Can you identify these speakers?

[PROJECT 2501]

You're in Winchester, CA, near Riverside? A 90 minute drive will take you either to LA, Barstow, Indio, or San Diego, not to mention all of Orange County.

Yes..That is correct...though i am having difficulty grasping the message being conveyed here.
Could you please clarify what you mean by this?

 

[PROJECT 2501]

Some people are willing to pick up lots of speakers to try out and goof around with, maybe with multiple systems. Others are looking for one pair for their stereo.

Since you are new to audio, I suspect if you get these and really get into the hobby, you will be replacing/upgrading them. Many (most?) of us went through a phase early on where we collected a lot of mediocre stuff. Eventually you download a lot of that and concentrate on smaller quantity with better quality. You could skip a few steps here.

Or Biggles might be right. He's sure heard his share of speakers.

The future is yours to decide!

Thank you for the advice.....im not sure how you came to the conclusion that I am new to audio but you are incorrect in believing this to be true.

 

[swechsler]

Thank you for the advice.....im not sure how you came to the conclusion that I am new to audio but you are incorrect in believing this to be true.

Since you were unable to determine that these were poor quality speakers by their appearance, it was a reasonable conclusion. I assumed the same thing about you. don't be offended, please.

 

[mech986]

Yes..That is correct...though i am having difficulty grasping the message being conveyed here.
Could you please clarify what you mean by this?

Hi, just saying that if they are 90 minutes drive from you, they are not real local, and could be as far away as those points I mentioned.

What that also means is that if you are considering them, there's a lot of territory covered by that 90 min. Radius and a lot of other gear could be examined and considered as well. Just options, no harm either way.

 

[hopeless]

I have to agree with the majority here. Not worth the $20, let alone the gas. Where you are located, there has to be a massive amount of speakers available that would be far more promising. This is obviously a fairly poor design. I agree with the guess that it's a woofer with a passive radiator, but the woofer does appear to be far too large for the cabinet, and the tweeters will likely cause some really nice comb filtering and other odd soundstaging effects due to multiple point sources. Let alone the fact that they are those cheap 3" paper jobs which are questionable anyway.

Take your $20 and the gas money and put it towards a better pair closer to you. My best CL city is 4 hours away, and sometimes I feel the need to make that trip. But it has to be special. Even a couple of hours has to be worth it.

 

[PROJECT 2501]

Since you were unable to determine that these were poor quality speakers by their appearance, it was a reasonable conclusion. I assumed the same thing about you. don't be offended, please.

Hmmm... what exactly was I supposed to be offended by?

So your perception is that the speakers in question are of such a low quality that it should be clearly evident to everyone except for those who are new to audio equipment?

So that I am able to verify whether or not i am lacking the fundamental knowledge posessed by experienced audio enthusiasts which in your opinion is the case.....

Could you please share your insight on the quality of the following pictured speakers? Could you also share your findings of any potential differences in quality between these speakers and the one in question?

Thanks

 

[jobrewer1983]

Hmmm... what exactly was I supposed to be offended by?

So your perception is that the speakers in question are of such a low quality that it should be clearly evident to everyone except for those who are new to audio equipment?

So that I am able to verify whether or not i am lacking the fundamental knowledge posessed by experienced audio enthusiasts which in your opinion is the case.....

Could you please share your insight on the quality of the following pictured speakers? Could you also share your findings of any potential differences in quality between these speakers and the one in question?

Thanks

Hi again PROJECT 2501,

Hope all is well, so I took a closer look at the pic you posted, are the woofers the paper/cloth surrounds, or foam?

Nice pix of the Altec's I had a set of the Universitys and they were great!

One question, did you pull the woofers yet? Any stamps, or markings at all?

I'm interested to know what the woofers are...

 

[toxcrusadr]

No need to be so, what's the word...contentious? Defensive? If you ask opinions don't be surprised if you get a variety of frank ones.

 

[mars_volta]

Geez someone go get those Polks for $99!! They are RARE and will sound fantastic!

 

[mech986]

Hmmm... what exactly was I supposed to be offended by?

So your perception is that the speakers in question are of such a low quality that it should be clearly evident to everyone except for those who are new to audio equipment?

So that I am able to verify whether or not i am lacking the fundamental knowledge posessed by experienced audio enthusiasts which in your opinion is the case.....

Could you please share your insight on the quality of the following pictured speakers? Could you also share your findings of any potential differences in quality between these speakers and the one in question?

