Old Altec Lansing Theater Horn

[speakerdave]

Seller says he has two of these horns. Also says the drivers in the second horn have been replaced with later JBL drivers.

These drivers look similar to ones I've seen pictured with Lansing Manufacturing labels on the magnet structures.

There are more photos at the auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110150740342&indexURL=2&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

[Steve Schell]

I don't think that Altec had anything to do with those horns. They look like a very old home brew effort, a pretty good one at that. Those drivers are prewar permanent magnet models, maybe Magnavox.

[Storm]

I don't think that Altec had anything to do with those horns. They look like a very old home brew effort, a pretty good one at that. Those drivers are prewar permanent magnet models, maybe Magnavox.

With a JBL crossover, nonetheless.

;)

-Storm.

[speakerdave]

. . . . Those drivers are prewar permanent magnet models, maybe Magnavox.

Ah, so . . . below is a photo of the driver I was thinking of. Perhaps it is from the time when Lansing had converted his shop to manufacturing theater systems and was servicing his radio speaker customers with relabeled Magnavox drivers, as stated on page 6 of the Stereo Sound Article: "Production of radio speakers was curtailed, and Lansing Manufacturing Company continued to serve their existing radio industry customers by distributing the distribution [sic] of speakers built by the Magnavox Company." The URL of the closed ebay sale is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LANSING-ALTEC-12-WOOFER_W0QQitemZ120140767386QQihZ002QQcategoryZ505 97QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Cyclotronguy]

Doesn't look like the Lansing badge on the front of the horn exactly matches the alleged vintage of the piece. I too would guess DIY.

Cyclotronguy

[Steve Schell]

Good detective work, speakerdave. Those magnet assemblies do have similarities, and both may have been built by Magnavox. To the best of my knowledge though, the baskets used in the horn drivers are a little later than any Lansing Mfg. Co. labeled drivers, and probably date to some time in the 1940s.

Hmolwitz found a driver that looks like the horn drivers only with a black crinkle finish. The label on the rear looks to me like it was applied by the customer rather than the manufacturer. As I recall the ones I have seen in the past that were labeled Magnavox had this finish. Look at the bottom of the page:

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=17565

Warning: studying old speakers like this can become quite an addiction!