If I had saved up and bought one of the top line professional speakers, like ALTEC or JBL, I'd still be listening to them today. What Bell Labs discovered in researching the most intelligible speaker designs, back in the 1920s, still holds true today because it was based upon the laws of physics and the human ear. I made the mistake of letting salespeople insist that I compare their speakers 'A' to their speakers 'B', instead of comparing both to a live concert performance with acoustic musical instruments. Listening to highly doctored demo recordings of synthetic, electronically-altered hybrid instruments is like comparing apples to watermelons, to coin a phrase. But to each his or her own, I say!
Couldn't agree more! So many speakers are like open-casket cadavers after the undertaker does his work: beautiful, "life-like", anatomically correct, but not ALIVE. And we have been trained to accept and approve that, with an overemphasis on frequency response ("proportion") to the neglect of strength and quickness and coordination ("athleticism"). I craved the latter (think Kenrick Sound), so I picked up some Altec/JBL-quality vintage drivers for a relative song and carefully married them into a 3-way-plus-sub system that has me dancing around the room. And guess what--- they sound fabulous with all music types, provided the recording is made with proper care, just as they should if you think about it. Cheers!
Grado headphone does sound like old horn speaker. Alot of dynamics and very alive. It doesnt have the widest soundstage in the world but it sound like you sitting in front row of the Concert
Wow first time for me to hear the Altec A7.I have a pair of the Altec 816 when a friend was going to put them in the bin I get a beautiful sound from them thanks for the upload.
Sound very squawky to my ears. I suspect some substantial midrange peaks. Ever seen measurements of an A7? They're not very pretty, worse than even a Klipschorn. These kinds of speakers were not designed to sound like high fidelity in your living room. They were designed to project high volumes and dynamics in large theatres and auditoriums with an emphasis on vocals.
That's not a living room and that's the problem. I know , I have a very large living room with lots nice carpet and high-end padding under it. Lots of different book cases with plenty of books laying and standing in them. Fabric furniture, many different levels of things that make a real living room are everywhere in the room. People are too concerned with perfect rooms to mimic something they watched in a video or read on line. No speaker would sound good in that room.
not hi fi sound, too midrangy. fine for the LO FI theater movie voices in the 50s 60s and 70s but horrible for home hi fi use., not audiophile at all. still has a place in our hearts i know and respect that but come on, you cant call them audiophile speakers nor hifi speakers. call them romantic pro speakers.
Really???!!! Seriously???!!! boy!!! you must have the most golden ears on the planet!!! Well. anyway, just like Robert E. Andrews said... "To each his own"
too midrangy. fine for the LO FI theater voices in the 50s 60s and 70s but horrible for home hi fi use., not audiophile at all. still has a place in our hearts i know and respect that but como on, you cant call them audiophile speakers nor hifi speakers. call them romantic pro speakers.
