Author: DOuG pRATt

I’m in my second round of physical therapy for a bad ankle, worn out by more than 30 years of running. The place I’m going to happens to be around the corner from 7 Tech Circle, in Natick, MA. This is an address that was familiar to me nearly 30 years ago. It was the original home of Allison Acoustics. 7 Tech Circle is a modest building, as seen in this aerial photo.

I own two pairs of Allison loudpeakers — the Model 3, purchased in 1979, and the LC-110, that I bought in 1988. Both pairs are still working perfectly. Roy Allison isn’t a household name like Amar Bose, but he is a legend in audio circles, especially in the Boston Area.

Before starting his own company, Allison designed speakers for Acoustic Research in Cambridge, MA. Motown Records went through many pairs of AR3 speakers when monitoring and mixing recordings in the 60’s.

Allison speakers sound very open and natural, favoring dispersion over detail, so they aren’t ideal for punchy studio recordings. But their virtues are immediately apparent to anybody who is familiar with live Classical music.

Besides having an excellent ear for neutral sound reproduction, Roy Allison is a true gentleman. He helped a competitor, Andy Kotsatos, start the still-extant company Boston Acoustics. (I also own a pair of Boston Acoustics A40 speakers, purchased in 1983.) Allison was put out of business during the recession of ’89-’95 in Massachusetts, when his bank called in his loans. Those were tough times around here, believe me, while the minicomputer industry was in its death throes, before the Internet boom saved us.

Roy Allison regrouped and formed a new company called RDL Acoustics, but it didn’t last long. Today he’s retired in Florida, but he’s lent his name to a new line of speakers. They sell replacement drivers for the original series, and every so often I tell myself I should buy a pair of woofers — just in case!