# 15" Radio Speakers of Canada Ltd. (RSC) speaker



## nordlav

I came across this old woofer at my parent's house over the weekend. I remember I found it somewhere in the 1980's, didn't know what to do with it at the time and forgot about it. My Dad ended up putting it in the basement and in turn he forgot about it until recently. I have been doing some web searches, but there is not a lot of info out there. It looks like these were used in some old Traynor bass amps and PA systems and that RSC became Marsland at some point and are not the best quality. I'm curious as to the age of the speaker, but I can't seem to make any sense of the manufacturers date codes printed on the bell housing and speaker cone. Here are some pics and the info printed on the speaker:
*Radio Speakers of Canada Ltd. RSC
"Electronic Musical Instrument"*
Bell housing codes: *EMC1500*
*DWJ7*
Speaker cone code: *23-15E04-1*

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2153082850056102595ueiioe?vhost=home-and-garden
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2214100250056102595tuiYPH?vhost=home-and-garden
If anyone has any information about this old speaker, feel free to post.
Thanks


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## Ripper

I've got a pair of 12" RSC speakers. They have a little blurb on the bottom of the label that says made by Jensen. They are out of a really early Garnet cab that was destroyed. They are great sounding speakers. Info on the company is hard to come across for sure.


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## keefsdad

I worked at Yorkville Sound in the eighties and they used to use them in their higher end amps and PA's. Pretty good speakers, better than Marsland, for sure.


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## nordlav

Thanks, I was wondering if it might be an OEM custom design perhaps by Jensen or Eminence. I have a hunch that the "C15" in the bell housing code "EM*C15*00" refers to a 15" ceramic magnet, but it would be nice to know what the other digits mean (EM and 00), it may help identify it. I wondered if the "EM" might stand for Eminence, but if Jensen manufactured some RSC speakers, maybe they made this one too. Too bad I can't find any matches with the manufacturers date code to confirm it.


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## nordlav

Thanks Ripper, looks like this could be an older Jensen speaker. I came across this ebay auction and the 15" Jensen speaker is almost exactly like my RSC. Same bell housing design, same color, same dust cap (except for the foil sticker). It also has a stamped code on the housing rim very similar to the RSC (Jensen is "EM1500" while the RSC is "EMC1500").
Thanks for your help.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170151091258&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007


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## Ripper

No problem, your speaker looks the same as mine, except mine still have the stickers on the back of the magnet cover. It was an old radio tech here who put me onto it. So I read the fine print so to speak and he was right. I love the sound of mine, they are really good.


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## Adicted to Tubes

I have a 15" RSC speaker also.It came in a Traynor combo amp.I really like the sounds it makes and it's in really good condition too.It has a ceramic magnet but I had another one that was alnico.Both were great sounding speakers.


www.claramps.com


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## SinCron

I just won one of these on the bay for a buck.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290198305388 .

Looking forward to trying it.


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## gerald guerrero

a buck hahah. now thats a deal!


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## dobsont

SinCron said:


> I just won one of these on the bay for a buck.
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290198305388 .
> 
> Looking forward to trying it.


I was watching that auction, but not at the end. Nice job.

I've got a 10" RSC sources from a university theater cab. It'll probably find a home in a champ clone or something someday.


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## dobsont

Crazy... I just found a 15-incher sticking out of a box in the lane behind my house. Labelled both "Jensen concert Loudspeaker" and "RSC". EMC1500 on the basket, definitely a ceramic magnet behind the bell cover.


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## Atomic'76

I took one of these out of a Lifco Supreme combo amp. Was thinking of selling it but might build a 1x15 cab for it instead. Anyone have any idea how many watts they can handle? Wondering if an old Traynor YBA1 would be too much for it...
Thanks!


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## cboutilier

Atomic'76 said:


> I took one of these out of a Lifco Supreme combo amp. Was thinking of selling it but might build a 1x15 cab for it instead. Anyone have any idea how many watts they can handle? Wondering if an old Traynor YBA1 would be too much for it...
> Thanks!


I hit mine in a closed back cab with my ~20 watter dimed, with no issues. It's a great sounding speaker.


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## Atomic'76

I'm hoping it can handle whatever a YBA1 puts out. What are they usually 45 watts or so I think?
It sounded pretty cool in the Lifco combo but I prefer a 12 inch speaker for guitar.


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## High/Deaf

Atomic'76 said:


> I'm hoping it can handle whatever a YBA1 puts out. *What are they usually 45 watts or so I think?*
> It sounded pretty cool in the Lifco combo but I prefer a 12 inch speaker for guitar.


