Need Help - what year are these Altec 846's from?

[Storm]

I have searched the internet up and down and can't find an approximate year for these 846 U's.

Does anyone know why they called these Us? - was it so the consumer could stain them any color they wanted? From one thread, it says the U stands for Utility - what does that mean?

Picture below. I added the legs to raise them about 2" off the floor.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Storm]

ALTEC 846U

[Don McRitchie]

The "U" is the utility version of the Valencia that shipped in an unfinished enclosure. It was meant to be a lower cost version for people willing to do their own cabinet finishing. I believe it was available from around 1971 to 1974. Acoustically and component-wise, it was identical to the 846B Valencia.

http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...home/page2.jpg

BTW, raising the speaker on legs like you did will reduce bass output since you are removing the boundary reinforcement of the floor. Unless you are trying to fix room or placement problems, I wouldn't do it as the restricted bass response of the Valencia benefits from this reinforcement. If you are looking to raise the horn to ear height, then I would do it with an extension underneath the cabinet with no open space, or tilt the speakers back to aim them at ear level, like the tilted baffle employed in the JBL L200/L300.

[Storm]

thank you for letting me know about the legs. I took them off last week and thought I heard a difference, but I put them back on to raise them - now i know what kind of difference i was hearing. i will take them off.

there is a small riser on the speakers. do you know if that was factory or an add on by the owner? it certainly looks like an amateur job.

do you know what price these speakers were back then?

how much would i be able to get? - not that i am looking to sell, just wondering if these might do better than the lattice grill or flamenco series.

thank you.

[Don McRitchie]

The following is my recollection of Altec's floor standing speaker prices in 74/75 in Canada when I bought a pair of Altec Santiagos new from a dealership. These were selling prices, and not list which was considerable higher.

Barcelona - $1600/pr
Santiago - $1100/pr
Valencia - $1000/pr
Valencia/U - $900/pr

I would suggest that the current value is not much different than the mid 70s value. Assuming that the drivers are in very good condition, I would say $800-$1000 is a resonable range.

Don

[Storm]

Thank you for your help.

I love the birch look - unfinished. Glad the previous owner chose this cheaper verison, however I thought cheaper would have been more than $100.00.

Are those prices are US or Canadian?

Yes, the drivers in mine are un-touched due to the fact that the back is sealed shut.

The cabinets are in very good shape with minor scratches and rings. What would you recommend to clean them up and finish them - like a sealant or something?

I scan eBay often and I have yet to see a pair like mine. I wonder how many were sold - I bet not many because if they could get the finished ones for a tiny bit more, then those were the ones that were sold - especially because these speakers were purchased by people who did not like to raise a finger.

I thank you very much for all of your information.

Also, do you see my Avatar? I bought that poster off eBay just about a month ago. It is the size of a regular movie poster - definately vintage. Do you know anything about them? Were they put up in new theatres that purchased VOTTS?

Is the 846U the same thing as a VOTT? I have been going back and forth on that one...I know they are not the exact same drivers and woofers, but is that what Altec put out so that people could have the VOTT in their home without being too big or pricey?

Thanks again.

BTW: I took off the legs and they sound SO MUCH BETTER!

[Don McRitchie]

Are those prices are US or Canadian?

Canadian. However, at that time the Canadian dollar was actually worth marginally more than the US dollar. US prices should have been about the same.

I scan eBay often and I have yet to see a pair like mine. I wonder how many were sold - I bet not many because if they could get the finished ones for a tiny bit more, then those were the ones that were sold - especially because these speakers were purchased by people who did not like to raise a finger.

Probably a reasonable assumption.

Also, do you see my Avatar? I bought that poster off eBay just about a month ago. It is the size of a regular movie poster - definately vintage. Do you know anything about them? Were they put up in new theatres that purchased VOTTS?

I have no idea since this is the first time I've seen it. Again, it's a reasonable assumption.

Is the 846U the same thing as a VOTT? I have been going back and forth on that one...I know they are not the exact same drivers and woofers, but is that what Altec put out so that people could have the VOTT in their home without being too big or pricey?

There is no such thing as a VOTT speaker model. VOTT was the brand name of a line of speakers that ranged as high as the A1X with six 515 woofers and two 288 compression drivers to as small as the A7 with its 416 woofer and 806 compression driver. There were A1s, A2s, A4s, A5s, A6s, A7s, A8s, A9s and A10s that were all considered part of the VOTT line, a number of which are shown below:



Your 846U should have had the exact same components as the A7-8 shown at the bottom right of this photo - namely the 416-8B, 806-8B, 811B and N801-8A.

Don