You have to take what I say with a dose of salt. I've had mine since 1966. I always wanted a pair of model 19's until I talked to a man who has lots of Altec speakers and he said "keep the Vals. They sound better than 19's" Maybe he's right I don't know.

If you like the sound of them than none of the newer tower looking things can compare sound wise. They'll be more "accurate" for sure but not anywhere near as musical. I did dampen my horns with automotive dampening material so I can run the attenuation knobs closer to null

This is not to offend any of the speaker builders here. I'm just relating what I like and it doen't make a pinch of difference in the overall scheme of things.