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The
VE 9-18 was a premium radio/phono combination "home entertainment"
center. It was introduced in the fall of 1928 and production ran through the end
of the year. The 9-18 was an update to the VE 9-16, and utilized the same cabinet and record playing mechanism as did its
predicessor. The only difference between the two models was that the 9-18
featured the brand-new RCA Radiola 64 'superhet' radio, which provided vastly
improved reception and stablity as compared to any other earlier radio. It
was an exceptional performer at the time, and continued to be priced in the
"upper-middle" range of Victor's product lineup. The phonograph did not include
a changer; each record had to be played one-at-a-time. The paper-cone speaker
was located at the bottom of the cabinet; the lower-right front door had to
remain open while listening to expose the speaker's grille cloth.
The 9-18 and 9-16 shared the same elegant, highly detailed walnut and
oak-trimmed 'tall-boy' cabinet which put the operational controls and phonograph
mechanism at a convenient height for most users. Antique brass hardware was
provided, and the 9-18's turntable would automatically shut itself off at the
end of each record.
The 9-18 sold new for $900.00, which equates to approximately $13,700.00 in
today's money. This represented a $150.00 price increase over the earlier
9-16, but the added performance of the new RCA radio certainly made an
attractive choice for buyers in late 1928. The 9-18 consequently outsold the
9-16 by 50%, but due to the very high price tag, sales were limited to wealthy
customers. Even though production had ceased by the end of 1928, dealers
continued to offer this model for most of 1929. While this model is not
commonly found today, the cost of restoration of these early and complex
radio/phono combination sets limits
the interest of most collectors in the current market.
An estimated total of 3,100 VE 9-18's were produced; all were manufactured in
late 1928.
The current survival database shows the earliest existent VE 9-18 to be S/N 515 and the latest to be S/N 3040
Do you own a Victrola 9-18? Please take a moment and enter some basic information about your machine into the collector's database by clicking here. No personal information is required.
