Big Bertha's Final Descent

**Todd W. White** · October 6th, 2016, 02:54 PM

The last of the giant ALTEC sound systems is no more.

It i so very sad that we live in a day when anything that isn't "new" is considered inferior and must, therefore, be replaced. This mentality pervades our culture, and robs current and future generations of the great achievements of the past.

A case in point is the gigantic Altec Loudspeaker System in the Rupp Arena, nicknamed, "Big Bertha". NOTHING will ever be able to replicate the full-range, articulate, point-source, natural sounding performance of this system, which is being replaced with one that goes "BOOM! BOOM!", and that's about it.

Watch it and weep.

Big Bertha's final descent - YouTube

**tomt** · October 6th, 2016, 07:37 PM

“As I left the driveway of my house that day, my wife, Holly,
came to my truck window
and told me to bid more than we had planned because ‘there’s only one Big Bertha;
bid what you need to bid and bring her home,’” Mallory wrote in an email.
“After that statement, I asked her if I could marry her all over again.”

Read more here: Kentucky basketball's Big Bertha speaker system finds new home in retirement | Lexington Herald-Leader

P.S.

no video seen on this 'puter ...

p.s.s -

from the Coments setion-

Matt Hisle ? Works at Woodstream Consulting
John was a beloved graphic designer for Engineered Devices Company and Hisle Sound. Although a lifelong audiophile, he would reject the concept of engineer. He was an artist. I spent many an hour with him while young working on engravings while he sang German Opera to entertain the assembly floor. At one visit to his apartment, I counted 57 speakers in his bedroom, including his bed where he used an Altec A2 (the large speakers in Big Bertha) as a bedframe and subwoofer. I also remember when he camped out for three days to buy one of the first laser video discs ever made. An all together cool guy.