I've been wanting to write an article about the "musicality magic" of vintage Altec loudspeakers for a while now, so consider this a mini-installment towards that goal, with - I hope - much more to come.

Let's start with a short Altec history lesson.

Altec's origins are inextricably linked to the Western Electric movie theater loudspeaker systems of the mid-1920's. 

The movie theater industry was a new and rapidly growing market in the mid-1920's and Western Electric was busy providing loudspeakers to movie theaters across the USA. 

In a 1927 parallel loudspeaker universe, James B. Lansing and Ken Decker founded the Lansing Manufacturing Company to manufacture loudspeakers. 

In 1933 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios decided they wanted more performance than the Western Electric loudspeakers provided, and their sound department set about designing a loudspeaker that would become known as the Shearer Horn.

MGM contacted James B. Lansing about collaborating with them on their loudspeaker design and manufacturing it for them. The result was the "Lansing Manufacturing Shearer Horn Model 75W5" which won an award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1937 for advancing the state-of-art in high-fidelity movie theater loudspeakers.

While all of this Western Electric and MGM Shearer Horn excitement was occurring, the Great Depression had descended upon the USA in 1929 (which lasted until the late-1930's), and the business opportunities for Western Electric providing loudspeakers to movie theaters diminished precipitously, with the result being that Western Electric discontinued its movie theater business line in 1936. 

In 1937, a number of  Western Electric employees left to found a new company called Altec (a contraction of "all technical") to provide all the technical service needed for Western Electric products in the movie theater industry.

Initially Altec functioned solely as a service company maintaining Western Electric movie theater products in the field, but it became apparent that with Western Electric leaving the market, that there was an opportunity to manufacture and sell movie theater loudspeakers. 

Altec didn't have a capability for manufacturing loudspeakers, so they bought the Lansing Manufacturing Company in 1941 that was at the time in dire financial circumstances, and they began to develop a new line of loudspeakers under the Altec brand name.

By 1945 Altec introduced the professional line of A1, A2, A4, and A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers to the movie theater market, then later introduced consumer models - like my 832A Corona's - in the late-1950's, and with the professional Altec A7 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers being introduced in 1966.

It turned out that these vintage Altec loudspeakers have enduring musical and sonic strengths that can give even contemporary listeners pause upon hearing them, due to their rather remarkable ability to draw one into the essense of the musical experience, which can make one wonder how much true audio progress has been made in loudspeakers up to the present day. 

For more information on Altec's rich history see the excellent Audio Heritage and Ominous Valve websites.

There are fine examples of present day loudspeakers as well, of course, but the number of examples that can match - let alone exceed - these Audio Golden Era masterworks is much smaller than you might imagine.

The custom "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers in my living room.

It's probably obvious that vintage Altec loudspeakers have really captured my imagination, and I now have three (!) audio systems based on vintage Altec loudspeakers. Yes, I've gone completely bonkers over vintage Altec's!

The first pair are the circa 1961-1964 custom Altec loudspeakers built for conductor Leopold Stokowski (photo above), that are residing in my main music-listening system in my living room for the Duelund-Altec Project, in place of my usual Tannoy Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers (more HERE). 

The second pair are my professional Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers (introduced in 1945) that reside in my AV system (more HERE, HERE, and HERE).

Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers in my AV system.

The third pair are my circa 1957-1958 Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers that reside in my bedroom system (more HERE).

Vintage Altec 832A Corona domestic loudspeakers in my main listening room, now residing in a bedroom system.

I really love what vintage Altec's are capable of musically & sonically, and in particular by their ability to convey the sheer emotional impact of live music.

I'm not the only one impressed with vintage Altec's, and there's more than a few audio manufacturers, audio enthusiasts, audio writers, and musicians, that are listening - some secretly - to vintage Altec's at home.

Don Garber with family circa 1975. Godspeed, Don!

Don Garber of Fi (RIP) liked to listen to his Altec 604 loudspeakers at home (above), Jean Hiraga is well known for his audio adventures with Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers (below), and our friend Yazaki-san listens to his vintage Altec's with Onken cabinets at home (below).

Hiraga-san (left) with friends.

Yazaki-san (center) visiting with friends.

Why do these vintage Altec's capture listeners' imagination so completely? There's a few reasons.

First, vintage Altec's possess superb tone, dynamics, and a vivid presence which makes for a very live-like music listening experience in the home.

Second, for the reasons mentioned above, vintage Altec's also provide a huge dose of emotional impact from the music that few loudspeakers can match. 

Third, vintage Altec's are very sensitive, and can be driven easily to live-like levels with low-powered single-ended amplifiers, like the 5-watt single-ended amplifier that I drive my 832A Corona's with.

Fourth, vintage Altec's were engineered to perform reliably for many decades of rough use in professional applications, which gives them the equivalent of loudspeaker eternal life in the easier demands of home audio.

Fifth, vintage Altec's are Audio Golden Age masterworks that have stood the test of time, and they appreciate in value because only so many were made, rather than decline in value like contemporary loudspeakers.

Sixth, vintage Altec's are easily maintained/repairable should the need arise, courtesy of Great Plains Audio (a direct descendant of Altec, just as Altec was a descendent of Western Electric).

Seventh, vintage Altec's are still relatively affordable for the level of performance they provide, although they are getting more expensive all the time.

Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossover breadboards.

Eighth, vintage Altec's are easy to hot-rod with new crossovers (like the Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers above), or with new high-frequency horns like the high-performance and hand-crafted wood horns of Markus Klug, and you can even have beautiful custom cabinets built for them by Vintage Speaker Revival.

On the left is the original Altec 1505B multi-cell horn, and on the right is Markus Klug's Markus Klug's Klughoerner hand-crafted wood replica of the 1505B.

Ninth - and this may surprise you - vintage Altec's have a "digital alchemy" trait going for them that makes "base metal" digital sources sound better than they have any right to, turning them into "gold" sources that need not apologize for anything. There's just something about vintage Altec's that makes even modest digital sound great, and of course good analog is heavenly.

Tenth, there's a pride of ownership that goes with vintage Altec's that's not unlike the pride of ownership one experiences from a vintage sports car, a vintage wooden boat, or a vintage aircraft. They're just really cool!

That's what I call my Altec "Ten Commandments".

Also, chances are that once you have a pair of vintage Altec's it will be your last pair of loudspeakers, because nothing else will do!

Ok, that's it for now, but there will be much more to come about vintage Altec loudspeakers.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!