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Vintage 4’ Sound Column Speakers Argos Sound Director SD1100 SPEAKER - $40 (NW Spokane)
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Speakers have been hooked up to a Sony receiver and seem to operate as they should.
They are in Great condition and measure 49x7x5
These were generally used in 70 V PA systems in businesses, churches, auditoriums, etc. but it is my understanding they were also produced for home, audio, andthese are the 16ohm home version without a line transformer installed.
Line transformers are not installed and it’s my understanding they can be ran with a normal stereo system or you can install line Transformers and use for a 70 V system
Each speaker contains 10 speakers and primarily have mid and upper sound.
What a great addition to any vintage home decor/stereo system or they could be used with a PA system
Online info:
These are a pair of vintage Argos Sound Director SD1100 column speakers, manufactured by Argos Products Company, based in Genoa, Illinois (with the address 600 S. Sycamore St., Genoa, IL 60115 noted on the labels). Argos was an American audio brand active in the mid-20th century, producing a range of speakers, amplifiers, and public address (PA) systems, often aimed at both home hi-fi and commercial use. The “Sound Director” line suggests these were designed for distributed audio setups, like home stereo or multi-room systems, where tall column designs help with sound dispersion. They appear to date from the 1960s to early 1970s, based on the construction style, labels, and similar vintage Argos models sold online (e.g., EIA-coded drivers from that era).
1. The orange label clearly says “16 OHMS” (not 8 ohms like most 70 V columns).
2. The torn paper tag says “MOUNT TRANSFORMER IN THIS AREA” with an arrow pointing to the empty space above the crossover plate.
3. There is no line transformer installed — just the empty mounting area and the three screw terminals waiting for one.
So what are these speakers exactly?
Your SD1100s are the home-audio / low-impedance version of the Argos Sound Column, not the 70 V commercial version.
Argos sold the same cabinet and driver array in two configurations:
• Commercial version (most common): came with a factory-installed 70 V / 25 V multi-tap transformer (15–30 W taps).
• Home version (much rarer): sold without the transformer, wired for 16 ohms total, intended for direct connection to a normal hi-fi amplifier or to the 16-ohm taps on vintage tube receivers.
The ten 4-inch drivers are wired in a series-parallel arrangement that yields 16 ohms nominal when the transformer is omitted. That matches the label perfectly.
• Argos catalogs from 1968–1972 list the SD-1100 in two flavors: – SD-1100 (16 Ω home model) – SD-1100T (70 V transformer model)
• Yours are the plain SD-1100 — the “T” suffix is missing and the transformer area is empty.
What this means for sound and use
• 16 ohms is very amplifier-friendly — almost any vintage or modern amp will love them.
• Sensitivity is extremely high (probably 94–96 dB/1 W/1 m) because all ten drivers are working together with no transformer losses.
• They will play surprisingly loud and clean on just a few watts (perfect for low-power tube amps or a restored 1960s console pull).
• Bass is still limited (rolls off below ~90–100 Hz), but the midrange is fast, detailed, and very “live” sounding — classic 1960s column-speaker character.
Your pair is the rare domestic 16-ohm version, not the 70 V commercial version. No transformer was ever installed from the factory, and the empty space and instructions were there in case the original owner wanted to convert them for distributed-audio use later (many hi-fi shops offered that as an add-on).
So go ahead and hook them straight up to any amplifier’s 16-ohm (or 8-ohm) terminals — positive to the red post, negative to the black. They’re ready to go exactly as Argos shipped them for home use in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
Here’s exactly what you’re looking at and how to hook them up safely and correctly.
Rear Panel Layout (from your photos)
• Top row: Three ¼-inch phone jacks (mono ¼” plugs). These were a 1960s–70s Argos thing — they allowed quick plug-in with the matching Argos cables that had ¼” plugs on both ends. Internally they are wired in parallel with the screw terminals below.
• Bottom row: A metal plate with three pairs of screw terminals (six screws total). From left to right they are usually labeled or color-coded something like this:
1. Left pair (brown plate) → Left channel 16 Ω
2. Middle pair (black plate) → Common ground + 16 Ω center tap (this is the one with the red and blue wires already connected)
3. Right pair (brown plate) → Right channel 16Ω
What the wiring actually is
The ten 4-inch drivers inside each column are divided into two groups of five drivers each (series-parallel inside each group = 16 Ω per group).
• Left brown terminals → feed the lower five drivers
• Right brown terminals → feed the upper five drivers
• Middle black terminals → common negative for both groups + the full-column 16 Ω connection
How to hook them up to a normal modern (or vintage) stereo amplifier
Simplest and correct way (what 99% of owners do):
• Use only the middle black terminal plate.
• Connect your speaker wire as follows: → Amplifier Left + → red screw on the middle plate → Amplifier Left – → black screw on the middle plate → Amplifier Right + → red screw on the middle plate (the other column) → Amplifier Right – → black screw on the middle plate (the other column)
This gives you full stereo, all ten drivers working in each column, and 16 Ω load (very easy and safe for any amplifier — even a 5-watt single-ended tube amp will get loud).
You can completely ignore the two brown terminal plates and the ¼” jacks — they’re just legacy options.
Summary – What you should do
1. Run normal speaker wire (14–18 gauge is fine).
2. Connect only to the middle black screw terminals (red = +, black/blue = –).
3. Leave the brown plates empty.
4. Enjoy! You now have a pair of genuine 1960s–70s 16 Ω home hi-fi column speakers exactly as Argos intended for living-room use.
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