Shearer Horn system

Why it mattered

1. 01

   It set the mid-1930s benchmark for theatre sound.

2. 02

   Its team and techniques led to the IconicLansing ManufacturingIconic loudspeaker1937The Lansing Iconic of 1937 paired a 15-inch bass-reflex woofer with a horn-loaded compression driver. It grew from Lansing's [[shearer-horn|Shearer Horn]] work via the smaller Monitor System 500.Open profile → and Altec's Voice of the TheatreAltec LansingVoice of the Theatre A41945The A4 Voice of the Theatre, co-designed by James B. Lansing and John Hilliard and introduced in 1945, paired a horn-loaded bass cabinet with two 15-inch [[altec-515|515]] woofers and a multicellular horn driven by the [[altec-288|288]] compression driver.Open profile →.

   Lansing Manufacturing Iconic loudspeaker© FOH magazine; photographer not credited · Rights retained by the rights holder; reproduced for historical commentaryAltec Lansing Voice of the Theatre A4© FOH magazine; photographer not credited · Rights retained by the rights holder; reproduced for historical commentary

3. 03

   Kennedy's FOH survey describes the Shearer Horn as a massive two-way theatre horn assembly with dual 15-inch woofers that set the technical baseline for cinema and large-scale voice reinforcement.

Engineering record

Composition

15-inch bass drivers in a horn plus a multicellular horn with a 285 compression driver[1][2]

Recognition

Technical Achievement Academy Award, 1936[3]