FOR SALE: Amet Echophone with wood mandrel - INQUIRE

[TinfoilPhono]

I am offering my Amet Echophone for sale. This is the earliest version, with wood mandrel -- far scarcer than the usual gutta percha mandrel. It is in working condition, and can be seen in operation in my Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARaIwtnvsA

Email for details and additional pictures: rene@rondeau.net.

[gunnarthefeisty]

I've always wondered- how do these sound in person?

[phonogfp]

I've always wondered- how do these sound in person?

They play remarkably well - - especially through ear tubes.

George P.

[edisonclassm]

Instead of a mica or glass diaphragm, the Echophone uses a thin piece of wood which receives the sound transmitted by the glass stylus. The wood piece acts like a mini piano sound board amplifying the sound which is directed out the hole for the listening tubes or horn. Like George said, they work surprisingly well.

[TinfoilPhono]

I'll add that there's a piece of rubber tubing under the thin board on top of the reproducer assembly, sealed at each end and with a hole in the bottom, where the related 90-degree hole in the wood support leads to ear tubes or a horn. The rubber receives the vibrations of the wood on top and transmits them through the hole. Very odd but effective, as my Youtube video shows. But without a feedscrew, keeping it perfectly, absolutely level is essential for it to track. That's the hardest part.

It's not a machine I would rely on for frequent playing, but it does work. Keep in mind that this cost only $5 in 1896, when the cheapest commercial machine was the Columbia Type N, which cost $40. The Echophone was impossibly cheap. And Columbia very quickly sued them out of existence, which is why it is now rare.

[fran604g]

Beautiful Amet, Rene, GLWTS. My favorite piece on these machines is the glass-tube stylus. Absolutely brilliant.