For a very short period during the late 1940s, industrial and architectural companies designed and installed 360 degree / omni-directional designs. Long predating the much later home hifi craze of the 1970's.
Allot of the early designs (some from Europe, and others from pioneers like Stu Hegeman, Bell Labs & RCA / Olson experiments etc) were for extreme efficiency full range and various coaxial drivers and many worked very well -- especially when used in combination with the then very many tube friendly drivers available back then. The conical cone these baffles have worked well to both conceal and protect the cones of delicate drivers -- negating the need for heavy fabrics or screen muffling the cone -- this allowed these to perfrom with better clarity when compared with other ceiling designs of the era.
By the 1940s, the futuristic looks and the pursuit of fidelity brought Omni designs forefront to industrial & architectural audio firms like RCA, Altec, Stephens, and Electrovoice. The idea was to efficiently disperse sound from any 8" full range at a fairly even 360 degree coverage, at ceiling height (see included document exhibit D) -- these became available from Lowell for only a few years beginning in the late 40s through the early 50s -- where they were apprecianted for unusually good, clean performance and highly designed looks -- back then the 1940s to 1950s mid-century/modern homes and buildings once featured them here in the USA -- they're very rare now, as most were demolished and lost to the years.
Made from beautiful spun aluminum, the intended to be installed in pairs -- in a variety of installations. These will mount perfectly to just about any USA, British or German classic 8" range driver -- suggested uses would include the Altec 403A, Norelco, Jensen P8, EV SP8, Goodmans, Telefunken etc. The large flange mounts to your ceiling material -- most installations require a "pan" or rigid flange to hold the drivers weight securely to solid material then these baffles bolt directly on the face -- it is also possible to support your driver however you want so long as it's secure and simply bolt the baffle directly onto the driver once it's up.
Study photos below. They are in very nice surviving original condition. They present beautifully as can be seen in Exhibit A-C There are several minor scuffs, one unit has a slight bend at outer edge, very minor does not affect cosmetics or performance in any way. After some mild cleaning and polish they will gleam.
During the 40s - 60s Lowell was the industry leader for full range ceiling baffles -- and these, with the floating conical omni setup were surely one of of the most rare. Altec published 755 specs based on the use of Lowell baffles (search vintage 755A brochure to find that info).
If you are a low power tube era or full range speaker enthusiast or collector; and you want to experiment with ceiling mounts for speakers ... don't miss out on these. They are uncommon, and will sell quickly. Buy now to avoid a bidders war.
Will be carefully wrapped in many layers and securely double boxed. Safe arrival assured.
Documents shown in photo is included
Goodmans speaker shown below as example only, it is not included.
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