Are cheap gramophones worth buying ?

[Lah Ca]

And then the replicas can get very silly--fun, yes, silly, yes.

https://youtu.be/gN_YJXDhgfk?si=88SRypPIC0KFHVQF

[Curt A]

That one is not original either - the originals did not use a reproducer, they used a metal yoke on the bottom of the violin to hold the needle.

[Curt A]

I consider them to be "novelty" phonographs, like the Buddha-phone or the stack of books and the mannequin phonos... Not your go to players...

[poodling around]

Here is one in action.

Original?

Nice sounding if slightly thin.

https://youtu.be/Nw-njdniBsM?si=Jy5eshAz5bd33sgW

Wow ! Great video and I thought the room was lovely ............... the little doll seems to be well entertained and behaving her-self !!!

[rw101]

I was left a number of 78s by my father when he died, with no player. I have greatly enjoyed picking up one or two cheap machines in order to be able to play the discs and listen to what my father did probably 75years ago. They are also sometimes in beautiful wooden cases as well.
It also pleases me greatly to understand how these machines work abd the theory behind them (I’m currently ploughing my way through Wilson & Webb’s “modern Gramophones …” which is wonderful).
Finally, the machines I have bought have mainly not worked when I collected them for one reason or another, and it is fantastic to get them working again by finding parts, workarounds , general maintenance etc. it is also good that there are so many cheap records out there, so that knackering the odd one is not the end of the world (as long as it’s not one of the precious ones).
So much yet to learn, but I can’t see myself ever wanting to buy an expensive machine that is perfect - where’s the fun in that? Or as my wife would say - where are we going to put that?

[poodling around]

I was left a number of 78s by my father when he died, with no player. I have greatly enjoyed picking up one or two cheap machines in order to be able to play the discs and listen to what my father did probably 75years ago. They are also sometimes in beautiful wooden cases as well.
It also pleases me greatly to understand how these machines work abd the theory behind them (I’m currently ploughing my way through Wilson & Webb’s “modern Gramophones …” which is wonderful).
Finally, the machines I have bought have mainly not worked when I collected them for one reason or another, and it is fantastic to get them working again by finding parts, workarounds , general maintenance etc. it is also good that there are so many cheap records out there, so that knackering the odd one is not the end of the world (as long as it’s not one of the precious ones).
So much yet to learn, but I can’t see myself ever wanting to buy an expensive machine that is perfect - where’s the fun in that? Or as my wife would say - where are we going to put that?

Of course, people collect gramophones for different reasons but personally, the pleasure I get from them includes most things you have mentioned.

It is really good to know you listen to records that your father listened to, so long ago.