Home Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

That's why my daily drivers are early-1960s Altec Duplexes

In all fairness, I think the state of the art HAS progressed in terms of minimization of diffraction/optimization of point source radiation - and thus "imaging", "soundstage", and that sort of thing... but in terms of tone and that (as you aptly put it) palpable sense of 'realness'/flesh and blood in reproduced music - the boys at Western Electric and their progeny sussed that out pretty well in the 1930s if not slightly before.

The industry's also learned to make drivers with excellent performance characteristics accross fairly (to very) narrow bandwidths and to compensate for the drivers' narrow optimal bandwidth with very sophisticated crossover designs - I don't consider this approach an improvement when judged by ears vs. measuring instruments... but de gustibus non est disputandum, as they say.

FWIW, I prefer the Altec "sound" to the JBL's (the latter are too aggressive for me under most circumstances)... but I do know what you mean and I do concur.

Photobucket


all the best,
mrh


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Sonic Craft  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
  • That's why my daily drivers are early-1960s Altec Duplexes - mhardy6647 06:26:39 04/24/12 (0)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.