How much are my old Altec Lansing Speakers Worth?

[Baniebs]

So I have this old pair of Altec Lansing Speakers and I was told the horns on these things alone were worth quite a bit. Just out of curiosity, would anyone know about how much they would sell for? Thanks!


Images of Speakers: http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/pp121/Baniebs2010/

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum.

What is the model number of your speakers?

 

[Baniebs]

From what i read on the inside:
The speakers are: 417-8A and N80184
And the Horns say 8253 on them

 

[Baniebs]

Is that any help?

 

[highfigh]

Those may have been used in a theater. Look for any Altec info for their Voice Of The Theater line. They're definitely not from their consumer lines- much less cosmetically "pretty" but more about function. If you look inside, you should be able to see a box near the horn's driver- this may have a label with 'dividing network' and that's the crossover for the horn.

Nice find. Don't cannibalize them- leave them intact.

 

[TLS Guy]

From what i read on the inside:
The speakers are: 417-8A and N80184
And the Horns say 8253 on them

The 417 Altec driver were musical instrument speakers, not Hi-Fi speakers.

I suspect those are either home made or made by another manufacturer using Altec OEM drivers.

I do not follow the musical instrument scene and I can not give you a value.

Go to guitar sites and pose the question there.

 

[Baniebs]

Those may have been used in a theater. Look for any Altec info for their Voice Of The Theater line. They're definitely not from their consumer lines- much less cosmetically "pretty" but more about function. If you look inside, you should be able to see a box near the horn's driver- this may have a label with 'dividing network' and that's the crossover for the horn.

Nice find. Don't cannibalize them- leave them intact.

Yeah the Crossovers both say "Dividing Network" on them, is that a good thing? And i have a correction on the model numbers.

Both the Horns are: 806-8A
The bottom speakers (Subs?) both say: 416-8A
And the Crossovers both are N801-8a

Anymore help on pricing these is much appreciated!

 

[TLS Guy]

Yeah the Crossovers both say "Dividing Network" on them, is that a good thing? And i have a correction on the model numbers.

Both the Horns are: 806-8A
The bottom speakers (Subs?) both say: 416-8A
And the Crossovers both are N801-8a

Anymore help on pricing these is much appreciated!

The fact that the drivers are 416 series makes a big difference.

These drivers are from the Altec sound reinforcement series.

The horn is one of the Altec horns recommended to go with that driver, but the crossover is not. However the crossover point is at the recommended 800 Hz.

It is strange that there is no Altec model number on the enclosure. I still suspect that the speaker enclosures are not by Altec.

So I would value the speakers for their component value, which would put them around $1000 per speakers.

Although power handling is low by today's standards, the sensitivity is 114 db. However the impedance is 16 ohm, so a modern transistor amp will only deliver half its 8 ohm rated power driving those speakers.

The speakers will produce very high spl, and amp in the 200 to 250 watt per channel into 8 ohms per channel would be optimal.

The speakers are for auditorium use.

 

[bikdav]

It's my understanding that Altec also sold separate drivers and crossovers back in the 60s and 70s. So, it is possible that those pictured enclosures were not of Altec's doing.

 

[TLS Guy]

It's my understanding that Altec also sold separate drivers and crossovers back in the 60s and 70s. So, it is possible that those pictured enclosures were not of Altec's doing.

Most of their sales were individual components and not complete speakers, which is why I suspect that these enclosures are not by Altec.

 

[valvesnvinylfan]

Indeed, those drivers and horns were mainly sold as components and fitted to after market and/or custom made/DIY enclosures--probably because shipping large/heavy enclosures like that would have been a major PITA. I would check the prices of those components on eBay, if I remember correctly they could go for a decent amount. If you're looking for more forum knowledge on vintage Altec VOTTs, I would start with

AudioKarma: Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Forums

and maybe Lansing Heritage (misleading, not just Lansing stuffs here): Lansing Heritage Forums

 

[bikdav]

Wouldn't it be nice if Altec [and others] were still doing the speaker component thing?

 

[highfigh]

Wouldn't it be nice if Altec [and others] were still doing the speaker component thing?

They do. JBL, TAD and others sell horns, compression drivers, woofers and other parts for custom speaker system design but the main difference is that the crossovers are now active, which lends itself to more customization and optimization of the dispersion, range, crossover slope, phase, etc.