On the advice of a good friend on AK, I rolled the dice on a pair of Altec 14 for use in my vintage system.
My present horn type speakers were not quite satisfactory and as a result had resigned myself that this was going to be my first - and last - pair of horns speakers I would ever own.
After many repeated assurances from my friend that the Altec 14 "Mantaray" horns (w/"tangerine" plug) were a different animal altogether from those in my present horns as well as his various other endorsements of this fine speaker - well I was intrigued. He also did mention that they do not come up very often and when they do, tend to get snapped up quickly.
I rarely venture into Craigslist but on the first try - keyed in Altec 14 and what do I see but a pair fairly local - but in cosmetic need yet professed to be completely functional. Price at $1,200 was ridiculously optimistic - all considered, not to mention missing grilles (4).
Seller was a nice young man who apparently rescued the speakers from disposal: They had been originally used in a college auditorium and were about to be scrapped when the theater was being updated. He used them several years himself, but no longer had any use for them and were just gathering dust. Also there are holes drilled in the sides of the walnut veneer cabinets as they had been mounted high up on the stage sides in the auditorium. That and the general wear on the cabinets - all of which I can tend myself - but the biggest problem would be the missing grilles.
I soon convinced the young man that the value he was seeking was - in my view - far in excess of market given the condition issues and especially the missing grilles. I then made an offer of $400 subject to a demonstration to ensure proper functionality, almost hoping he would refuse the offer but he accepted. <<DOH>> What did I just get into, I thought. Plus he had no system, no receiver or nothing which meant I had to bring some electronics down if I wanted to hear the things first. Fortunately I still had my old Proton receiver - a trusty little test mule ideal for such a purpose - and some speaker wire - of course.
Hooked everything up and yup - they played - loud without much input -that much I could tell. I could not really develop much sense of what they sounded like as the bare hardwood floors and utter lack of any sound deadening anywhere rendered any meaningful evaluation out of the question. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained and for $400 - well I've spent a lot more for a lot less so I paid him and hauled them back home.
A buddy and I got them back and hauled them upstairs into the sunroom where my vintage system resides. I disconnected the Boston Acoustics T1000 speakers I had been using interchangeably with the older horns I had - mainly because the Bostons were easier to move.
Not expecting any great things by any means, I set up the 14s in the rig which is a McIntosh MX110Z + either McIntosh MC 2505 or MC 240 tube amplifiers (switchable between the two).
I loaded in a CD of
The Light Calvary Overture by Franz von Suppe'. In a word, I was dumbstruck. These humble speakers created the most impressive soundstage I had heard with incredible detail, precision yet with none of the "nasality" which I had come to expect of horns.
Bass is firm and very well controlled overall - especially for an older 12" woofer in a largish ported cabinet. Not
quite as well controlled or as deep as the dual 8" woofer acoustic suspension cabinet of the T1000 provides but still very satisfying well defined bass overall.
Where the ALtec 14 shines is in the all-important midrange presentation which casts one of the broadest soundstages I have ever heard with incredible clarity, depth and precision. It is as if the musicians are literally right there in the room. Incredible. If the ultimate test of any loudspeaker is defined in its vocal reproduction, here again, this speaker astonishes and amazes with deadly realism.
I have tried the speakers with all types of music - classical to rock; jazz to blues, blue grass to quartet. Big music to small; delicate to heavy trying to find their Achilles' heel soon becomes an exercise in futility.
Beyond any doubt, the best $400 I ever spent on hi fi. Period.