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3-Voice of the Theater A5

Midwest Theater

Midwest Theater

New Member
We belive we Have 3 A-5 Speakers. We are a 1946 Movie Theater and Belive they were installed when it opended on May 3rd 46. They were just taken out of use on Dec 18 2005.

Can any one offer me help on dating these old gals ? Such as how & where to find out the ser # on them ?

Is there any market for them at all ? here or Over Seas ?

Thanks for any and all Help
Billy Estes
Midwest Theater
Scottsbluff Nebraska
Nebraskarts.com
Billy@nebraskarts.com
308.632.4311
 
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Hi there!

Do you have the rough dimensions? That would help. And photos would be terrific! People will want to know if the drivers are original.

Good luck!
 
Bad move

First posts that are about finding the resale value for vintage gear are considered rude here. We're not about trying to help every newby get rich off of our hobby. If you want to know how they'd sell on Ebay (if you are asking about overseas bidders, this must obviously be on your mind), try to sell them there and see.
 
Squidward said:
First posts that are about finding the resale value for vintage gear are considered rude here. We're not about trying to help every newby get rich off of our hobby. If you want to know how they'd sell on Ebay (if you are asking about overseas bidders, this must obviously be on your mind), try to sell them there and see.
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Sorry was not tring to be rude. Just tring to find out info. We are a 501-3-c Non Profit Org , working on restoring a 1946 movies theater in a county where our population is 35,000 . to say the least we are always looking for ways to add funds to our campain.

With that said, The people who put in our new system , said we should junk them. I didn't feel that way at all. if i could i put them in my living room i would , but there would be no place for us to even sit. That is why i was looking for info from all you hobbiest out there. I know there has to be some out you out there willing to share a bit of into with me. And Maybe one ouf you out there does this for s living and you can sell them for us and help yourself out a bit along with us.

I will be posting pictures later today

Thanks
Billy
 
Midwest Theater said:
The people who put in our new system , said we should junk them. I didn't feel that way at all.
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Your instincts are correct. They would make a fine pair of speakers for someone in to tube/horn systems. They are quite large, hence most people take out the individual components (drivers, crossovers) to sell on Ebay and junk the cabinets. If you're restoration-minded (as I think you are), you might consider selling them whole here on AK Classifides, or on your local Craigslist. I'm not an Altec expert by any means (tho there are some here), and I hesitate to give valuation advice.

Just out of curiosity, do you know what the new system for the theater is comprised of?

Good luck.
 
Midwest Theater said:
With that said, The people who put in our new system , said we should junk them.
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These people obviously know little about their business, aside from ways to separate you from your money. Both these speakers and the amps probably are worth several times the "experts" wages.

Just out of curiosity, what did they install for you??? Bose????
 
Midwest Theater said:
We are a 501-3-c Non Profit Org , working on restoring a 1946 movies theater
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I'm just curious why you would not want to restore the theater to her original glory? After all, how many other theaters boast quality vintage audio? It could be a decent selling point for those outside the county looking for a bit of nostalgia...just my opinion
 
If you want to restore the movie theater to it's original glory a good way to do that would be to make sure those A-5's are working up to snuff and leave them in place!

I think it is sad to see these old Altecs torn out of the places they where designed to work right in (and did it so well) to be replaced by the high-power, high volume noise making crap you are assaulted by these days in movie theaters.
 
Billfort said:
If you want to restore the movie theater to it's original glory a good way to do that would be to make sure those A-5's are working up to snuff and leave them in place!

I think it is sad to see these old Altecs torn out of the places they where designed to work right in (and did it so well) to be replaced by the high-power, high volume noise making crap you are assaulted by these days in movie theaters.
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This is a interesting thread, a few of us newbies are not trying to pick everyones mushy brain :thmbsp:
 
natedogg643 said:
I'm just curious why you would not want to restore the theater to her original glory? After all, how many other theaters boast quality vintage audio? It could be a decent selling point for those outside the county looking for a bit of nostalgia...just my opinion
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Fantastic idea, now how come I didn't think of that?
 
Sorry now that I read others posts they are wondering the same as me.

Why wouldn't you have restored and used these speakers since you are restoring? Possibly no restoration would have been necessary since they were just taken out of use this past December. Why would anyone then not keep the original working speakers if they were restoring? Something doesn;t sound right, sure hope "they" that put in your new system didn't see an opportunity to sell to an uninformed unsuspecting group equipment that wasn't needed just to make a sale.


... , working on restoring a 1946 movies theater in a county where our population is 35,000 . to say the least we are always looking for ways to add funds to our campain.
...
 
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Welcome aboard, I feel the same as others, restore the theatre with the Altecs, they RULE, the new stuff SUCKS!! I think A5's might only be about 40 years old, Dave. :scratch2:
:worthless

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I think to "restore" would mean to keep everything as original as possible, that includes the old sound system. I don't think many theater goers have had the pleasure of hearing the movies the way they did back then, I think it would add a certain authenticity to your theater.
 
Your A-5's will sound better than almost anything "new" that replace them. Again your amps might not look like much but I guarantee they will outperform anything "new". There is a reason all this vintage equipment is still working and sought after in "knowledgeable" circles. Superior design and build quality. Not saying you cant find great sounding new stuff, just that you would have to spend a ridiculous amount of money.
 
WOW I like your picture above with all the old speakers on the sidewalk. The now gone Bayfront Center in St Pete Florida use to have four of the large speaker at the left rear in your picture. They were at the center ceiling and they had several other smaller one at each end. I ran the sound there several times and all it took was a single 400 amp set up on 70 volt line.Many shows use it and the response was quite good even for music.
Ed
 
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