ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Two-way theatre horn system

Shearer Horn system

MGM / Lansing · 1934–1936

Evidence status · documented

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

The Shearer Horn was developed from 1933–34 by John Hilliard of MGM's sound department, under Douglas Shearer, with James B. Lansing, to fix the time smear of Western Electric's Wide Range system. It combined 15-inch drivers in a bass horn with a multicellular horn and compression driver, and won a Technical Achievement Academy Award in 1936.

Introduced
1934–1936
Category
Two-way theatre horn system
Intended use
High-fidelity theatre sound
Production
MGM sound department with Lansing Manufacturing; built by Lansing, Western Electric and RCA

Equipment photographs · 1

Lansing Manufacturing Shearer Horn two-way theatre system

1 / 1 · Lansing Manufacturing Shearer Horn two-way theatre system

Lansing Manufacturing Shearer Horn two-way theatre system·Harman International; courtesy Mark Gander and John Eargle·© Harman International / Lansing Heritage archive; used for identification and historical commentary

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It set the mid-1930s benchmark for theatre sound.

  2. 02

    Its team and techniques led to the [[lansing-iconic|Iconic]] and Altec's [[altec-a4|Voice of the Theatre]].

Engineering record

Composition
15-inch bass drivers in a horn plus a multicellular horn with a 285 compression driver[1][2]
Recognition
Technical Achievement Academy Award, 1936[3]

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

Installed across MGM's Loew's theatre circuit[1]

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 1Shearer HornAudio Heritage · reference
  2. 2A Study of Theatre Loud Speakers and the Development of the Shearer Two-Way Horn SystemJohn K. Hilliard (reprint) · technical paper · 1936
  3. 3RCA Shearer Horn Photophone two-way cinema speaker systemPowerhouse Museum · archive

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