Voice of the Theatre (1945–)
Little is documented about the "Voice" brand as such. "Voice of the Theatre" is a product line - the Altec loudspeaker family that became the de facto standard for motion picture sound. The record on the brand is thin, but the surviving documentation is specific about what the line was and how it was received.
According to Altec's own materials, the company introduced the Voice of the Theatre series in 1945 as a two-way speaker system for motion picture entertainment. The manual states that after prolonged competitive testing, the series became the only commercially available sound system for motion pictures approved by the Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the claim that established "Voice of the Theatre" as an industry standard. It was originally a professional product, but according to the same source, demand pushed Altec to offer it to home listeners as well. The A7 is the model the manual discusses in detail: a system rated at 35 Hz–22 kHz (±10 dB), 200 W continuous power capacity, 97 dB sensitivity (1 W at 1 m), 8 ohms nominal impedance, a 900 Hz crossover, and nominal coverage of 90° horizontal by 40° vertical. The crossover itself is the N-900A, using an air-core inductor and polypropylene capacitors, with a dial to trim the high-frequency level. The manual warns against driving the A7 with more than 200 W RMS per channel.
Period advertising puts the line in the consumer press by the late 1950s. High Fidelity (September 1958, p.125) ran Altec's "Voice of the Theatre" stereo components listing, headed by the 803A 15-inch bass speaker, described as designed expressly for reproducing the full low end. The same listing appears in HiFi/Stereo Review (October 1958, p.17) and Audio (October 1958, p.41), so this was a multi-title campaign, not a one-off. That is about as far as the contemporary record goes for the line as a whole.
Beyond its listing in period equipment directories and the surviving Altec manual, almost nothing is recorded about the "Voice" name as a separate manufacturer. Voice of the Theatre was an Altec line, not an independent brand. The A7 is the best-documented member of it.
- Introduced: 1945 (Altec, two-way cinema system)
- Documented model: A7
- Frequency response: 35 Hz–22 kHz (±10 dB); −3 dB roll-off at 54 Hz
- Power capacity: 200 W continuous (pink noise, IEC spectrum, 2 hours)
- Sensitivity: 97 dB (1 W at 1 m)
- Impedance: 8 ohms nominal
- Crossover: 900 Hz (network N-900A)
- Coverage: 90° horizontal, 40° vertical
- Associated driver: 803A 15" bass speaker
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