Question regarding integrating Altec Laguna speakers with current 7.1 surround systems

[KeithB]

I have two Altec Lansing Laguna speakers in exceptional condition and would like to know if it is possible to use these as the main front speakers in a 7.1 Atmos system.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

yes, but your problem is going to massive mismatch with center speaker.
You probably could run these vintage speakers as fronts without center for better result.

 

[TLS Guy]

You can do that, but I don't advise it.

For a start the speakers are 16 ohm, so you will only get half the rated power from your receiver. This will be the least of your problem, as the speakers are very sensitive.

The biggest problem is that the speakers are 57 years old. Speakers were very crude then, and there were about only four speakers in the world that had any tonal accuracy at all. Those would be the Quad ESL, the Lowther Acousta, the speakers using the just released Jordan Watts module and the Klipschorn. The Tannoy Lancaster might make it by a squeak. Everything else was way wide of the mark, compared to what we have now. In addition this is before Thiel/Small, so you can be sure the enclosure is not properly sized to the for the speakers and the porting is incorrect.

The bass horn designs from Altec were more promising, but far from accurate.

Those speakers will not match any other speakers in the system and will stand out like a sore thumb.

This speakers are of historic interest, but of no practical use in a modern system.

 

[fmw]

As long as they are in good operating condition with good cone surrounds and the crossovers don't have any leaky capacitors, they should work fine. I once owned a pair Altec model 14's. They were pretty good performers for their day. If you decide to use them and want to integrate a center channel I would choose something with a horn tweeter if you can find it. If it doesn't work out they would probably be fine as surround speakers. It doesn't cost anything to find out. Hook 'em up.

 

[KeithB]

Thank you all for your comments. I knew this was a challenge. I may just run the Altecs in my home theater to play music using my McIntosh MC60's and Marantz 7C pre-amp and using Klipsch for the Atmos 7.1 for movies.