which multicell Altec horn???

[vernb]

I own this set of horns that do not have an Altec sign on them. They are 2x4cells cast aluminium. I never thought they were Altec horns, though they look a lot like them, but today I found this site http://www.wardsweb.org/audio/Altec/Altec94.html
where they have them and call them Altec 808a....
you can go back and forth to see more image of the horn in the link.

I cannot see these in the Altec library section or find anything here in the forum to verify that they are Altecs or that Altec ever produced a multicell horn called 808.

Can anyone help? pls

I can post images of mine, just ask

[vernb]

5193851937

[Steve Schell]

Hi vernb, you have some fairly rare horns. They were indeed made by Altec Lansing, and were the last version of the H-808 horn series that began with the tar filled sheet metal version used in the Lansing Iconic speaker beginning in 1937. In about 1945 Altec tried to cast a cheaper version from urethane plastic, but these often cracked. Then came a cast aluminum version with the two halves ground flat and glued together (like the urethane version) and finally your two piece version assembled with hardware. Yours were made from approximately 1950 to 1953 and were used in some small theatre systems as well as the 820A home hi fi speaker. They sell for quite a bit so you'd do well to research value if you decide to sell them. The 808 was replaced by the first version of the 811 radial horn in 1953.

Here is one system that used the H-808:

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/pro-speakers/800.htm

...and another:

http://www.voiceofthetheatre.com/wanted.820A.htm

[vernb]

Thanks a lot for a quick and very informative answer. I have absolutely no plan of selling my H808 horns, as I quite like the sound (and looks) of them.
I use them with JBL 2445 drivers (I have a 2" throat adaptor on them) and dual 2213H woofers in 200litre cabinets. I might have a set of JBL K145 coming in to replace the 2213H, but I have not decided yet.
I cross over with a JBL ASC24 active cross over. I works and sounds great. I will post pictures here soon.
Only horns I like better are JBL 2360, so only a trade with those would be considered anyway.
Vernb

[vernb]

Was there a 2x3 cell version of the tar filled sheet metal version aswell?

[Earl K]

Was there a 2x3 cell version of the tar filled sheet metal version aswell?


VitaVox out of the UK, made a 2x3 .

They were typically found, installed by Dukane ( on this side of the Atlantic / who added a badge ) .

AFAIR, Altec never marketed a 2x3 .

<> EarlK

BTW, my pics show 2 different series ; the 550Hz and the 220hz series .

[Altec Best]

Thanks Earl I was just looking for some Vitavox literature. :)

[vernb]

Thanks Earl

too bad we can't see it in the pictures above, but my Altec H808 horns have like a huge 2-3" threaded opening that the 1.4" adaptor screws into. I will try to make pictures.
The 2x3 cell horns I have seen have the same mount, and that is why I thought they too might be altec. The Vitavox horns above seem to have what looks like "standard" altec throat/mouths.

[Earl K]

too bad we can't see it in the pictures above, but my Altec H808 horns have like a huge 2-3" threaded opening that the 1.4" adaptor screws into. I will try to make pictures.
The 2x3 cell horns I have seen have the same mount, and that is why I thought they too might be altec. The Vitavox horns above seem to have what looks like "standard" altec throat/mouths.

I don't understand / unless those pics you posted weren't of your actual horns ( the pics definately show H808s ) .

If your horns have a threaded adapter attached to them ( similar to what you've seen on 2x3s ) and the horn entry is @ 35.5 mm , then your horns were most likely made by VitaVox .

On your multicell, what are the mouth dimensions of a single cell ?

<> EarlK

PS ; Here a shot of their standard threaded adapter ( threads > 1.4" / 35.5mm ) on a pair of RH330 horns ( VitaVoxs' take on an Altec 511 )

[vernb]

Here are som pictures that will hopefully shed some light over the horn52021s5202052023
52022

each horn opening is appr. 12x12cm

[Steve Schell]

Vern it seems you have thrown us off the chase with the pictures in your post #2. Those show an Altec Lansing H-808, which is a different horn than the one shown in post #10. They do have similarities, but are from different manufacturers.

The Altec H-808 openings are roughly 110cm square, so your horns are larger with likely a lower cutoff frequency. My guess is that they are English or European, 1950s vintage, but I have never seen any exactly like them before. Are the threads 2.5 inch with sixteen threads per inch? This was the Academy standard as innovated by the Fletcher Horn System team at Bell Labs in 1933 and maintained by Lansing and RCA in the USA until the early 1940s.

[vernb]

Vern it seems you have thrown us off the chase with the pictures in your post #2. Those show an Altec Lansing H-808, which is a different horn than the one shown in post #10. They do have similarities, but are from different manufacturers.

The Altec H-808 openings are roughly 110cm square, so your horns are larger with likely a lower cutoff frequency. My guess is that they are English or European, 1950s vintage, but I have never seen any exactly like them before. Are the threads 2.5 inch with sixteen threads per inch? This was the Academy standard as innovated by the Fletcher Horn System team at Bell Labs in 1933 and maintained by Lansing and RCA in the USA until the early 1940s.

I am not sure I understand. The horns in post #2 and #10 are exactly alike. If you mean roughly 11cm square and I write roughly 12cm square (just measured to 11.6cm), and as you can se they are both cast aluminium, two pieces bolted together with exactly the same 1.4" throat with only two holes. The threads are more close to 2" I think, but do have 16 threads per inch.
The horns are 44cm wide and the height is about 25cm

[Steve Schell]

Vern, please look at the pictures more carefully as you are incorrect. The horn in post #2 has a 1" diameter throat, not 1.4". The driver mounting flange is integral to the upper and lower castings, not a separate threaded piece. The horn in #2 has no lip at the mouth, the horn in #10 does. The flanges for the hardware that hold the halves together are shaped quite differently on the two horns. There are other differences as well. I have been trying to help you but you are making it tough!

