John Cook, the skilled maker of the red-horned Balmain-design Wilson horn gramophone visited my home on Friday and we spent many enjoyable hours comparing the audio output of three external-horn gramophones---Balmain, EMG Mk VIII and EMG Xb Oversize. It occurred to us that nobody has yet ever had the public opportunity of hearing such comparisons as, so far as is known, no original Balmain gramophone exists.
During the course of this thread there have been a few doubts expressed as to whether the Balmain gramophone is really a practical proposition and would work in a satisfactory fashion. I can confirm that it performs brilliantly in all required respects---plays perfectly with absolutely no detectable increased record wear---but does, of course, need to be set up very carefully. As mentioned previously, it is vital that the track/carriage is absolutely level in both planes. It is also extremely important that the construction dimensions result in the correct needle pressure and that the rolling track friction is as low as possible. In this case John has allowed generous tolerances in order to minimise friction and allow for irregularities in records etc. Different soundboxes were tested which resulted in slightly different lateral needle positions, thus adjustments (allowed for in the design) had to be made each time the soundbox type was changed so as to ensure correct tracking to the centre of the motor spindle. Exhibition, HMV and EMG soundboxes were assessed with the latter proving the most satisfactory.
For those wishing to make their own, John has the following initial recommendations and is also more than happy to answer questions by email/telephone etc upon request. There is much to think about before embarking but his first recommendation is to decide upon the length of (Wilson-type) horn. This decision is not easy and reference should probably be made to Peter Heath’s excellent PDF attachments earlier in this thread. It would then be wise to make the bare horn and soundbox attachment before anything else so that weight and point-of-balance can be exactly determined. John’s horn weighs 3.2 kg (7.05 lbs). Possessing this definite item, calculations can then be made in respect of track length and horn pivot point. After this, he suggests making a cheap softwood construction to prove the design before going to the trouble of finely-finished hardwood.
John has used an HMV 32 double-spring motor and the case contains a heavy cast-iron weight to act as a counterbalance. Were he to do the job again, he would construct the case to allow removal of the counterweight without having to lift the motor board.
Here are the performance videos :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owX7Pnqm-Nw Balmain-design gramophone in action---
close up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16o39aT_UQ Balmain-design gramophone comparison demonstration.
Steel needle. BALMAIN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYbKo9ufA4w Balmain-design gramophone comparison demonstration.
Steel needle. EMG Mk VIII.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLfxyVOWV_8 Balmain-design gramophone comparison demonstration.
Steel needle. EMG Xb Oversize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E16t5Ne4JI Balmain-design gramophone comparison demonstration.
Thorn needle. BALMAIN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRyUHCo01ok Balmain-design gramophone comparison demonstration.
Thorn needle. EMG Mk VIII.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuJ8uZq7PEs Balmain-design gramophone comparison demonstration.
Thorn needle. EMG Xb Oversize.
Followed by detailed photos :