[Ron Ramirez]

The problem with the Model 20 speakers isn't so much the cone as it is the spider (the part at the center of the cone with a screw or bolt in the middle, which attaches the spider to the pole piece of the "pot"). The solid spiders used in the Model 20 speakers become extremely stiff with age and make the speaker sound much like one of those 1920s high impedance cone speakers - in other words, no fidelity. I wasn't around in 1930 - I didn't make the scene until thirty years later - but I suspect those spiders were stiff in 1930, also.

I had to recone a speaker for a 20 a few months back; I used the spider from an old 112 speaker with a bad cone. What a difference. This is now the best sounding 20 I've ever owned.

In 1931, Philco switched from solid spiders to spiders that look much like 45 rpm adapters, only smaller and made of fiber, of course. These have much more flexibility and allow the speaker to have greater fidelity.