ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Low-frequency driver

515 low-frequency driver

Altec Lansing · 1945; 515B 1966

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The Altec 515 is a 15-inch woofer with a 3-inch edge-wound voice coil and Alnico V magnet, designed for large bass horns in the Voice of the Theatre systems. The 515B was catalogued from 20 Hz to 1,000 Hz.

Introduced
1945; 515B 1966
Category
Low-frequency driver
Intended use
Horn-loaded bass driver for cinema and sound reinforcement
Production
Altec Lansing; 515B (1966) and 515C (1979) revisions

Equipment photographs · 1

Altec Lansing 515-8LF, a later version of the 515 woofer

1 / 1 · Altec Lansing 515-8LF, a later version of the 515 woofer

Altec Lansing 515-8LF, a later version of the 515 woofer·Jacques from Cape Town, South Africa·CC BY 2.0

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It made the horn-loaded 15-inch woofer the standard of American cinema sound.

  2. 02

    It sat in the [[altec-a7|A7]] cabinets that early rock PA borrowed.

Engineering record

Voice coil
3-inch edge-wound copper ribbon[1]
Magnet
Alnico V on a die-cast aluminium frame[1]
Response (515B)
20 Hz to 1,000 Hz, for horn loading with 288 or 291 drivers[1]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

No named deployment could be tied to this exact item by a checked source yet. Know of one? Suggest it on the contribute page.

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 1515B Low-Frequency LoudspeakerAltec Corporation · manual · 1973

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