My Newest Rescue - Columbia Model 810

[CarlosV]

I think that Columbia balanced their VivaTonal recordings differently than the Orthophonics- with Victor you hear superb sound and room tone, but the Columbias tend to sound very up front- Ruth Etting can sound like she's right next to you.

The 810 horn is very directional, and in my experience the best direction acoustically speaking is about 45 degrees of the machine. Therefore Ruth would sound right at your side ...

[larryh]

I think I saw here at one point where Columbia made several versions of horns in the time they sold the 800 series, which if I recall was around two years? The first machine I had was an 810, that had a very decidedly directional. The 800 I have now has a different lay out of horn and it doesn't seem as prone to it. What I do really notice is that since the horns go sideways from the grill that the best listening position is sitting and sound drops as you stand.