Braz Audio: bespoke speakers

Restoring, modifying and rebuilding any classic loudspeaker, and building custom speakers from scratch. Designed and built by Mark Brazeau in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

View the projects Inside the A7 build

280+Design awards

1980sCustom home theaters, before the category had a name

LamborghiniAudio systems for the Diablo, Countach and LM002

400+ hoursIn a single Altec A7 build

Any classic speaker, or one built from scratch

The brands on this site are the speakers rebuilt so far, not the limit. Any classic loudspeaker can be restored, rebuilt or improved, and new speakers can be designed and built to order.

Restore

Bring a classic back to its original condition: rebuilt drivers, recapped crossovers, new connectors and a refinished or re-veneered cabinet.

Rebuild and modify

Go beyond stock with improved crossover designs, upgraded drivers and super tweeters, port tuning, new control panels and better internal wiring.

Custom builds

Speakers designed and built from scratch for your room and requirements, from cabinet and crossover design through veneer, finish and matching stands.

Discuss a project

Have a speaker that isn't listed here? Send a note.

Restored Altec Voice of the Theatre A7 cabinet with wings and 511B horn

Inside the Altec Voice of the Theatre A7

The centerpiece of the shop. Select a marker to see what changed.

1
511B horn and 802-8D driverFilled, sanded and powder coated, with damping fused underneath and new Radian diaphragms in the driver. A Fostex T90A super tweeter sits on top.
2
Bass horn with rebuilt 416A wooferNew voice coil, spider and cone, in an MDO cabinet with dadoed joints and hardwood bracing.
3
Metal-grate grilles over tunable portsSnap-on grilles, with an optional port reducer plate and flared-port baffle.
4
Mahogany under 20+ coats of piano lacquerFurniture-grade finish on every surface, including the wings.
5
Detachable wingsA locking clip on top and alignment pins below.
6
Flush-mounted Altec emblemSet into the veneer, like the control plates on the back.

Read the full build

Projects

The speakers rebuilt so far, grouped by maker.

Mark Brazeau

Almost 40 years in audio design, from custom home theaters in the 1980s to car audio systems for Pioneer, Panasonic, Alpine, Ford, Porsche and Lamborghini. Veteran woodworker and cabinet maker.

Read the background

Projects

Select any photo to view it full size.

Building the Altec Voice of the Theatre A7

A modernized, furniture-grade pair of Altec Lansing A7s, and the seventh set of Voice of the Theatre speakers built in the shop. One or two sets are built each year, either as spec builds or to a customer's requirements.

400+Hours of work

98 dBAt 1 W/1 m

20+Coats of piano lacquer

180 lbPer cabinet, approx.

55 inWide with wings, approx.

Design goals

Altec Lansing released the Voice of the Theatre speakers in 1947. Designed by John Hilliard, they became a standard in movie theaters on the strength of their performance and sound quality.

The goal was to modernize the classic so it fits comfortably in any high-end audio or home theater room with furniture-grade appeal, and to improve the sound along the way.

The look of a VOTT is distinctive, and the grilles had to complement the woofer opening to keep the design in balance. Behind each grille is the port opening at the original design spec. Instead of grille cloth, metal grating with oblong openings (echoing the shape of the speaker opening) gives the cabinets a rugged look, a nod to the speaker's commercial roots.

Custom metal-grate grilles with oblong openings and a flush Altec emblem — Custom metal-grate grilles with a flush-mounted Altec emblem

Construction

Like Altec's original A7, the cabinets are built from Medium Density Overlay (MDO) plywood. MDO is significantly heavier, more durable and more costly than MDF or particle board. Every joint is dadoed and glued, never butt-jointed.

Internal hardwood cross-bracing reduces cabinet resonance. The concave sections on either side of the woofer get additional reinforcement and are foam filled to reduce resonance further, and the interior walls are lined with modern sound absorption foam to control standing waves.

The wings detach and reattach with a locking clip on top and alignment pins at the bottom. The super tweeters can also be removed without touching the cabinet or crossover, for anyone who prefers a factory-stock approach.

