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Were these sold to the public, in the 50s ? I thought the only horn-type speakers (sold) were corners - like the Klipschorn and Hartsfield.....
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J., as Kay Kayser used to say, "That's right, children – you're wrong." The Altec 604 was introduced in 1945, but was preceded in 1943 by the very similar 601. The Tannoy Dual Concentric debuted in 1947. One year later Columbia introduced the long playing records, and we were off to the races.Horn speaker enclosures have been around since the early 1920s, and actually predate electrical recording and playback. Because of the power limits imposed on amplifiers by the output tubes that were available in the late '40s and early '50s, horns of all types – corner horns designed to take advantage of corners as well as horns that went along the wall – were extremely common in the homes of hobbyists after 1948.
Then in 1958, the stereo LP became a reality. But few post-war wives were willing to entertain a second huge speaker enclosure in her living room. This, along with the simultaneous development of affordable 50- and 60-watt amplifiers, gave engineering and marketing impetus to new speaker designs that traded efficiency for smaller size.
A few loveless audio nuts stuck to their big guns. But in the main, horns and other large speakers fell out of favor. Then, a few decades later, a new generation rediscovered the realism and effortless dynamics available through this ancient technology, and the horn loudspeaker became new again.
And to all my audiophile friends out there, alte cockers and newbies, please accept my annual wishes for a happy Easter, and an active Crossover.
Edits: 04/20/14
Thank you, Chef. I thought the Cornwall speaker in '59 would have spawned competition - I guess not. Only since (year) 2000 have "waveguides" become somewhat popular in hobbyists circles. Big horns are coming along too, but are so darn expensive...
If you are speaking of systems with cabinets, then the Model 17 would be what you are speaking of. Don't know if that was available in the 1950s, but I kind of doubt it.
Klipsch was making the LaScala and it is a non-corner horn.
Aahh - I see the 17 on google-ebay - but it must have been a rare bird. Were these really bought by the public ? They seem to be more studio-type.
And the Lascalla - yes - but I thought the Cornwall was out first.
the Cornwall being a hybrid with only the squawker and tweeter being horn loaded. The La Scala is a true horn like the speakers that you mentioned.
I should have clarified. By "horn", I meant (at least) mids and highs -
In those days, speakers and enclosures were sold separately - such was the case (by and large) until the late 1950s/early 1960s.
I don't know when the Tannoy coaxes entered the market.
Lots of early (by which I mean post WWII era) home hifi used horns for sensitivity (given low amplifier power, at least at reasonable prices).
Peruse any and all of the following to see what was popular in hifi in the 1950s.
www.hifilit.com
www.alliedcatalogs.com
www.radioshackcatalogs.com
all the best,
mrh
Thank you for sharing. From scanning around - it looks like the Cornwall was the first "stereo horn" (not corner-based) intended for home use, in 1959. But I could be wrong -
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