The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Which machine do you like best? The Edison Diamond Disc or Edison Amberola?

I like both machines very much. It was the sound and the availability of hot jazz records that put me in the Diamond Disk camp. I would like to have both, but I'm staying with flat disks for now.

My primary interest is the music, and so I must have both. I don't much care for the transcribed Blue Amberol records, and so try to find clean copies of any selection that I like on ddisc.

I prefer Diamond Disc Phonographs over Amberolas, but given my only Amberola is a D-X, and my primary DD is my C 250, it's not a fair comparison. If I ever procure an Amberola V, or better, I think I'd need both types of machines, for both types of media.

Best,
Fran

I have always thought a clean DD sounds the best.

If I had something better than an Amberola 30 maybe I could compare it to my C-19. But until that day happens I’d say I prefer diamond discs!

There are several magnificent Amberola machines, some even awe inspiring for their time. Edison made some fine Diamond Disc machines, but none that compare to the new, ingenious, and clever engineering of many of the early Amberola machines, pre-1914.

Many Edison Diamond Disc records were dubbed from Amberola cylinders, which were made using the best recording technology available at the time This technology was adapted to facilitate Diamond Disc production, making them the finest recordings available on disc records.

Gotta go with Amberolas.

Cliff

CDBPDX wrote:.

Many Edison Diamond Disc records were dubbed from Amberola cylinders, which were made using the best recording technology available at the time This technology was adapted to facilitate Diamond Disc production, making them the finest recordings available on disc records.

Gotta go with Amberolas.

Cliff

From what I have read, I haven't seen any reference to DDs being dubbed from Amberols: unless you have better sources of information, it seems to me the dubbing was the other way around, with the post-1914 Blue Amberols being dubbed from discs...

Bill

Lucius1958 wrote:

CDBPDX wrote:.

Many Edison Diamond Disc records were dubbed from Amberola cylinders, which were made using the best recording technology available at the time This technology was adapted to facilitate Diamond Disc production, making them the finest recordings available on disc records.

Gotta go with Amberolas.

Cliff

From what I have read, I haven't seen any reference to DDs being dubbed from Amberols: unless you have better sources of information, it seems to me the dubbing was the other way around, with the post-1914 Blue Amberols being dubbed from discs...

Bill

I could be wrong...

Amberola 30s are cheap and cheerful, plus they go anywhere. They are, in the words of the old ads, Mr. Edison's finest achievement--portable, cheap, and capable of great sound. Mine sounds fine with transcribed cylinders but the volume is weaker.

Besides, the lists of new cylinders available makes the Amberola very enjoyable to keep around. The DD was an interesting phonograph for its time, though, and I wouldn't mind getting into Edison Discs one day!