Early loudspeakers made it possible for the entire family to enjoy their radio without the inconvenience of headphones.  The audio quality, however, left a lot to be desired and could be charitably described as "tinny." A-K made a number of horn speakers in various sizes priced from $12.00 to $28.00.

The original Model E speaker was introduced about 1927 along with the Model 37 and 38 A.C. sets and was priced at $24.00.  By 1928 Models E-2 and E-5 were introduced.  They were similar to the E but differed in size.  In 1928 all three varieties of the E were priced at $20.00.  Early cone speakers offered better fidelity than horns but were still far from true-sounding.

RCA engineers recognized the deficiencies in early speakers and developed a solution - a filter network built into the speaker that provided better frequency reponse at the expense of efficiency.  Speakers with these networks include the Models 100-A (1927 - $29.00), 103 (1928 - $37.50) and 100-B (1929 - $22.00).