ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Bin-and-horn PA with mixing console

Kelsey/Morris console

Kelsey · 1970–1971

Evidence status · documented

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

After Iron Butterfly's 1970 UK tour, Kelsey-Morris assembled what One Two Testing called arguably the first British PA built for sale from horn-loaded cinema speakers: RCA W-bins topped with Vitavox radial horns. King Crimson, T. Rex and Ten Years After were early owners. The firm also made consoles before becoming Kelsey Acoustics.

Introduced
1970–1971
Category
Bin-and-horn PA with mixing console
Intended use
Rock touring sound
Production
Kelsey-Morris (Bill Kelsey and Jim Morris), UK

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It helped move British rock touring from column PA to horn-loaded systems.

  2. 02

    Its approach paralleled [[martin-modular-2|Martin Audio]]'s folded-horn rigs.

Engineering record

Configuration
Eight-foot RCA W-bin bass horns with Vitavox radial treble horns[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

Used on tour by King Crimson, T. Rex and Ten Years After[1]

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

  1. 1History of PA (Part 2)One Two Testing, July 1984 (via muzines.co.uk) · archive · 1984-07
  2. 2Kelsey Acoustics; A Name Rooted In SoundEvent Industry News · archive · 2023-10-06

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