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For posterity’s sake, here is the Altec speaker my kids grew up listening to, watching movies at the local movie theater; tickets are $3 per kid, popcorn is $.50. Jurassic Park sounded just as good at the theater as in our cabin/home though my A7-500s. I will get better pictures (hopefully this weekend) of the speaker and amp. Theater was built in 1949, enjoy.
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2011/11/6.jpg
Nice! Still in use?
Absolutely.:) And probably for at least another 75 years. (edit; town of 1200 souls)
Here are a few large format pictures of what I figure is an Altec model 800 speaker, although it is a lot closer to 3’ deep rather than the advertised 2’, and is missing the top wing. It is flanked by two Seeburg DDS1 discoth?que satellites, and some unmarked folded horn sub.
Literature;
800 VOTT
Seeburg DDS1 & Altec H-811 B Horns Project - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/10.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/11.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/12.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/13.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/14.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/15.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2011/11/16.jpg
Hmm 3 ft deep and spaced up? Must be a very rare original A5 which makes the horn a large format tar filled multi-cell, probably an 805 [as shown]:
http://www.voiceofthetheatre.com/ima...att1945.10.jpg
http://www.voiceofthetheatre.com/ima...945.prices.jpg
http://www.voiceofthetheatre.com/ima...att1945.15.jpg
GM
Thanks for the photos and for the catalog pages.
That bass cabinet is much larger than that later 825/828. Saw one like it on eBay a few years back. When did they change to the smaller size?
Just FWIW. Peak movie attendance in the US and Britain was in 1946
This town had a peak population of about 2000 people back in the '40s, as did the entire state. I wonder how many more gems are lurking in the spattering of small towns around here. I will have to start a new hobby and make a few road trips, take pictures, and make sure the owners know not to let someone talk them into upgrading their treasures. The amps were replaced about 6 years.
You're welcome! I see I forgot to post the nice Altec site I got them from:
http://www.voiceofthetheatre.com/
Note on the horn selection/pricing sheet the '800' system [original A7-8] listing, though apparently not in the catalog. It's been suggested that it didn't arrive until the late '40s, with the downsized A5, A6 shortly after:
800 VOTT
ALTEC speaker Systems
I guess in a bid to capture as much of the post war market as practical, they initially offered a large variety of big, expensive systems, but the rapid rise of union labor costs and the sprawl of the new ?suburbia? with its desire for small neighborhood cinemas quickly forced a shift to a smaller/cheaper product line. The large A6 [minus its baffle stand] at my high school came from the late ?50s closing of just such a local strip mall cinema due to expanding to a Cineplex where even the downsized A7 series was overkill, peak sound power wise.
GM
Actually, another reason for smaller theaters is that the movie companies can make more money showing movies in a small theater. Recently(like ~10 years ago) a local movie chain changed a large theater with single showing movie to 5 "more" intimate theaters, each showing a different movie.Quote:
Originally Posted by GM
Many thanks for posting VH!
I think this is probably a very rare opportunity to see one of those early A5 systems with all it's original underpinning and wings just as it was originally installed. A well preserved specimen too.
I like the Seeburg. Do not underestimate those! Working properly with the right amp they sound pretty darn good!
Thanks for the links GM. I have learned a lot in just a couple of hours of viewing and drooling. I like how in 1947 dollars (as per date at bottom of price sheet), this A5 was just $600 including Altec installation supervision.:)
http://www.voiceofthetheatre.com/ima...945.prices.jpg
You're welcome! Yeah, $600 looks a whole better than the ~$6100 in today's dollars.
GM
$600 doesn't sound like a lot today but in 1947 it was a lot of cash. Could almost buy a car with that.
Yep, that's somewhere around $6000 today depending on how you figure it.
How much do modern cinema speakers cost? (I should know that).
Look at these....
Audiophile Speakers Made in USA - No MDF
Hum, $8000 a pair for a replacement of an Altec Magnificent, how much did those cost the last time they were produced? My A7-500s cost $800 a pair in 1978 dollars. I remembering seeing an add a few years back for the A7 Legacy by Altec Professional that where listed as $8000+ a pair.
@ Nipper re: Cathedral Speakers, beautiful speakers except for the hardware store angles to mount the horns. In the literature they state "horniness associated with horn speakers is eliminated". I don't think they could eliminate my lust for horn loaded speakers! ;^)
Im with you artlab. I'm as horny as they come. :biggrin2:Quote:
Originally Posted by artlab
Not to hijack the thread but I would really like to hear them. If I remember correctly they are constructed of solid wood and a lot of cabinet builders say this is a major no no.
No where near a Magnificent, the woofer isn't front horn loaded. Don't recall ever knowing the price. What's left of my billing records shows I paid $535 in Feb. '75 for a pallet of a pair of A7-500 components ordered from CMC Stereo because I could get them cheaper there than from the Altec distributor, though for most components it was the other way around.Quote:
Originally Posted by VolvoHeretic
GM
Hmm, that would require a very high XO point with the 511 or 811 and/or a compression driver too weak to them hard enough. Regardless, that's a lot of $$$ for a speaker with an entry level DJ horn driver.Quote:
Originally Posted by artlab
GM
Eminence drivers, too.
Sorta makes the $1000/pr new Model 19 variant cabs mentioned in another post here seem like a bargain.
I heard his first pair last year and they were quite good. The weakness at the time was the woofer, but he has changed that. I helped a tiny bit with his present crossover.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nipper
They are beautifully built and sound very nice. The price is high but considering the cost of fine furniture, which these are, and the price of so many other high end speakers, the price isn't that bad.
And I was surprised at how good the "entry level DJ drivers" sounded. No hint of strain or harshness.
I agree that their pricing is quite competitive for such cabinetry, but openly displaying such a driver at this price level doesn't seem a good marketing move. Ditto using a decidedly industrial looking horn considering what's available these days.
Regardless, based on the pair I recommended to a neighbor for a DJ app some years ago, either Eminence has changed the design or these folks must be doing more than electronically smoothing them because his had an 'edge' to them that from memory made Symbiotiks sound positively super smooth in comparison. It wasn't just us either, a manufacturer successfully using them in a different app [and why I recommended them] finally admitted that his versions were Eminence tweaked, so internally they were more than just brand specific labeled.
Fortunately, a light, airbrushed coating of dammar combined with some damping in the driver/horn junction took care of it once EQ'd ~flat, but the former falls outside the 'comfort zone' of most DIYers. Who knows? Maybe the tweaked versions are standard now that they are no longer brand specific, but short of auditioning a new pair I don't consider these drivers a viable alternative to Altec/GPA except possibly in a limited BW app.
Jerry McNutt should know, so does anyone have his published email address or forum he can be contacted at? All my records are MIA for now.
GM
Which horn are you referring too? All the pictures (that I saw) and pricing showed Altec horns, but the graph and some of the text refereed to a plastic looking Eminence horn.Quote:
Originally Posted by GM
Its an Altec horn but... :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill
"Horn driver is 1 inch titanium dome made by Eminence, model PSD:2002. The Selenium Audio Pro drivers are also available upon request"
The pair I heard used an 811 horn and a Selenium driver. I was truly surprised how good the Selenium sounded. The best I've ever heard them. Cal Weldon uses them too, but he plays a LOT louder than these did. :P