[Ron Ramirez]

If your Philco 20 still has the original, solid, stiff spider, it never will sound very good. Add in the 24 power detector that is known to contribute distortion, and you have some serious low fidelity on your hands.

I have one of the early production 20 cathedrals that only has two trimmers. The speaker was reconed, using one of the open, more flexible spiders from an old 112 speaker. Result: much better, fuller, richer sound.

Now, the 80 was Philco's loss leader - the cheapest radio they made in 1932-33. Its $18.75 price was intended to draw people into the Philco dealer, where it was the job of the salesmen to try and talk the customer into a more expensive 71 or 91. The trick didn't work in late 1932, however, and nearly 200,000 80B Jr. sets were sold.

Anyway, as a dirt-cheap radio with a regenerative 2nd detector, its sound will never compare with a McMurdo Silver Masterpiece V. Actually, it will probably sound more like a 20 with the solid-spider speaker, even though the 80's speaker has an open, flexible spider.

My Zenith consoles have much better sound and clarity than my philco's.
Puzzles me too.
Even my 38-116 15 tuber does not sound as good as my 10 tube Zeniths.

Yep, those big black dials sure improve the sound quality. Something must be wrong with your 38-116, Murf. It should have an outstanding sound, especially with the treble-selectivity control turned up for maximum fidelity (treble) and the off-on-bass switch set to maximum bass. The 38-116 and 37-116 sets I've owned in the past sounded like FM radios on strong AM stations when set for maximum bass and maximum fidelity.