hmv 32 horn gramophone ... ever heard one? (long)
Posted: Wed May 22, 2019 10:10 am
Well, I haven't ... but I've been curious about these machines for so long. It hit me again this morning. I was doing some adjustments on one of my 1909 Columbia BI Sterlings (in my profile pic there). Adjusting the needle bar springs, getting it to sound as perfect as possible (it was recently expertly restored). Playing a late acoustic record on it. THEN out of curiosity, I pull out the HMV 102D MOS that's sitting underneath this machine, and put the same record, and the same "extra soft" needle on it. The sound just blows me away. The dynamics and musicality. Then I put a loud needle on this tiny machine, same record, and the sound fills the whole first floor of the house with beautiful, bass-rich (to a degree) music.
I've never owned, but have heard the latest, biggest orthophonic machines before, and while the sound from the 102 I experienced this morning isn't, of course, up to that standard, it comes SO much closer than my two fairly large Columbia BI Sterlings.
I fell in love with gramophones again this morning. I was taken back to the first moment I heard one. I put a couple more records on the 102, and ended up late for work, and now here I am furiously typing.
So, the basic question: Does the HMV 32 horn gramophone sound as rich as the 102 portable? (Maybe that's a dumb question ... maybe it sounds much better ... I just don't know.) In the unlikely event that I were able to locate one here across the herring pond, I would probably put one of my restored 5Bs on it.
I DJ with these two Columbia BI Sterlings at small, intimate events, playing lots of electric records on them (they were modified a bit, with softer gaskets, to do that) but I don't feel the same joy I used to feel when DJing with a couple 102s, and I can sense that my audience doesn't feel that joy either, because I don't think the music sounds as surprisingly dynamic as I know it can. The big silver horns LOOK cool, no doubt, but ...
What I think I might like to do is, trade my two Columbia BI Sterlings for one HMV 32 (if I can find one), and perform with just a 32 and a 102. I think the visual contrast would be fun and interesting for the audience, and I'm pretty sure I'd be happier with the sound.
Sorry for the big blather ... anybody care to weigh in?
I've never owned, but have heard the latest, biggest orthophonic machines before, and while the sound from the 102 I experienced this morning isn't, of course, up to that standard, it comes SO much closer than my two fairly large Columbia BI Sterlings.
I fell in love with gramophones again this morning. I was taken back to the first moment I heard one. I put a couple more records on the 102, and ended up late for work, and now here I am furiously typing.
So, the basic question: Does the HMV 32 horn gramophone sound as rich as the 102 portable? (Maybe that's a dumb question ... maybe it sounds much better ... I just don't know.) In the unlikely event that I were able to locate one here across the herring pond, I would probably put one of my restored 5Bs on it.
I DJ with these two Columbia BI Sterlings at small, intimate events, playing lots of electric records on them (they were modified a bit, with softer gaskets, to do that) but I don't feel the same joy I used to feel when DJing with a couple 102s, and I can sense that my audience doesn't feel that joy either, because I don't think the music sounds as surprisingly dynamic as I know it can. The big silver horns LOOK cool, no doubt, but ...
What I think I might like to do is, trade my two Columbia BI Sterlings for one HMV 32 (if I can find one), and perform with just a 32 and a 102. I think the visual contrast would be fun and interesting for the audience, and I'm pretty sure I'd be happier with the sound.
Sorry for the big blather ... anybody care to weigh in?