keep up with the Kappa 7s. The Emit tweeters in the Kappas are excellent and easy on the ears, the mids aren't half bad neither, overall the infinities will be the better performer. The Kappas are a lot harder to drive than the Altecs, meaning you will not be able to use the same 50 watt per channel receiver that would push the Altecs just fine. So if you do not wanna spend extra money on a bigger amp of at least 200 W.P.C. and handle a 4 0hm load, get the Altecs.
 
The Santana II are a 12" standard type woofer with a phenolic ring tweeter. The tweeter is definitely the weak link on these speakers, rebuilding the crossovers does help to a certain degree. That being said, they aren't a bad sounding speaker. They work well with mid power vintage amps and receivers. I ran mine for about three years on a Pioneer SX-838, nice combo for classic rock and blues. I always though about trying a different tweeter in them, an econowave might be a real good idea on these.
 
Luckily, I've got 2 amps right now that will handle my 7s just fine (not that I think that they are all that tough. I rarely push more than 20watts). Guy is telling me he thinks they might actually be the first Santanas though, which would push them out of my price range anyway. Will see.
 
They are original Santanas with the Duplex woofer. What does that do to the price, and sound quality? The guy was telling me like $2k, which I though was absurd. Can somebody give me an idea of a more reasonable number?
 
I don't think they would have a duplex woofer. He is getting that term confused with biflex woofer. That would be an absurd amount for a set IMHO.
 
My mistake. Guess its a biflex.

I said I was seeing them go for $200 to $500 on eBay, depending on condition, and he immediately said they were in perfect shape. I always get a little pissed when its obvious somebody is trying to milk me for every penny they can, so I kinda went off saying I am leaning toward the $200, as I had been told the tweeter wasn't great, and my speakers would easily beat them.... My guess is I won't be hearing back from him...

I gotta lean not to do that when I get a little angry. I've done it a few times now.... never works, people just get angry...
 
Biflex woofers are, IMHO, great for flipping on eBay but not so great for listening. For those who love them, enjoy.
 
Sam Cogley said:
Biflex woofers are, IMHO, great for flipping on eBay but not so great for listening. For those who love them, enjoy.
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How high would the bi-flex extend Sam? I've never heard any, but do have a pair of 605A Duplexe's. I am guessing that the bi-flex would behave similarly to a whizzer-cone smaller "FR" driver?
 
I gotta lean not to do that when I get a little angry. I've done it a few times now.... never works, people just get angry...
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It can be a tough act to polish at first, but everybody wins if you remain firm on your offer, and remain POLITE. It's not unusual for a seller to get back to you, or re-consider your offer after he becomes more realistically informed of the actual value of what he's selling.

With his current thought pattern on their value, it's a sure thing that he's going to have his Santanas for sale for a loooooooooooooooooooong time.

FWIW, the original Santana's are worth very little more than the II's. The 420 woofers bring ~300 on ebay leaving you with an empty cabinet and mediocre tweeter. Subtract the ebay/pp fees and your time needed to sell, pack, and ship, and 200 still prevails as a fair price.

The guy was telling me like $2k
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Get some of what he's smoking, that's obviously the high value item in this deal.

2 grand is not absurd, it's insane!

2 grand would buy you the nicest pair of model 19's on the planet, and they're at least 10 times the speaker that either Santana version is.
 
Case in point, I emailed a local person about his 1980 Cornwall listed in the local CL. He wanted top dollar, he used EBay as an example, I politely countered his price with one of my own, it was $250 less!! What the heck it was near xmas time and he might go for ir. He respomded the next day saying his price was firm- I wished him "good luck- you'll need it!!". One week later he emails me and sez to come get them!

The point here is to put your name in the fore front, become available should they become able to sell at a lower cost. I can & does work.
DC
 
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I did that with the McIntosh MAC4200 I found locally. Guy wanted $750. I told him to let me know if he can't sell it at that.

But it just always bugs me when people are just trying to get as much money out of something as possible. I mean, the things have been sitting around, probably unused, and he had no idea what they were worth until he looked. He could have thrown them out before, not even knowing they were worth a dime, and now he wants top dollar for them. If I don't get them, no big loss.
 
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