I vote alma! I recently bought my first mono alma in the PM snd don't know why I didn't do it sooner. It's a gorgeous bag. The new one has feet so no worries about the bottom. And I had my clochette heat-stamped. I think the alma is much higher quality than the speedy b. I don't like the thinness of the canvas and the mismatched hardware would drive me crazy. I'm also not fond of how the speedy b looks worn. It is like a saggy pouch against the body. Kind of ungainly IMO. I prefer shoulders cross body bag to be flat against my hip. No need to add width there even though I'm tiny. I also much prefer the classic speedy anyway.
The alma is classic quintessential LV, beautifully made, and is actually one bag that looks better with Patina. It is still one bag that is beautifully made.
I would get a different knock around bag, and buy the beautiful alma while there are still some LVs made with impeccable quality. I honestly feel the speedy b is being churned out on a mass scale and I just don't feel the quality is up to par on that one. I don't know what they were thinking that they can't even make the hardware the same color. I don't think there is really any comparison between the bags. There are lots of knock around bags that are made with more attention to quality and detail. The alma is gorgeous. Large expanses of gorgeous leather, beautifully made, classic LV. What more could you ask for? If I'm going to spend that much, I want beautiful quality.