Altec Melodist 700A

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 uses an Altec 756B driver in a ported cabinet under 1.5 cubic feet. A 3000A horn tweeter sits on top, crossed over with an N3000B network. It looks great as a midcentury modern piece, but the small cabinet holds the 756B back. A later version, the Melodist 700B, swapped the 756B for 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 is known for being sweet and airy, and also fragile. In many surviving units it has been replaced with a tiny ferrite magnet dome tweeter.

Context

Altec aimed the Melodist line at urban apartment dwellers during the monaural hi-fi era. It competed with systems like the Acoustic Research AR-1 and the Jensen Duette, filling a niche for compact, stylish audio before stereo took over in 1958.

Market

A 700A in good condition is a fine-looking midcentury modern piece. The small cabinet keeps the 756B driver from performing to its full potential. A common mod swaps the fragile 3000A horn tweeter for a modern dome unit, so original examples are rare.

eBay Listings

Altec Melodist vintage audio equipment - eBay listing photo 1

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