Altec Lansing A7's 50's model

Dbphd, if by finesse you mean a more "laid-back" presentation (such as say the Sonus Faber line, for example), then no, the horns are not going to give you that. However, they are much more revealing of the various textures in the music than any other type I have ever heard. And they were not designed only for auditorium use, many people have used them in their homes for decades. Too much amplification would indeed ruin them, they are designed for low amplification, but matched with the right amps, they can be wonderful. All of those great orchestral recordings made on the Mercury label were famously mastered using those very A7's driven with MacIntosh amplification, for instance, similar to what you describe in your post. There is surely a reason they used that combo for such richly textured music! Yes, this is old school thinking, but I have yet to hear a high amplification/low sensitivity speaker combo come remotely close to matching the stunning realism of a great horn speaker/low powered tube amp combo.

Learsfool,

I am one of those people who used an A7-500 and MC 60 in my home, when I was a graduate student and the A-7s were being surplused. As I previously noted, hard to beat for the horns in the triumphal march of Aida, but not my choice for a string quartet.

db

They can sound great with string quartet given SET amps or low wattage quality Push Pull. I've even driven mine with a 50 watt Accuphase with astounding results. Yes, to much power and mediocre electronics can make them honk, but this is not a trademark of Altec just poor set up.

And so it goes. Enjoy your A-7s.

db