Altec A7 What to do


Hello all, a Friend of mine has had Altec Lansing A7's sitting in his basement for several years, just couldn't put them in his current room setting. Many may know that I've been building for about 35 years. I built him a set of MTM's and delivered them for Christmas. He was thrilled. Well, today, he dropped off a pair of A7's and said they're yours. I sat them up and listened, thoroughly looked them over, looked up crossover design (500hz model) and now need to decide what to do with them. I have a decent size living room, but these are still huge. They do a lot of things right, but just aren't as refined as my current speakers. So, I've decided to sell them. I'm in no hurry to do so, but I know that I won't keep these forever. So, are these more desirable to sell as is... stock, upgrade parts in the crossover and sell them, redesign and trick out the crossover, cleanup, sand, minor fill and painting cabinets or some combination of the above. I have no doubt that a complete crossover redo, a bit of cabinet bracing and a good refinish and these babies would be incredible. The problem is... will people that don't know me accept or trust just how good they are? That being the case I'm looking for some advice. Please tell me how you would handle it in my shoes. Tim
timlub
Hello all, as discussed earlier, I have replaced all the caps & resistors in the crossover with upgraded hand spec'd parts with less than 1% tolerance from one channel to the other. The improvement is not subtle. I've given these a couple hours of listening and they continue to improve..If anyone out there has A7's, this is a modification well worth the few dollars, clear improvement in the upper midrange through the treble region as well as a some improvement in soundstage and noticeable improvement in detail also.
I know that the recommendation by one above is to "get over it" and keep them, but they are just too big. So I'm back to the original question. Am I spinning my wheels and wasting my money to do any more work on these, or am I just better off to sell them as is?
Quote: "Only you can decide a forum can't do it for you"
Hi John, that has always been the case, but the advice (including yours) can help and is appreciated.
I'll figure something out with them, Thanks, Tim
You may upgrade x-overs and brace cabinets, but for me, equalization cured the shout and the honk of my Altec Stonehenge 3, Klipsch La Scala and my present day Altec 17 and the latest VOTT. Nothing too expensive; a 230 dollar AudioSource 200 from Amazon can do wonders for a well fed horn.

Also, try to keep your horns in the cabinet that they may better blend with the woofers. When they are perched on the cabinet, the sit way to high. These beasts were made to fill auditoriums, not residences.

Cheers!
Richard
Thanks Richard, the crossover did a great job of taming the midrange honky/shoutiness. There is the slightest bit left, but very minior and I believe horn damping will end that. After the crossover change, the lower midrange on these is just superb and the upper midrange oddly enough is a bit laid back. I did not expect that. At this point... in my room, I would not consider adding a EQ, but truly appreciate the input, Tim