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Altec Voice of the Theatre (?) cabinets


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I might have a chance to pick up four of these things for about $25 each, sight unseen. Don't know if they work, don't even know if they're loaded! No way to know, either (basically a box-lot auction). At that price it seems like I can't go wrong even if they have to be loaded with new drivers.

 

Anyone think it's a bad idea? If not, what are some ideal replacement drivers?

 

And how do you transport them? :)

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Depends on the model... there are A2's 4's, 7's and 8's... all are different but one thing they have in common is BIG!

 

The LF components are very low power, but quite efficient. The original 15's are well built, Alnico magnets and sound great in lower powered tube bass amps (like Ampeg) but are really about 75 watts rms max. They also have a small x-max.

 

We recone those drivers with a more heavy duty recone kit that maximizes their potential, but the basic design is limited.

 

The HF drivers can be anything from 804-808's (1") or the 290 series (2"). Neither are known for their sound quality, the 800 series is not terribly rugged either.

 

The horns are efficient but sound pretty honky. They were sold with both cellular and sectoral horns.

 

Think BIG, really big!

 

I have some of the A2's and 4's in a large movie theatre installation and it's a very efficient cabinet, just not for moving around.

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Originally posted by agedhorse

The 511 was a 500Hz cutoff sectoral horn, and the 811 was the smaller 800 Hz version. Both were 1" throat.


I forgot about the A5 and the 288 driver! Shame my memory.

Yep,they looked pretty much like each other except for the size difference,if I remember correctly. Welded steel multi-cellular,right?=sectoral?

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There are at least ten 811's with the single-cell horns in the basement of one of the clubs I work. Sitting on a shelf. Each with a similarly retired Crest power amp of the day. And at least eight Perkins dual 15 cabs, some loaded, some empty. The club's been in existence for more than 20 years. This stuff is vintage, and the spot-checking I did indicates that it all still works.

 

(That's also where I found the EV DH1's and 150's.)

 

But, does no one remember the A3 VOT's? Basically a 4 x 8-foot 1/4-wave front-loaded horn cabinet with a single 15 and a 4x8 plywood wing on each side. They sat behind the movie screen, usually with a multi-cell atop.

 

The RIAA curve applied to make it sound almost acceptable by today's standards.

 

Damn, I'm old!

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Originally posted by RickJ

There are at least ten 811's with the single-cell horns in the basement of one of the clubs I work. Sitting on a shelf. Each with a similarly retired Crest power amp of the day. And at least eight Perkins dual 15 cabs, some loaded, some empty. The club's been in existence for more than 20 years. This stuff is vintage, and the spot-checking I did indicates that it all still works.


(That's also where I found the EV DH1's and 150's.)


But, does no one remember the A3 VOT's? Basically a 4 x 8-foot 1/4-wave front-loaded horn cabinet with a single 15 and a 4x8 plywood wing on each side. They sat behind the movie screen, usually with a multi-cell atop.


The RIAA curve applied to make it sound almost acceptable by today's standards.


Damn, I'm old!

 

 

I don't remember the number, but I recall seeing the box with wings. Some of the other models had optional wings also.

 

Were those Crests the 2501 and 3501's?

 

Being from NY, you will likely see more of those early models since Crest was a N.J. company, part of what was Dallas Music Industries. They also made Kelsey consoles.

 

I was a CA repair shop for them back in the early 1980's and remember their product well. The amps were great for the day, but some parts are tough to get any more.

 

One thing about them, the mechanical packaging was very tough, just the early side-to-side cooling scheme did not work very efficiently.

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My former horn player just gave away 4 A7 VOTs. When we practiced at his house in the early '90s, we used a pair along with an old Acoustic 850 head for the practice PA--part of our old road PA in the early 70's...

 

IMO, VOTs could sound decent in an install--the 418 & 421 series drivers common in them are great, and the 808 compression drivers are not at all bad.

 

The problem, of course, is that all of these boxes hail from the era when carpentry was cheap and watts were expensive. They are efficient as hell, but do not handle power well, and will not give you the SPLs you need for a modern band. Di's and cones are fragile. The Radian replacement di's suck, and are expensive (about $75.00 wholesale), though cheaper than the Altec di's.

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