ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Exponential horn loudspeaker

15-A horn

Western Electric · 1926–1927

Evidence status · documented

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

The Western Electric 15-A was a large exponential theatre horn in the 12-A and 13-A family, driven by the 555-W. A surviving solid-wood example built by the Talking Machine Company, sharing cast brackets with the [[western-electric-12a|12-A]], is documented as the first 15-A made.

Introduced
1926–1927
Category
Exponential horn loudspeaker
Intended use
Theatre sound with the 555-W driver
Production
Western Electric; early examples subcontracted to the Talking Machine Company

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It helped make large folded horns the standard for big auditoriums.

  2. 02

    15-A horns later appeared in arenas such as [[madison-square-garden-pa|Madison Square Garden]].

Engineering record

Construction
Solid-wood example by the Talking Machine Company with brackets shared with the 12-A[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

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

Sources

  1. 1Western Electric 15a 'solid wood'13Audio · reference · 2018

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