Altec Manta-ray horns versus the legacy Altec multi-cell and sectorial horns

[bowtie427ss]

The maestro strikes again!:2thumbsup:

[GST]

Hello forum, Dear Mr. Schell

If the urethane H 808 version was made during WWII, why it has been used first in
the 800 Vott from 1947 ? Was there a other model before ? Was the driver a 802 ?
Is it right, that the 2 piece Alu glued horns has been used in the first 820A corner horn,
you can see it in the their pictures ( voice of the theatre.com ) , they had the horns without the flanges. But later they came with the flanges, have seen some of them on
ebay, with the grey wrinkled finish 803A.

Thanks for any reply, Gunther

[Steve Schell]

Hi Gunther,

These are all good questions you pose, but I am short on answers. As best I can tell Altec Lansing produced some version of the H-808 at all times, transitioning from the tar filled horn to the urethane version, on to the first aluminum version using the same molds as the plastic, then to the two piece flanged aluminum version.

Somewhere I have a service bulletin dated 1947 (I think) that states that either the urethane or the aluminum version might be supplied with the 800 system. What I found today was a drawing and description of the 800 system which includes a note: "The 808-B horn is made of plastic- use reasonable care in handling." So they knew this horn was fragile from the start.

By July 1941 Altec Lansing was making a small 800Hz. crossover theatre system called the 18-W-8. It was described as using the 901 driver on the H-808 horn, and 1565 woofer on a short, straight bass horn baffle. These are permanent magnet drivers, though the supplied picture of the rear of the system shows the earlier Lansing field coil drivers. I assume that they continued to make some version of this system until the 800 debuted in 1947, but the documentation is missing through the war years, at least in my collection. The Iconic continued to be built into the era of the red, white and blue decals about 1945, and at some point gave way to the 604 Duplex in the 612 box. I'm not sure how much if any overlap there was between these systems. There was some overlap in components, as I have seen 802 drivers with three stud mount and tar filled 808 horns with large two stud flange.

[Altec Best]

Hey Steve any chance you can post a picture of that.Supplied picture of the rear of the system.Would love to see that.I love seeing all that old 1940's 50's etc... Stuff very cool.Thanks for any thing you can show.:thankU:

[GM]

By July 1941 Altec Lansing was making a small 800Hz. crossover theatre system called the 18-W-8. It was described as using the 901 driver on the H-808 horn, and 1565 woofer on a short, straight bass horn baffle. These are permanent magnet drivers, though the supplied picture of the rear of the system shows the earlier Lansing field coil drivers.

Interesting, I thought only the 815 was optimized for reflex loading. Indeed, I thought the Iconic was the 18W8's studio/HIFI derivative, i.e. same components, smaller cab, similar tuning.

GM

[Cut-Throat]

Just saw this thread and I have tried both the Mantaray and the Multicells in my Setup. And I preferred the Multicells. I am using the 1005B Horns with 288-16K drivers, with Klipschorn Bass Bins and Tweeters. Simple first Order crossover, custom Built. I have lived with this speaker setup for 5 years now. The longest of any speaker I have had in 35 years of Audio. I am not upgrading soon.

[GST]

Hello Steve, thanks for the information, I?ve never heard from the 18-W-8, if you have
pics, please let us know.
Gunther

[GM]

Basic info: http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...942/page06.jpg

GM

[Steve Schell]

Thanks GM, I had forgotten about that image of the 18-W-8 even though I made that scan. Evidently this system had a strange recessed baffle early on, later replaced by the reflex baffle. In this circa 1941 picture the 18-W-8 can be seen behind the utility Iconic and the salon Iconic:

LANSING MANUFACTURING

(Danger, trivia alert) See the white patch on the floor that looks like a piece of paper? When I visited the building to take photos for some "then and now" comparisons, I happened to look down at the floor in front of me. Turns out the white spot was a patch to the concrete slab, new in 1941 but looking very old and blended in color by 2000. The comparison photos can be found here:

6900 MCKINLEY

The little seen 1565 woofer was a prewar permanent magnet unit, one of those big heavy jobs with a massive cast magnet structure. Still, the literature says "Efficiency down 4db compared to 415 Unit." I have seen the 1565 only twice in the modern era, one in a salon Iconic and another in a Monitor 500 system.

Here are the photos of the 18-W-8 system as seen in the book of Altec service bulletins published by RCA Service Company:

[Altec Best]

Very Interesting ! That cabinet looks like the beginning of what turned into the 210 with the woofer outside of the cabinet.Big woofer too.:2thumbsup:

Thank You Steve & GM for posting the Pictures !