I've got a lot of really interesting hifi things to tell you about, but it may take me a little longer than usual to fill you in on all the details, as the last few weeks have been difficult on the home front, and it is likely to be that way for a while longer. ... Read More »

Vintage Altec loudspeakers generate a lot of enthusiasm among audio nuts like me because they run circles around many modern loudspeakers in terms of musicality, at least once you get some Hiraga-style crossovers installed in them, and they are so sensitive that you can easily drive them with low-powered single-ended-triode or single-ended-pentode amplifiers to live-like... Read More »

It's always exciting to hear from our friend Yazaki-san, and this time Yazaki-san really outdid himself! You all know how much I love my humble vintage Altec loudspeaker collection of the A5 Voice of the Theatre, Corona 832A, and the "Stokowski" Altec's. Well, our friend Yazaki-san sent me a special issue of Stereo Sound from 2006 that... Read More »

The Duelund-Altec Project is really something special, a lot of fun, and it's definitely not your typical audio project or review, but rather is intended to be more of a "dream" article that is decidedly outside of the usual audio mainstream, one that involves a story about the marriage of the historically important vintage Altec... Read More »

I've gone completely bonkers over vintage Altec loudspeakers, which comes as no surprise to you if you're a regular reader of Jeff's Place.  It's not that there aren't other speakers I enjoy listening to, like my Westminster's, for example, but there's just something really special about the way Altec loudspeakers play the music. Ok, so... Read More »

I've been wanting to write an article about the "musicality magic" of vintage Altec loudspeakers for a while now, so consider this a mini-installment towards that goal, with - I hope - much more to come. Let's start with a short Altec history lesson. Altec's origins are inextricably linked to the Western Electric movie theater loudspeaker systems... Read More »

It's time for some system maintenance, with my Classic 301 turntable off to visit Ray Clark in the UK for a little tune-up, and my vintage McIntosh MX110Z's volume pot finally died, so it's getting a new volume pot installed. So in the interim I've put together a really sweet combination of hifi gear for... Read More »

Originally I had planned on building external crossovers for the vintage Stokowski Altec's on the beautifully made Hammond HWCHAS Series Heavy Duty Walnut Chassis With Aluminum Top (HERE). I thought the Hammond's aluminum top plate painted in Altec green like the 511-B horns would make for an attractive nod to Altec tradition. However, the large... Read More »

After my buddy Chad helped me move the big Stokowski Altec's into the position normally occupied by my Westminster Royal SE's last weekend (thanks Chad!), we did a fair amount of listening, mostly to a lot of classic rock (Chad's fave), but also some jazz. I was a  bit surprised how good the Stokowski Altec's... Read More »

It's almost time for the Duelund-Altec Project to get under way! Back in November 2015 my buddy Ron Barbee and I did a road trip to Seattle to audition a pair of vintage Altec loudspeakers that were for sale. These particular Altec's were custom made for conductor Leopold Stokowski by Altec for listening to music at... Read More »

There's always a lot going on here at my place, and I'm hoping you're enjoying these little updates to share it all with you. ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Still Audio ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I'm working on writing up the Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier review for Positive Feedback this weekend, and with a little luck I'll be able to get... Read More »

I'm a huge fan of integrated amplifiers. In fact some of the finest amplification I've ever had the pleasure to listen to music with has come from integrated amplifiers, like the Leben CS-600 and the Spec RSA-M3 EX. I get quite a few messages from integrated amplifier owners asking me what separate components would better the... Read More »

In the coming months, we're going to be building crossovers using the new Duelund Coherent Audio tinned-copper components for the custom Altec Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers that were built for Mr. Stokowski, nearly six decades ago now. In preparation for the upcoming project I've been doing some background "research" on Mr. Stokowski, and I have been... Read More »

I am sitting here pondering my Altec A5 & A7 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers, and am reminded of the lyrics from Phoebe Snow's song It Must Be Sunday, "I said it must be Sunday 'cause ev'rybody's tellin' the truth ...". Here's some useful Altec truths that don't get talked about enough. Truth #1 - Vintage Altec's... Read More »

I am absolutely thrilled to be able to announce the Duelund Coherent Audio - Stokowski Altec Project for 2018! This exciting project will showcase the Duelund Coherent Audio tinned-copper components, and will be a world first for a crossover constructed of tinned-copper components. As you know, I have been extremely impressed with the prototype tinned-copper capacitors and... Read More »

Yazaki-san has been out on another adventure to the Sentimental Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand, and has shared some photos of his visit! Since Yazaki-san's visit to the Sentimental Cafe last October, they have become a Spec Corporation dealer, and today, September 22nd, they hosted an open house so visitors could experience Yazaki-san's beautiful Spec audio electronics... Read More »

I'm a huge fan of Altec loudspeakers, and I really love the new websites of Altec aficionados Great Plains Audio and Gary Fischer Speakers, who are now partnering to bring music lovers the best of vintage Altec and modern loudspeakers. As you know, Gary Fischer did the restoration of my Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre... Read More »

Today's essay on the Art of Tone is intended to be both a practical and a thought adventure about what it means to optimize musicality in a high-fidelity music system, as opposed to the usual audiophile emphasis of optimizing the non-musical artifacts of the recording process, like imaging and sound-staging information, for example. I've realized I made... Read More »

Yesterday Ron and I embarked on an audio adventure and drove to the Emerald City of Seattle to look at (and listen to) a pair of vintage Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers that were custom built for Leopold Stokowski (April 18, 1882 – September 13, 1977), while he lived in New York and was conducting the... Read More »