Actually it is a nuisance when not needed.
It cost sizable money to keep it working.
Modern speakers vs Vintage speakers
- Thread starter thomask
- Start date
It cost sizable money to keep it working.
I put more reflectors on the window side hoping it will help.
It still sounds lively but not that bad as before.
Lots of positive reports on this relatively inexpensive 300 b. Be aware though, the amp apparently doesn’t meet its rather low watts per channel ratings ( 7.7)., something like 4 or so watts, however if you end up liking the overall sound, there’s a very descriptive YouTube Video on how to modify it so that it will reach it’s rated specs, and improve on the overall sound characteristics.i had done one more crazy thing yesterday.
View attachment 82728
I ordered this low cost 300B amp to find out how A7 sounds with 300b SET amp through Amazon.
If I do not like the sound with this amp, it is easy to return through Amazon.
My Silbaton 300B will get repaired February next year.
Cheers....
Thanks a lot for your kind advice.
I already saw some Youtube video about it.
My wife is away to take care of her ailing mother.
If she is back, I may have to move back to the third floor.
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After spending a full week tweaking the system through cable rolling, I am happy with the sound out of Altec A7.
With effortless dynamics, it does not need subwoofer although it go down to 31.5 hz and only faint rumbling at 25hz, 20hz.
I added super tweeter (made in China, not Altec but it looks fine with original tweeter horn side by side) which add a little bit of air , but A7 can do well without supertweeter.
I setted upon Audio Note silver plated speaker cable that I paid 1500$ per 2m pair 20 years ago.
It gives more refined treble and details but with slightly lesser bass impact compare with other cables.
It also works well with classical chamber music with nice timber.
I am living at a Whistler style house in Pacific Northwest under Milky Way
.Line Magnetic 508 set amp appears to be heavenly match with Altec A7.
It give sharp focus and good details and wide and deep soundstage but with complete control of bass woofer using tube 48 Watts.
I added some reflectors and insulating panels upon the recommendation of ind gentlemen here in this forum.
The high ceiling of my house works well with Altec A7 which is supposed to work in theatre or church.
But I need to tone down treble using attenuator on the back.
Otherwise, it sounds too bright.
Many people change network of A7 with newer capacitors and resistors.
But upon listeing to some Youtube videos of modified A7, I got the impression that it sounds closer to modern speakers.
Thus I will keep the original network for a while.
Happy listening!
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Beautiful home, grounds and view ! Enjoy your music …
After spending a full week tweaking the system through cable rolling, I am happy with the sound out of Altec A7.
With effortless dynamics, it does not need subwoofer although it go down to 31.5 hz and only faint rumbling at 25hz, 20hz.
I added super tweeter (made in China, not Altec but it looks fine with original tweeter horn side by side) which add a little bit of air , but A7 can do well without supertweeter.
I setted upon Audio Note silver plated speaker cable that I paid 1500$ per 2m pair 20 years ago.
It gives more refined treble and details but with slightly lesser bass impact compare with other cables.
It also works well with classical chamber music with nice timber.
View attachment 82825
I am living at a Whistler style house in Pacific Northwest under Milky Way
Line Magnetic 508 set amp appears to be heavenly match with Altec A7.
It give sharp focus and good details and wide and deep soundstage but with complete control of bass woofer using tube 48 Watts.
View attachment 82826
I added some reflectors and insulating panels upon the recommendation of ind gentlemen here in this forum.
The high ceiling of my house works well with Altec A7 which is supposed to work in theatre or church.
But I need to tone down treble using attenuator on the back.
Otherwise, it sounds too bright.
Many people change network of A7 with newer capacitors and resistors.
But upon listeing to some Youtube videos of modified A7, I got the impression that it sounds closer to modern speakers.
Thus I will keep the original network for a while.
Happy listening!
@thomask congrats the Altecs. Looks like they have a comfortable home for years now and yes, they fit the room, the view, perfectly.
I read you have to wait till February for 300b repair, wouldn’t be nice to meet and compare my vintage amplifiers ? Probably, but we are Ocean apart.
If you can move the horn, I want to inspire you to do a small experiment. Treble horn is sensitive for time alignment, and mismatch can cause fatiguing sound in middle and high fq. No doubt Altec did all perfectly, but if you have any option to place horns half an inch closer to you and than half an inch deeper than it is now, I suggest to do this and check the sound.
The easiest way for me to evaluate proper position is using live performance recording, the part when audience clap their hands. With horns quite often I can hear this cheering in an unpleasant manner, and such tiny adjusting can help a lot. For example, I usually evaluate proper adjusting using live performance recorded at Abbey Road Studios, performed by Elbow - “Live at Abbey Road”, first 60sec of the first “Starlings” song. I also love this concert to evaluate depth when adjusting toe in. The audience should be more-less evenly dense from left, middle, to right with the filling of deep concert hall.
Once again, I have no idea if your Altec horns need adjusting, this is impossible to evaluate on attached YouTube videos, I just share my experience and you might find it helpful.
By the way, it is an interesting thread and I am an example of audiophile who turned from new technologies to old a few years back and I am happy with the results.
I read you have to wait till February for 300b repair, wouldn’t be nice to meet and compare my vintage amplifiers ? Probably, but we are Ocean apart.
If you can move the horn, I want to inspire you to do a small experiment. Treble horn is sensitive for time alignment, and mismatch can cause fatiguing sound in middle and high fq. No doubt Altec did all perfectly, but if you have any option to place horns half an inch closer to you and than half an inch deeper than it is now, I suggest to do this and check the sound.
The easiest way for me to evaluate proper position is using live performance recording, the part when audience clap their hands. With horns quite often I can hear this cheering in an unpleasant manner, and such tiny adjusting can help a lot. For example, I usually evaluate proper adjusting using live performance recorded at Abbey Road Studios, performed by Elbow - “Live at Abbey Road”, first 60sec of the first “Starlings” song. I also love this concert to evaluate depth when adjusting toe in. The audience should be more-less evenly dense from left, middle, to right with the filling of deep concert hall.
Once again, I have no idea if your Altec horns need adjusting, this is impossible to evaluate on attached YouTube videos, I just share my experience and you might find it helpful.
By the way, it is an interesting thread and I am an example of audiophile who turned from new technologies to old a few years back and I am happy with the results.
Thanks a lot for your kind advice.
I will try your recommendation of movint treble horn little bit.
Silbatone 300b amp has many exotic parts hard to get in US, thus I need to repair it in Korea where Silbatone is headquartered.
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Very nice indeed.
After spending a full week tweaking the system through cable rolling, I am happy with the sound out of Altec A7.
With effortless dynamics, it does not need subwoofer although it go down to 31.5 hz and only faint rumbling at 25hz, 20hz.
I added super tweeter (made in China, not Altec but it looks fine with original tweeter horn side by side) which add a little bit of air , but A7 can do well without supertweeter.
I setted upon Audio Note silver plated speaker cable that I paid 1500$ per 2m pair 20 years ago.
It gives more refined treble and details but with slightly lesser bass impact compare with other cables.
It also works well with classical chamber music with nice timber.
View attachment 82825
I am living at a Whistler style house in Pacific Northwest under Milky Way
Line Magnetic 508 set amp appears to be heavenly match with Altec A7.
It give sharp focus and good details and wide and deep soundstage but with complete control of bass woofer using tube 48 Watts.
View attachment 82826
I added some reflectors and insulating panels upon the recommendation of ind gentlemen here in this forum.
The high ceiling of my house works well with Altec A7 which is supposed to work in theatre or church.
But I need to tone down treble using attenuator on the back.
Otherwise, it sounds too bright.
Many people change network of A7 with newer capacitors and resistors.
But upon listeing to some Youtube videos of modified A7, I got the impression that it sounds closer to modern speakers.
Thus I will keep the original network for a while.
Happy listening!
@thomask
You have a most lovely listening space and it would seem that your tweeks thus far are starting to smooth out the rougher edges from your initial day 1 experience .
