In Reply to: I would definitely call this vintage;... posted by J. S. Bach on January 13, 2007 at 18:55:18:
It probably does really well at 1KHz. I'll bet THD is less than 1%.
High Fidelity once did a review of the original Edison phono. As expected, frequency response was a little limited, but 1KHz performance was surprisingly good.Not only that, but there are no electronics to cause harshness and edginess to the music.
Had people been dafter back then, you could just hear it: the new electronic amps in phonographs are sterile and edgy. A $1000 Edison acoustical phonograph, with jewel bearings, stainless steel fittings, imported teak wood cabinet, and hyper pure aluminum bronze horn precision machined to a perfect exponential shape, will beat the pants off a phono with an electronic amp. The electronic system may have better specs, but we listen with our ears, not to specs.
Actually, I did read, in an Intro to Hi Fi book by Hans Fantel, that dating from the 20's, IIRC, people would be fooled by live versus recorded tests played behind drawn curtains.
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Follow Ups
- Re: I would definitely call this vintage;... - geo770 19:50:14 01/13/07 (6)
- Have you guys actually heard an old Edison machine? - JimL 21:49:02 01/13/07 (3)
- "orchestra sounded pretty dim and distant but the voice sounded like the guy was singing through the horn" He was; ... - J. S. Bach 07:31:50 01/14/07 (1)
- Re: "orchestra sounded pretty dim and distant but the voice sounded like the guy was singing through the horn" He was; . - JimL 10:32:42 01/14/07 (0)
- Actually, yes I have. Also, I used to own two Victrolas which got used on a frequent basis;... - J. S. Bach 07:22:59 01/14/07 (0)
- Fooled by Live vs Recorded - Lucas Membrane 20:22:34 01/13/07 (1)
- Re: Fooled by Live vs Recorded - orthophonic 22:32:42 01/13/07 (0)