Thanks

The Altec 886A you are showing are from a well known manufacturer of good to high quality speakers in the 50's through the early 80's. However, there are differences in the quality of vintage speakers and Altecs are no different.

The speakers you are now showing are similar in that they use one active woofer, one passive radiator and a tweeter or horn mid/tweeter.

What is important is these speakers were from a consumer range that was built to a much lower price point to compete with the various other speaker makes in the early to mid 70's. The woofers are stamped frame with very inexpensive magnetic structure and the tweeters were CTS off the shelf parts - very unlike Altecs much loved and better built vintage speakers. I wouldn't be surprised if the woofers were also made by CTS rather than be made by Altec. Having said that, Altec did know how to voice speakers or work them with the crossover to sound decently, and some owners have liked them very much. The cabinets seem to be decently made as well. But most suggest they don't rate prices over $100 each or pair. But maybe worth taking a look at if the price is right.

Here's the thread you pulled the photo from and a couple from AK:

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?8018-Altec-886a

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=367219

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66329

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=182625

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=636183

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=178751

The Altec 890C Boleros are a bit different - they have Altec designed and built woofer with 3 inch voice coil and compression driver, much more expensive and better built/better sounding.

But you're right, it can be hard to tell just by pictures regarding the design and potential sound. That's why getting as much information as possible is important before setting off or spending any money - unless the price is so good that its not a problem to lose money if it turns out they aren't so good.

A pair of Boleros would easily be worth a few hundred for most of us.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?2598-Altec-Boleros

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=567489

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=448514

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=538589

 

[PROJECT 2501]

No need to be so, what's the word...contentious? Defensive? If you ask opinions don't be surprised if you get a variety of frank ones.

Im having difficulty understanding why you feel that my previous response was in some way "contentious" or "defensive". It was my goal to decipher whether or not my knowledge of audio equipment is on par with the rest of the community. I was open to the opinion of the individual who claimed that I showed evidence of being a novice and only wanted to have this person verify his claim.
If I have presented myself in a manner that comes off as being irrational then, well, I apologize....

 

[PROJECT 2501]

The Altec 886A you are showing are from a well known manufacturer of good to high quality speakers in the 50's through the early 80's. However, there are differences in the quality of vintage speakers and Altecs are no different.

The speakers you are now showing are similar in that they use one active woofer, one passive radiator and a tweeter or horn mid/tweeter.

What is important is these speakers were from a consumer range that was built to a much lower price point to compete with the various other speaker makes in the early to mid 70's. The woofers are stamped frame with very inexpensive magnetic structure and the tweeters were CTS off the shelf parts - very unlike Altecs much loved and better built vintage speakers. I wouldn't be surprised if the woofers were also made by CTS rather than be made by Altec. Having said that, Altec did know how to voice speakers or work them with the crossover to sound decently, and some owners have liked them very much. The cabinets seem to be decently made as well. But most suggest they don't rate prices over $100 each or pair. But maybe worth taking a look at if the price is right.

Here's the thread you pulled the photo from and a couple from AK:

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?8018-Altec-886a

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=367219

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66329

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=182625

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=636183

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=178751

The Altec 890C Boleros are a bit different - they have Altec designed and built woofer with 3 inch voice coil and compression driver, much more expensive and better built/better sounding.

But you're right, it can be hard to tell just by pictures regarding the design and potential sound. That's why getting as much information as possible is important before setting off or spending any money - unless the price is so good that its not a problem to lose money if it turns out they aren't so good.

A pair of Boleros would easily be worth a few hundred for most of us.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?2598-Altec-Boleros

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=567489

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=448514

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=538589

Intelligent, rational, and unbiased

Thank you......youve earned my respect.

 

[timofred]

The first photo, looks to me, like I can see the unfinished edge of MDF on the front baffle,
to me that is a sign of cheap manufacture.
I have no clue or idea about the drivers.

 

[mech986]

Intelligent, rational, and unbiased

Thank you......youve earned my respect.

Thanks for the kind words, we're all here to help. Written Internet language doesn't always convey friendly tone easily.

I like to say that AK is like popping into your favorite watering hole and pulling up a chair to shoot the breeze. Hope you continue to ask questions and enjoy the hobby. :thmbsp::thmbsp:

 

[toxcrusadr]

Written Internet language doesn't always convey friendly tone easily.

I was gonna say that myself. No worries, it's all good. :thmbsp: