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Just got some Altec 19s. first impressions

Posted by DAK (A) on September 27, 2016 at 22:00:38

They are BIG MOFOs! My son had to help with pick up with his truck and help me carry them into the house. otherwise, unless you are Lou Ferigno aka the Hulk from the tv show, it is definitely a 2 person job.
I have been building lots of single ended pentode amps so i wanted to have some high efficiency speakers to better enjoy them. So i hooked the 19s up to a SE 6L6 stereo amp of RH type circuit. My previous speakers were some JBL L112 which have the same drivers as the JBL L100 in a slightly different box. After about 10 minute warm up for my amp and tubed preamp to warm up i played Dire Straights "Brothers in arms" which is a widely accepted audiophile recording. I set all the adjustment knobs on the speakers to 12 o'clock hoping that would be the neutral setting for tone. I hit the play button and the speakers poured forth quite loudly from the previous Jbl settings. Allright, both speakers seemed to have survived the trip home unaffected. I let the whole record play while i did some chores and then settled in to some more serious listening.
I started Dire Straights again and right away noticed how the horns projected their sound way more obviously than the JBLs. It was not something i was used to so it grabbed me. Bass was deeper than the jbl but some what softer too. The treble as expected was more evident. Soundstage was outstanding. Much much better with each instrument having a very solid place, unwavering almost unnerving. The depth of the soundstage was also much better. Definition was also much better. You know how there are always some parts of a recording where the voices are indistinct with the Altecs those parts are now distinct.
To summarize, awesome soundstage, better highs and bass, excellent dynamics, the 7 watt se 6l6 amp was way loud. Timbre of instruments is excellent, the steel bodied guitar on the "Man's too strong" had a very jangly tone and you can easily here the glass finger slide on the strings and frets. Some cons, to me, there is a little bit of disconnect between the highs from the horn and the bass speaker. the midbass and midrange seemed a little reticent compared to the jbl. I adjusted the tone control knobs turning down the treble and advancing the bass which helped to correct the effect. The directionality of the horns can attract your attention but that was ameliorated with adjusting the Lpad. So, all in all, i am very happy with my new speakers, and as i use them almost daily i think they are breaking in more and the minor concerns that i expressed are actually very minor, indeed. cheers, Dak

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