OT: Older Pros. Need opinion on Altec 9849A Studio Monitors

B.Verlik wrote on 8/16/2004, 10:26 PM
I know these are dinosaurs. They weigh about as much as dinosaurs too. But I may have a chance at getting a pair of these super cheap and I have no budget. Each cab has a 12" Speaker and a large horn and a couple of ports. They weigh a ton but they sound pretty good. The speakers were re-coned quite a while ago. Any pros or cons on how these stack up to todays smaller studio monitors? Will a re-coned speaker make a huge difference? I have nothing, in the way of speakers to compare them to. I'm not planning on moving them much if I get them. Is this better than nothing or should I wait for something better? Thank you in advance.

Comments

adowrx wrote on 8/16/2004, 11:05 PM
Buy a pair of auratones and a crown amp on ebay. What adjustments you make on these will translate well. No doubts....... I check all of of my mixes on Genelec 1038's and yamaha msp 10 or NS 10's and the auratones with a crown D 75A never lose.

-jb
B.Verlik wrote on 8/17/2004, 4:10 PM
Hmmm. I thought these were suppose to be popular back in their day. You see, I may be able to make a trade for these and no cash is involved. That's how bad off I am right now No opinions?
MrPhil wrote on 8/18/2004, 2:25 AM
First: I have NO experience of my own on these Altec
Second: Are you sure you mean 9849A and not 9848A?

I found some info on 9848, and it seems to be a quality product of it's time (70:s), designed for studio monitoring. Maybe it would be real cool to have a vintage setup to your studio? If it's super cheap, then go for it. It will in any way probably sound better than what you have now, and you will certainly have something that very few people have nowadays. If not for anything else, just cause it's cool! :>)
Be aware tho that the re-coning may have changed some of the original sound. It may not be worse, but maybe different. And I think you will need a pretty strong amp to power it.
The info is at: http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/pro-speakers/9848.htm
zemlin wrote on 8/18/2004, 6:31 AM
I found info at Altec about the 9849-8A - I assumed these were the speakers in question. Either way, I found not useful info, and don't know anything about them myself.
drbam wrote on 8/18/2004, 6:49 AM
Until you can afford some decent monitors, I'd opt for using a pair of home stereo speakers before the Altecs. I always disliked the sound of the high frequency drivers in these things and couldn't imagine mixing on them now. That being said, a lot of studios in Nashville used them back in the early-mid 70s until JBLs became more preferred. You didn't mention what kind of amp you'd be driving these with (a primary factor in how they will perform).

drbam
tobi wrote on 8/18/2004, 8:47 AM
i have to agree - when u r buying near field moniters - the idea is to get them no not color the sound - not make it sound amazing - or they would be doing u a disservice - there r some good ones and some ones that r affordable - even electronics 20.20 bas r fab - and really good to use - also mackies r well worth it - if u save - the money is well worth spent
B.Verlik wrote on 8/18/2004, 6:48 PM
Thank you, everybody. To Mr.Phil, I did find a picture in the 1971 Studio monitor catalog of one. The one's I'm interested in must be newer as they are Black and have two 3" ports. I couldn't read any of the info at the Lansing site. The Jpgs have lost too much info. I don't know what amp I'm going to use to power them with yet. I'm going to trade a couple of Peavey PA cabs from the early 80's for them. I know the Altecs definitely sound better for what I need than the PA cabs would. Getting extra money for my hobbies is really hard right now. Plus, there's soooo many things I need. I have numerous home speakers and they all sound so different, I wouldn't feel comfortable using any for monitors. I like to use those afterwards to compare what I"ve mixed by listening to as many as I can and hoping that they all sound kind of good.
Again, thank you, everybody, for your input.
MrPhil wrote on 8/19/2004, 12:10 AM
Yeah, the 9848 is probably the predecessor to 9849.

Would be nice with a report on how it went.
Tell us what you experienced.
Don't forget to take your time just LISTENING to music that you "know" the sound of, to adjust your ears to the Altecs.
MrPhil wrote on 8/19/2004, 12:35 AM
Can you tell us in what way the Altec 9849 color the sound?
Or does it just sound amazing?
B.Verlik wrote on 8/19/2004, 12:27 PM
I ask a lot of these questions long before I'm ready to actually do the task. I'm in the middle of designing a room for all my musical and video editing and I'm doing it all myself and it's taking forever and a day on the budget I have to finish anything. So far, from what I've heard, they sound like some of the best home speakers I've ever heard, but I can see the possible complaint that the 'horn' might bring, just depending on how your ear, in relation to where the speaker is sitting, may sound. They do need a little power to make them work right. And I can guarantee you, you would never want to lift one of these things. They are real back-breakers. I won't have to worry about anybody stealing these. I noticed that they have a control on the back to set the volume of the horn. They sound pretty good to me so far, but I'm still not really set up and ready to go yet. I will need a new amplifier for these and I'm ready for a new amp anyway. (my wallet isn't, but I am) So it may be a while before I can give an accurate report. I again thank you for your help. PS: I didn't necessarily notice any coloring of sound, but it's too early to tell yet.