World's Fair prototype speaker

Just spotted this on facebook marketplace and figured people would find it interesting. A prototype speaker made for the world's fair. I'm not the seller or have any affiliation.

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?? ''A prototype speaker made for the world's fair''? For the world's fair? They look kind of frightening. So freaky and weird. I believe it is a psychological trick🙂. RCA... Apparently some people on Earth have reached a heightening - hear images and see sounds...
 
I don't think its meant to hang, rather to be built into the ceiling. That creates baffle for low frequencies. Otherwise they would hide the crossover. It will look like wasp nest after installation.
 

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I don't think its meant to hang, rather to be built into the ceiling.
Ah yes, I think you're right. The metal disk is the plane of the ceiling. The woofer at top functions infinite baffle. On the floor maybe you'd flip it over and set the woofer into as big a box as your space can accommodate.

If I was in a building and saw it protruding from the ceiling it's something I'd walk around not under.
It's large, but you see big 'ol line arrays and various PA setups hung from the ceilings at sports venues or concerts all the time. Definitely a pro install thing tho, not something to trust to the handyman from the Home Depot parking lot.

A (auto?) transformer and a coil is what I see
they make 70v ceiling speakers with a transformer on em. So if you have a long cable run to it you can go higher voltage / lower current, and not lose so much power in the cable run (resistance heating ~ current). 2 transformers, identical (mounted to not interfere), one for the woofer one for array?

e.g. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...5-inch-ceiling-speakers-with-transformer-pair

I wonder if there's one more of the smaller speakers pointed straight down.
 
Ah yes, I think you're right. The metal disk is the plane of the ceiling. The woofer at top functions infinite baffle. On the floor maybe you'd flip it over and set the woofer into as big a box as your space can accommodate.
Designed (assembled..) by committee, the second order crossover parts (the two inductor coils and capacitors) would interfere with mounting.
I doubt the prototype was ever installed anywhere, or that it ever made it into production.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/375280811227
Asking $1200 for some 1950/60s era TV speakers- well, they are antiques 😉
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It's large, but you see big 'ol line arrays and various PA setups hung from the ceilings at sports venues or concerts all the time. Definitely a pro install thing tho, not something to trust to the handyman from the Home Depot parking lot.
Not very large, the aluminum low frequency reflector cone and cluster of 3" high frequency drivers only extend 15" below the mounting disk.
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The cluster looks like it may be made of some type of foam core, I'd estimate the total weight around 25 pounds, the coils about half that weight. In production, the coils probably would have used iron cores, and would be a fraction of the size, weight and cost.
I wonder if there's one more of the smaller speakers pointed straight down.
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Yes, there's a tweeter pointing every direction 🙂
 
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