Altec Melodist 700A

Name: Altec Melodist
Brand: Altec

A compact monaural bass reflex speaker system designed for urban living in midcentury America

Overview

The Altec Melodist 700A is a compact bass reflex speaker system from Altec’s Melodist line, aimed at apartment dwellers in midcentury American cities. It was part of a monaural hi-fi system that faded from production around 1958 with the rise of stereo audio. The 700A features an Altec 756B driver in a ported cabinet under 1.5 cubic feet, topped by a 3000A horn tweeter crossed over via an N3000B network. While visually striking as a midcentury modern artifact, its small cabinet limits the 756B’s sonic performance. A later version, the Melodist 700B, replaced the 756B with the 401A driver.

Specifications

Cabinet type	Ported box / bass reflex
Cabinet volume	< 1.5 cf (cubic feet)
Driver	Loaded with the Altec 756B
Tweeter	Supplemented on top by a 3000A horn tweeter
Crossover	Via an N3000B crossover
Impedance	The 756B has an 8 ohm voice coil

Design

The cabinet design may have been dictated by market positioning rather than sound engineering. The original 3000A horn tweeter, known for being sweet and airy but fragile, has often been replaced in surviving units with a tiny ferrite magnet dome tweeter.

Context

Altec targeted the Melodist line at urban apartment dwellers during the monaural hi-fi era. Competing with systems like the Acoustic Research AR-1 and the Jensen Duette, it occupied a niche for compact, stylish audio solutions before stereo dominance emerged in 1958.

Market

If found in good condition, the Altec Melodist 700A is a fine-looking midcentury modern artifact. However, due to the small cabinet size, the 756B driver doesn’t perform to its full potential. A common mod replaces the fragile 3000A horn tweeter with a modern dome unit, so original examples are rare.