If movie theater sound could be defined by just one speaker, that honor would surely go to Altec Lansing’s A7 Voice of the Theatre. For more than a half-century, tens of thousands of A7s have supplied sound for commercial theaters around the world. It was the speaker of choice for Cinerama theaters in the early 1950s; even today such venues as the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind., and the IMAX Theater in Seoul, South Korea, still rely on A7s. The speaker also has been used in countless music recordings, and currently enjoys a devoted following among Japanese audiophiles. It very well may be the most-listened-to speaker of all time, so it was a sad day in the mid-1990s when production ceased.

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The hulking A7 is overkill for ordinary home theaters, but is right at home in today’s capacious screening rooms. (Click image to enlarge)

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Thanks possibly to the growing popularity of capacious home theaters and personal screening rooms, the A7 is resurfacing in a meticulously crafted reissue aimed at the consumer market. Since the demise of the original A7, Altec Lansing has shifted its attention to computer speakers, but the culture of meticulous engineering and craftsmanship that created the A7 survives. The company has kept the Golden Sample, the A7 design prototype, so Altec’s engineers are able to compare new A7s to the original to ensure that the reborn model faithfully duplicates every engineering detail and specification.
In case you are wondering, yes, Altec produced six previous Voice of the Theatre models, the A1 through the A6. The A7 is the culmination of the line and holds the singular distinction of being the only speaker series ever approved by the Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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The speaker’s reissue captures every last bit of the A7’s original glory, right down to the retro logo on its side. (Click image to enlarge)

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Although everyone has heard the A7, only a few brave souls have actually seen the speaker because it usually hides behind a perforated video projection screen. Standing 54 inches tall, 30 inches wide and 24 inches deep,sleek this speaker is not. Its commanding bulk most likely limits its appeal to sizable home theaters where a trio of A7s can be tucked out of sight behind the screen, just as they would be in a commercial movie theater.

Although deploying A7s as surround speakers is a less likely scenario, I imagine some homeowners will build them into the side or rear walls of their theaters, or suspend the A7’s 170-lb. mass from the ceiling. And judging by the sheer size of the thing, you might expect it to churn out room-shaking bass, but alas, it does not. Plan on augmenting the A7 with one or more subwoofers.
While most will feel the A7’s unabashed professional audio aesthetic limits its visual appeal, I assure you the speaker’s build quality is rock solid. This is a two-way woofer-and-tweeter design, but unlike conventional speakers the woofer and tweeter voice their sound through flared horns (which somewhat resemble the bell of a trumpet or tuba) mounted in front of the speaker drivers.

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The A7 can blanket a large commercial theater in sound because of its horn-loaded drivers, which also permit it to play loudly when driven by a small amplifier. (Click image to enlarge)

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Why horns? Remember, Altec created this speaker to project sound all the way to the back rows of large theaters, and power amplifiers in the 1950s never produced much more than 75 watts. Therefore, Altec added the horns to increase the amount of sound the speaker produces and, most important, to push sound out over long distances. No conventional box speakers can even come close to equaling the A7’s skill set.

Like its ancestors, the A7 is built almost entirely from parts proudly made in the USA, including the swoopy, die-cast aluminum tweeter horn that resembles something out of Star Wars. The original production tooling parts are still being used, and the A7’s tweeter and 15-inch woofer are still fabricated by a small group of craftsmen with almost 100 years of collective experience in the hand assembly of Altec Lansing speaker parts. The 13-layer birch-wood cabinet is coated with a black splatter finish—a rough, unattractive yet rugged covering that attests the speaker’s form-follows-function professional lineage.
The Sound of the Real Thing
Describing sound with words is usually the hardest part of my job, but this time I have it easy because whether or not you realize it, you probably know the sound. The A7’s unique sonic signature has been imprinted on our movie-watching experience in commercial theaters. When you hear it, you connect to the sound emotionally. In a large home theater, I find pleasure in the A7’s luxurious sound, which is a huge improvement over all but the highest of high-end speakers.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the A7’s home theater sound is the way it leaps effortlessly from subtle atmospheric effects to ton-of-bricks bombast. The speaker’s free-wheeling dynamic impact undeniably adds to the dramatic realism of its sound; remember, this sort of thing is all in a day’s work for speakers designed to fill vast commercial theaters. The incredibly vivid scale and proportion of the sound reach far beyond what we typically hear at home. Even the most spacious theaters will never tax the A7’s endurance.

The A7’s magical midrange is instantly recognizable. DVD dialogue has just the right balance of full-bodied presence and crisp articulation. While detail resolution may fall short of the best audiophile speakers, the A7 does not sound outdated. When I listen to a great vocalist such as Ella Fitzgerald, the speakers can do no wrong. As I move on to contemporary artists, the A7 mimics the sound of a concert public-address system. While the speaker lacks the finesse to re-create the romance of a symphony orchestra, it has an inbred affinity for movies and music normally heard through concert speakers. The live “you are there” quality of the sound is irresistible.
The A7 may be but the first in a new line of consumer models from Altec. The most likely to emerge next is the Model 604, Altec’s popular recording monitor introduced in the early 1970s (when Altec’s studio sales were double those of its closest competitor, JBL).

Right now, the A7 is available only on Altec Lansing’s website, but given that this speaker practically demands custom installation, we expect to see some installers carry it.

The A7 is an icon, comparable in status to Harley-Davidson’s renowned motorcycles or Fender’s legendary guitars. If you have a lifelong love affair with movies, the Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theatre deserves a spot in your home theater. Just listen and you will see.

PRICE
$4,000 each, plus $300 shipping and handling per speaker

CONTACT
570.296.4434
www.alteclansing.com