An observation if I may ... As your current speaker and electronics array are in effect forming a divide of the overall floor space into roughly two zones . have you considered moving the A7’s and electronics against and into the side wall area , in effect exchanging the current music system with your current listening position.
You have a most lovely listening space and it would seem that your tweeks thus far are starting to smooth out the rougher edges from your initial day 1 experience .
An observation if I may ... As your current speaker and electronics array are in effect forming a divide of the overall floor space into roughly two zones . have you considered moving the A7’s and electronics against and into the side wall area , in effect exchanging the current music system with your current listening position.
I brougnt one of modern speaker and more reflectors and sound insulating foams to the second floor for comparison with Altec A7.
Lansche 4.1 is too heavy to move around so I broght down Vaughn Cabernet II instead.
It has Accuton ceramic mid range driver wiith speed, resolution, ribbon tweeter and two active 10 inch woofers with another two 10 inch passive radiators on each side.
I bought this one 7 years ago as backup for Lansche 4.1 when corona tweeter needed work( it needs work every 3k hours).
It is interesting to compare Altec A7 and Vaughn Cabernet II on the same room fed by same source and amplifiers.
Altec A7 give more robust sound on firmer foundation but still nuanced while Vaughn Cabernet II give more holographic imaging with pin pont focus.
Altec A7 videos
Taco Je Stipa Altec A7
youtu.be
Vaughn Cabernet II videos
Taco Je Stipa Vaugn speakers
youtu.be
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I would second TheMoon's suggestion for trying to reverse the listening and the speakers positions
I considered that option. But Altec A7 is too heavy to move around and I am afraid of getting scratch on my floor.
Since my wife is away to take care of her ailing mother, I moved Altec A7 myself using cart and elevator in my house
.But I am not willing to move it around in near future.
It sounds pretty good in current position with deep and wide soundstage.
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Thank you for posting these videos. Reminds me of why I always liked horns. May have to rethink my system.
After spending a full week tweaking the system through cable rolling, I am happy with the sound out of Altec A7.
With effortless dynamics, it does not need subwoofer although it go down to 31.5 hz and only faint rumbling at 25hz, 20hz.
I added super tweeter (made in China, not Altec but it looks fine with original tweeter horn side by side) which add a little bit of air , but A7 can do well without supertweeter.
I setted upon Audio Note silver plated speaker cable that I paid 1500$ per 2m pair 20 years ago.
It gives more refined treble and details but with slightly lesser bass impact compare with other cables.
It also works well with classical chamber music with nice timber.
View attachment 82825
I am living at a Whistler style house in Pacific Northwest under Milky Way
Line Magnetic 508 set amp appears to be heavenly match with Altec A7.
It give sharp focus and good details and wide and deep soundstage but with complete control of bass woofer using tube 48 Watts.
View attachment 82826
I added some reflectors and insulating panels upon the recommendation of ind gentlemen here in this forum.
The high ceiling of my house works well with Altec A7 which is supposed to work in theatre or church.
But I need to tone down treble using attenuator on the back.
Otherwise, it sounds too bright.
Many people change network of A7 with newer capacitors and resistors.
But upon listeing to some Youtube videos of modified A7, I got the impression that it sounds closer to modern speakers.
Thus I will keep the original network for a while.
Happy listening!
@thomask I am based in Seattle but often in Skagit. If you ever wish a hand to move something please let me know. it is so much easier with two people and I don't mind...
It does sound good from the videos. I like your Altec. I prefer to have a great system dna than a "average" dna in even a state-of-the-art room. Imo, They have some sound aspects different from other Altec that Bonzo posted. A little hot in the high but I dont think that comes from the speakers and amp and not the room. Your beautiful high volume "living space" will turn into a mummy if you follow all the recommendation from people in this forum. If you change any thing it would be so kindness of you to post the video to hear the difference. It can be good data point for us.I considered that option. But Altec A7 is too heavy to move around and I am afraid of getting scratch on my floor.
Since my wife is away to take care of her ailing mother, I moved Altec A7 myself using cart and elevator in my house
But I am not willing to move it around in near future.
It sounds pretty good in current position with deep and wide soundstage.
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