ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Two-way horn-loaded loudspeaker system

Voice of the Theatre A7

Altec Lansing · 1950s

Evidence status · documented

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

The A7 was Altec Lansing's compact Voice of the Theatre: a folded bass horn with a [[altec-515|515]] 15-inch woofer and a multicellular horn driven by an [[altec-288|288]] compression driver. It scaled the original Voice of the Theatre cabinets down for smaller rooms, and its high sensitivity suited the low-power valve amplifiers of the time.

Introduced
1950s
Category
Two-way horn-loaded loudspeaker system
Intended use
Smaller cinemas; later clubs, rock PA and monitoring
Production
Altec Lansing, from the 1950s into the 1980s, with a 2004 reissue

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It carried the 1940s Voice of the Theatre design into a size that clubs and bands could carry.

  2. 02

    At about 103 dB sensitivity it became a popular PA cabinet for bars, clubs and touring rock bands in the 1960s and 70s.

Engineering record

Configuration
515 15-inch woofer on a folded bass horn; 288 compression driver on a multicellular horn[1]
Sensitivity
About 103 dB (1 W/1 m)[1]
Size
About 5 feet tall and 180 lb[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

Widely used as a club and bar PA cabinet by touring rock bands in the 1960s and 70s[1]

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 11947 Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre SpeakersMix · technical paper · 2006-09-01
  2. 2A2/A4 VOTTAudio Heritage · archive

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