Well I just aquired a pair of Altec Lansing 508s.

Altec Lansing 508s

Long story short ... my wife temped there for a bit .. got to know people .. we're still good friends with one them .. everyone got new/different jobs .. helped said friend movie stuff from storage to NYC .. was going to drop speakers off at Salvation Army . .. I said I would take them.

I remember these speakers from when Tam worked there and they were being discontinued but the company had a few pairs left around there warehouse they were selling for cheap. Our friend said they would give us their company discount (51% .. I think) and we could pick up our own pair for a few hundred bucks. I couldn't afford it at the time and I think these things were selling around $1200 - $2000 at the time. I could be wrong but I do remember them being expensive at the time (before I really got into audio equibment) .. and I did want them then.

Well now I have them ... and they suck! Like all Altec Lansing speakers (*we have a few from when Tam worked there) .. they are bland, lifeless, and meh. They are just so .. not great .. and maybe I'm used to my Klipsch .. but these Altec speakers and just so .. bleh.. there's no dynamics to any of the sound. .. it's the Wonder Bread of the speaker world .. sure it'll fill ya up .. but why bother.

So I'm giving them to a friend of mine that has no home stereo at all. They are a good jumping off point for anyone starting a home theater and needs some free speakers. I do not want to taint my ears with this crap.

I don't know very much about altec, but a crappy system is probably better than no system.

Oh there nice .. just not as nice as I have and not as nice as I want .. I'm happy to pass them along to some friends that only have the TV for their speakers. They still need to get an amp for them

it's the Wonder Bread of the speaker world .. sure it'll fill ya up .. but why bother.

That pretty much sums up my opinion. Decent, but not great. I think what you already have is heads and shoulders above the 508's. I get what you probably felt about getting them though. "Oh cool! These were the ****!"

Not.

Bummer dude.

At least you didn't pay for them. And karma points for giving them to a needy friend.

I remember that about those when I used to work in retail, about how I felt about all their stuff. I used to love to sit in their speaker room they had their, and switch the audio from all the different sets. I wanted some klipsch at the time.

Yeah those are some really cool speakers, check out mine.

OMG...gross. What the heck is wrong with you?!?

what did I miss from Perri Mason?

..getting back to speakers and Altec .. I am eventually planning on expanding my home theater to a 9.2 system (need job and bigger place first though) and considered keeping these, but like all Altec Lansing products they are usually 40%-50% too much for what you get. I got a few deals on some of their other systems and even with the 51% discount I always thought "I paid THIS much for these??" The speakers are in great shape and I'm surprised my friend didn't sell them on ebay or craiglsit instead. I considered selling them also, hey .. no job .. could use the cash .. but honestly I feel pretty good passing them along to my buddy. They get good use out of them. Plus their wedding in on the 24th, so with these speakers and the Boba Fett statue I bought them, I'm going to be kicking *** in the gift section!!

what did I miss from Perri Mason?

As with all 4 of the posts he made, something very offensive that got his posts deleted and a good ol' swing from the mighty BAN HAMMER OF DOOM!!!

I didn't even know that person was here or saw anything he/she did

You nubs clicked? Omfg....LOL