Locking clip joining a wing to the main cabinet — Locking clip that holds each wing in place

Lacquered mahogany woofer horn throat — Woofer horn throat in lacquered mahogany

Drivers and efficiency

The Altec Lansing 416A woofers are as new, with new voice coils, spiders and cones.
The 802-8D compression drivers have new Radian Audio Engineering diaphragms, new terminals and upgraded internal wiring.
New Fostex T90A super tweeters add high-frequency presence.
The Altec 511B horns were filled, sanded and powder coated for a durable finish. These horns are known to sing, so sound deadening material is fused to the underside.
Altec drivers are extremely efficient thanks to tight voice coil gap tolerances and strong magnet structures. The Hiraga crossover trims that slightly, to 98 dB at 1 watt/1 meter. A quality amplifier of 50 watts or more is plenty.

Restored 511B horn with 802-8D compression driver and Fostex super tweeter — Restored 511B horn, 802-8D driver and Fostex super tweeter

Underside of a 511B horn covered in damping material — Damping material fused to the underside of the 511B horn

The crossovers

Jean Hiraga's well-known crossover design for the Altec A7 flattens and improves the response of the originals and adds presence controls for both the compression drivers and the super tweeters. Switchable notch filters reduce the 1.5 to 3 kHz bump typical of Altec horns.

The networks use Audyn capacitors and open air-core inductors. Dual high-quality binding posts make the speakers bi-amp capable, every connection is soldered, and quality wiring runs throughout the cabinet. An internal bypass switch lets the owner skip the Hiraga circuit and use the standard Altec A7 crossover configuration.

Hiraga crossover with Audyn capacitors and air-core inductors behind a window in the cabinet back — Hiraga crossover with Audyn capacitors and air-core inductors

Connection panel with attenuation controls and notch filter switches — Horn and super tweeter attenuation, with -2 dB notch filter switches

Port tuning

Behind the grille, the bass port can be left at the original opening or tuned with the included options: an 80 square inch port reducer plate, or a woofer baffle with flared port tubes.

Port opening with an 80 square inch reducer plate installed — 80 sq. in. port reducer plate installed

Optional woofer baffle with three flared port tubes — Optional baffle with flared port tubes

Finish

These are one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces of furniture with a piano finish. The exterior is veneered in mahogany and finished with more than 20 coats of piano lacquer.

The 511B horn braces are custom brass fittings. The Altec emblems are set flush into the veneer, as are the control plates on the back. The custom grilles snap on and off for any future maintenance.

Back of the cabinet with access panel, crossover window and connection panel in lacquered mahogany — Rear access panel, crossover window and connection panel

Side view of the horn and driver on the lacquered cabinet top — Horn and driver on the lacquered cabinet top

Dimensions

With wings	About 55" W x 56" H x 24" D
Without wings	About 30" W x 56" H x 24" D
Weight	About 180 lb each
Sensitivity	98 dB at 1 W/1 m
Listening distance	8 ft or more from the front face
Moving	Built-in carpet sliders; horns and super tweeters remove easily

Every photo of this build is in the Altec gallery.

Open the Altec gallery

Mark Brazeau

Audio designer for almost 40 years, founder of Future Sound, and a veteran woodworker and cabinet maker.

Mark owned Future Sound, where his designs earned more than 280 design awards. In the 1980s he was designing custom home theaters before home theater was even a thing. He went on to design high-end home systems and extremely high-end car audio systems for leading brands.

Pioneer
Panasonic
Alpine
Ford
Porsche
Lamborghini

His best-known work is the audio systems he designed for Lamborghini in the early 1990s.

DiabloLamborghini

CountachLamborghini

LM002Lamborghini

Mark later made the jump into software, but the shop never closed. As a veteran woodworker and cabinet maker, he restores and rebuilds classic loudspeakers to a standard that is often better than new: new veneer and lacquer, rebuilt drivers, modern crossovers and custom stands built to match.

See the projects

Contact

To restore, modify or rebuild a classic speaker, commission a custom build from scratch, or ask about any project on this site, send an email.

Mark Brazeau
Ann Arbor, Michigan

mark@brazaudio.com