[jayoungs]

Can someone please tell me if the RCA 100-A speaker was the original pairing for a Radiola 18? Are there other models that would also be an authentic match? If "yes" to my first question -- does anyone have one sitting around and want to sell it?

Thanks!

[don'tdomelikethat]

Yes, the 100-A is the correct speaker for a Radiola 18.

[jayoungs]

Thanks!

[Doug Houston]

To amplify on that a bit, there were several speakers that RCA offered that were intended for use with "speakerless" table sets, like the Radiola 18. There was the 100A, as already mentioned, and that was the one that a lot of Radiola 18 sets were sold with. Then, there was the fancier Loudspeaker 103, an octagonal pressed wood frame, with a cute grille cloth that looked like needlepointe. It had the same LS 100A cone magnetic speeaker as the one mentioned above.

If you wanted to go the full course with RCA offerings, you would buy a Loudspeaker 106, which was an electrodynamic speaker in a cute floor cabinet, with needlepointe-effects similar to the LS 103. This model made any of the radiolas, or any other brand set, for that matter, sound better than any magnetic speaker could ever hope to.

Jensen, Magnavox, and Rola also made some excellent dynamic speakers for RCA, AK, Philco, and any other of that sort.

[jayoungs]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the reply and info. I found an 18 with a good finish on the case (that I've brought back the luster) and a mint condition chassis. I plan to keep for myself and want to pair up the most authentic/appropriate speaker with it. I tend to lean strongly toward historical accuracy. I really like that 103 speaker a lot -- much better looking than the 100A. Did they actually sell 103's with the 18 or just the 100-A's? I understand either could be paired functionally.

Thanks for your help,

Joe

[Alan Douglas]

Both the 100A and 103 were advertised by RCA with the 18. The 103 cost a little more. The 106 was advertised too but most anyone who could afford that, bought a better set than the 18. Still, as Doug said it's a proper match.

[jayoungs]

Perfect, thank you.

Joe

[Texasrocker]

Hello Joe. I have a good-spare Radiola 18 orig spkr assy here, missing the orig metal 100A housing. I recently fully restored a customers model 18 , that had a matching spkr with it when they brought it in for restoration. While I had the set here on my workbench, I tested my spare orig mod 18 spkr assy, & it sounded great. The cone is still perfect also. If you can find a good 100A cabinet, Ive got the orig mod 18 spkr here for you to install in it. I think there are some new repro 100A cloth spkr cables with the vintage pins to attach avail on the net,( cant remember the website I saw them listed before),.. but then again, you may find a good all orig complete spkr on ebay. Theres lots of those orig RCA 100A spkrs still around these days, not too hard to find at all. Lots 100A types were originally produced & sold back in the day! wink:

[jayoungs]

Hey T'Rocker,

Got your message, thanks. I've already bought a 100-A on eBay and am awaiting delivery. But, don't know the actual speaker assembly condition yet. The metal housing and cloths look really good, speaker cord has its pins but is in so-so shape overall. So, let me see how it looks inside and will let you know. I figured for $15, was a pretty decent deal. Thanks also for the test equip update, I'm cautiously eager to get it and learn just how ignorant I really am on the electronic side!

Talk soon,

Joe

[Doug Houston]

Another thing here; the housing for the LS100A was a thin die casting. I suspect that RCA had multiple vendors for the die cast housings. Some that you'll see are nicely preserved, while othera are suffering from laminar fractures of the metal disintegrating. True, that pot metal usually doesn't have a life span of 80 years, and with the use of a little body filler, they can be made nice again.

Another posibility to have a correct speaker, and an authentic companion for your set, is one of many radio tables, that were offered in those days, with a speaker installed in them. In most of them I've seen, the speaker is an RCA LS100A speaker chassis. That speaker was probably the greatest selling magnetic speaker of all ever made. There was no pot metal in the speaker itself, so they work as well today as they did, 80 years ago.

One other thought too. If you find an RCA 100 speaker, it too, is a correct companion for any of those RCA sets, or whatever one you may have. Many years ago, I bought my Radiola 60 from the original owner, and it had a LS100 with it. Today, the Radiola 60 is on a spacial table, made for that set, where the cabinet feet sit in wells, so that the cabinet is right down on the table, as though the table is a part of the cabinet. The table was made from solid walnut pieces. Pure class!!!