Altec Valencia 846B speakers

cccrchairman · April 23, 2023

Further Information:

For sale is pair of Altec Valencia 846B in excellent condition. Cabinets were restored in 2020 by @Powerglide and are in excellent condition. Link to post detailing the work below. In addition to the restoration of the cabinets the speakers have had substantial work done as follows;

- The alnico 416-8a woofers have been re-gaussed and re-coned using GPA cones to new condition.

- The Altec N800-8k crossovers have been revitalised using Jantzen's "ultimate" audio inductor, the Wax-Coil is Jantzens top of the line Foil inductor for the bass.

The coil is wound from 99.99% pure copper foil on a hardwood core. Jantzen air core coil is used for the HF.

- Capacitors are the excellent Russian paper-in-oil, foil hybrids, bypassed with Russian teflon caps.

- Altec 30904 Attenuator / Equaliser installed to crossover. This is the same filter network as used in several different Altec builds such as the model 19 and the 9849-8A studio monitor. Essentially a mid frequency attenuator it is a key ingredient in taking Altecs to the next level.

- I have settled on the alnico 806-8a compression driver as the most suited to this cabinet. It has a far smoother frequency response to the later ferrite types in my opinion. Diaphragms are USA made not the readily available Chinese types..

- All drivers are perfectly matched.

With the generosity and advice of the Altec luminati here on SNA these speakers are as dialled in as a pair of Valencias can be and thanks to @Powerglide present in fantastic condition. Sensitivity is 97.5db so a perfect match for SET and low power systems. I have used speakers with tube and low power SS class A amps and all the midrange magic is there. Speakers load the room with ease, sound is fast and transparent with plenty of slam.

A great example of speakers with a legendary pedigree.