Mirrophonic system by Western Electric

Why it mattered

01
It improved high-frequency coverage over the Wide Range system.
02
Its shortcomings spurred the rival Shearer HornMGM / LansingShearer Horn system1935–36The Shearer Horn was developed from 1933–34 by John Hilliard of MGM's sound department, under Douglas Shearer, with James B. Lansing, to fix the time smear of Western Electric's Wide Range system. It combined 15-inch drivers in a bass horn with a multicellular horn and compression driver, and won a Technical Achievement Academy Award in 1936.Open profile → lineage.
Pictured in this passage
MGM / Lansing Shearer Horn system© Harman International; courtesy Mark Gander and John Eargle · © Harman International / Lansing Heritage archive; used for identification and historical commentary

Configuration: Three 15-inch woofers, curved multicellular horns and tweeters[2]
Introduction: Introduced multicellular horns to multi-way systems in 1935[1]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Installed via Motiograph in US and Canadian theatres, including the Capitol Theatre, Welland, Ontario[2]

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

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