I think that's the rating with fairly low distortion. You may get another 20-30% if you are clipping the amp. You might want to build in a bit of a safety factor if you want to dime the amp.


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## traynor_garnet

Yep, you will blow it with a bassmaster. They are conservatively rated at 45-50 watts. The speaker might not blow today, but it will eventually and then you have a cranked up amp with no load on it . . .


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## Atomic'76

High/Deaf said:


> I think that's the rating with fairly low distortion. You may get another 20-30% if you are clipping the amp. You might want to build in a bit of a safety factor if you want to dime the amp.


I'm hoping to be able to use the YBA1 for bass ince in a while and that I can turn it up enough to be heard over the drums. Worts case I'll look for another cab that can handle it I guess. Just figured (hoped) that the speaker would work since I already hace it.


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## Atomic'76

traynor_garnet said:


> Yep, you will blow it with a bassmaster. They are conservatively rated at 45-50 watts. The speaker might not blow today, but it will eventually and then you have a cranked up amp with no load on it . . .


...and THAT is never good! Hahaha


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## High/Deaf

Atomic'76 said:


> I'm hoping to be able to use the YBA1 for bass ince in a while and that I can turn it up enough to be heard over the drums. Worts case I'll look for another cab that can handle it I guess. Just figured (hoped) that the speaker would work since I already hace it.


I wouldn't say you can't use it, just be aware of the limitations and proceed with a bit of caution. 

I don't know the efficiency or power capacity of the speaker. Or how loud you want to play. You could turn it up to reasonable volumes and listen for speaker distortion or cone cry (not that those are the only signs of impending doom, they are just the ones you can hear coming). Unless you really value the speaker, of course.


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## J-75

nordlav said:


> I came across this old woofer at my parent's house over the weekend. I remember I found it somewhere in the 1980's, didn't know what to do with it at the time and forgot about it. My Dad ended up putting it in the basement and in turn he forgot about it until recently. I have been doing some web searches, but there is not a lot of info out there. It looks like these were used in some old Traynor bass amps and PA systems and that RSC became Marsland at some point and are not the best quality. I'm curious as to the age of the speaker, but I can't seem to make any sense of the manufacturers date codes printed on the bell housing and speaker cone. Here are some pics and the info printed on the speaker:
> *Radio Speakers of Canada Ltd. RSC
> "Electronic Musical Instrument"*
> Bell housing codes: *EMC1500*
> *DWJ7*
> Speaker cone code: *23-15E04-1*
> 
> http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2153082850056102595ueiioe?vhost=home-and-garden
> http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2214100250056102595tuiYPH?vhost=home-and-garden
> If anyone has any information about this old speaker, feel free to post.
> Thanks


RSC had a building near where I lived in Etobicoke (Toronto west). It was on the southeast corner of the Dundas overpass at Royal York road. I think it's a seniors residence now. Back then, RSC was a new Canadian company, so no one gave them any interest (except Pete Traynor, maybe). Toronto players all favored Jensen, Oxford, and, of course, JBL. Jensen was the most common - you could find them in cabs dating back to the forties. No one I knew could afford JBL D130's - only dreamed about them. 
- _Just my historical memory dump_.


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## pckpat

nordlav said:


> I came across this old woofer at my parent's house over the weekend. I remember I found it somewhere in the 1980's, didn't know what to do with it at the time and forgot about it. My Dad ended up putting it in the basement and in turn he forgot about it until recently. I have been doing some web searches, but there is not a lot of info out there. It looks like these were used in some old Traynor bass amps and PA systems and that RSC became Marsland at some point and are not the best quality. I'm curious as to the age of the speaker, but I can't seem to make any sense of the manufacturers date codes printed on the bell housing and speaker cone. Here are some pics and the info printed on the speaker:
> *Radio Speakers of Canada Ltd. RSC
> "Electronic Musical Instrument"*
> Bell housing codes: *EMC1500*
> *DWJ7*
> Speaker cone code: *23-15E04-1*
> 
> Webshots - Wallpaper / Screen Savers
> Webshots - Wallpaper / Screen Savers
> If anyone has any information about this old speaker, feel free to post.
> Thanks


Just a little update an old thread- RSC made the Jensen-type speakers under license from Jensen. They also made very Marsland-looking speakers as well. Garnet used a lot of those. Marsland's mfg.code is DG, while RSC's was (is?) DW.


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