[vernb]

I am sorry, I didn't mean to be hard to help. And thanks both you Steve, and Earl have been very helpfull, and indeed you are right that the horns are not 100% alike: where the two horn sections are held together there are slight differences. I was naive enough to think that a small difference like that could just be from different production runs/casts.
You are also right that the horn in post #2 has a 1" throat where my horn in #10 has a 1.4" throat. But I must admit that I cannot see in the pictures from post #2 that the horn doesn't have the same threaded (and detachable) throat as mine, and therefore I thought the throats could be interchangeable and have been available in both 1" and 1.4" exits.
It is indeed a pity we don't have that angle of view of the horn in post #2.
I will try to write to him for another picture.
Thanks again

[Earl K]

It is indeed a pity we don't have that angle of view of the horn in post #2.
I will try to write to him for another picture.

No need , here's a whack of detailed pics showing a recent sale ( in my area ) of a cast, H808 .

Your horn has important simularities ( & differences ) to this example ( on yours, the entry adapter being the most notable ) .

<> EarlK

[Earl K]

This seller really went to town taking a lot of pics / we are all indebted to him .

One can nicely see the one-piece entry area in these photos .


<> EarlK

[vernb]

wauw, that really made it all very clear. Great pics that guy made.
and thanks again
I still like my horns very much though, even if they are not Altec.
best regards
Vernb

[Earl K]

How about some more photos of yours ? ( Use what I just posted as a guide for the profiling )

My guess ( after seeing your adapter for a 1" bolt-on driver using the Altec bolt-pattern ) is that your 2 horns were originally marketed by Westrex of England , sometime in the early 50s ( & cast by whomever did the actual foundry work ) .

- I'm suspecting that Westrex licensed a bunch of Altecs technology ( after "cherry-picking" through Altecs inventory for what they think they needed for off-shore markets ) .
- A product like a "variable entry H808" would fit nicely into this product lineup ( for the smaller cinemas found in England at the time ) .
- This "conjecture" fits nicely with the known facts of the late 1940s dispersal of Western Electrics US cinema-sound operations ( as ordered by the US government ) .
- Additionally, at the time , to do business within ( impoverished ) Post-War England ( which was governed by a protectionist Labour government ) companies were forced to manufacture ( a certain percentage of their gross sales within the U.K. ) to be able to market their wares in the country . And with England still being the head of the British commonwealth, it was the natural country to set -up as a branch-plant manufacturing centre for export around the world .
- Historically ( at @ the same time ), Altec did start manufacturing W.E.s' legacy products with ; Rear-vented magnetic assemblies, Sectoral horn technology ( ie; the radial horn ) & the speakers with a 4" voice-coil ( 728b , for a while ) . The "rights" were likely given in return for W.E.s usage of Altec technologies such as the 515 woofer, the 288 driver ( & the H808 ) among others . This "horse-trading" of product licensing ( unofficial as it might of been between Westrex & Altec ), would have nicely circumvented the US governments intentions and benefited both Altec & W.E. .
- A global ( "omnibus" ) trade deal like this, would of ( no doubt ) dismayed James Lansing and his own ambitions .

You can see ( from my ramblings ) that I think your horn has some great pedigree ( and untold stories ) behind it .

Here's a nice photo ( of the Toronto horn ) showing the metal flashing still in place ( after the 2 pieces were cast ) .



<> EarlK

[vernb]

I will definately post more pictures of my horns for you. And I will try to borrow the 2x3cell horns aswell, to make pictures. I only saw them shortly, but apart from being out of sheet metal like many Altecs, they looked like they had the same throat adaptor as mine

[Altec Best]

The differences in those horns is indeed just the mounting of the actual driver (Bolt-on & Screw-on)and throats(1" & 1.4") .Pretty close facsimiles though.;)

[vernb]

I am just back from holidays and will provide you all with better pictures of both my 2x4cell horns and my friends 2x3cell horns that appears to have the above mentioned 2.5" threaded throats. But not with the same threading as mine.

[vernb]

I am just back from holidays and will provide you all with better pictures of both my 2x4cell horns and my friends 2x3cell horns that appears to have the above mentioned 2.5" threaded throats. But not with the same threading as mine.

Well my new camera is out of juice, and I think I've lost the charger on holidays. That is why you haven't seen more pictures. I will keep looking or buy a new charger next week. I really hope it shows up. I'll be back

[vernb]

Well finally I found an exact match to my horns, that to me looked so much like Altec H808 horns. Well as you told me, they are not. But they are Italian Cinemeccanica horns. A very friendly French guy on the Lencoheaven forum told me. And in this ebay auction you can see more picture of the horns (the auction is not mine, as I have not put mine up for sale).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-CINEMECCANICA-Mg-drivers-and-horns-ITALIAN-WESTERN-ELECTRIC-VITAVOX-/250905758441?pt=FR_LC_TV_Son_Home_Cinema_HiFi_Ence intes&hash=item3a6b260ae9&ssPageName=RSS:B:SHOP:US:101

I also finally got a new battery charger for my Ricoh camera, so that I can start shooting horn pictures for you again. As I told you, I also bought a pair of 6 cell horns. But these are not cast, but "tin plate" or what it is, like the "newer" altec cell horns.