Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

The Altec A-7-500 offers a highly efficient, rather forward sound for use in large to very large listening rooms or for very-high-volume "Row A" listening in smaller rooms; sound is rather forward but smooth; relatively little "horn" coloration; drivers excellently blended; bass moderately deep (useful to around 50Hz in most rooms), very tight, well defined; highs smooth and rather soft, yielding most-natural high-end quality at high listening levels; stereo imaging fairly good but optimum listening area somewhat small; an unusually lifelike and "alive-sounding" system in suitable environments.

The Electro-Voice Patrician 800 is a highly efficient, corner-type horn system for use in very large listening rooms (at least 15 feet from the listener) or for very-high-volume "Row A" listening from closer location; five-way system with balance controls to permit adjustment of "forwardness," brilliance and extreme high end; driver blending moderately good; mid-bass somewhat heavy and loose, with only fair definition; deep bass full (to a usable 20 to 25Hz in suitable rooms) but not very tight and somewhat masked by mid-bass heaviness; rather pronounced "horn sound" due to individual drivers; perspective depends on balance-control settings; at neutral or "Row-M" settings, sound is somewhat rough, grainy, ill-defined; best performance is with drivers adjusted for fair amount of forwarness; at optimum settings, sound is "authoritarian" and quite alive, favoring brass instruments but adding some hardness to strings; disc surface noise slightly exaggerated,with predominantly "papery" coloration; stereo imaging fairly good, but optimum listening area is quite small because of rather directional drivers and necessity of corner placement.—J. Gordon Holt