ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Public-address amplification system

1-A public-address system

Western Electric · 1920s

Evidence status · documented

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

The Western Electric 1-A public-address system combined telephone-derived valve amplifiers with horn loudspeakers to carry speech to large outdoor crowds. The Altec Lansing heritage timeline records its use for Calvin Coolidge's address at Harvard in 1925.

Introduced
1920s
Category
Public-address amplification system
Intended use
Outdoor speech reinforcement for crowds
Production
Custom-installed by Western Electric and Bell System engineers

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It proved that valve amplification and horns could address crowds far beyond the unaided voice, building on [[western-electric-101b|repeater tubes]].

  2. 02

    Its success fed Western Electric's move into theatre sound, including the [[western-electric-555|555 driver]].

Engineering record

Documented use
Calvin Coolidge's outdoor address at Harvard, 1925[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

Calvin Coolidge at Harvard University, 1925[1]

Manuals & original documents

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

Sources

  1. 11876–1946 Altec Lansing heritage timelineAudio Heritage · reference

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