Reproducer Wars: Victor No. 10 vs. Exhibition round hole

[melvind]

I thought a video of a Victor No. 10 reproducer would make an interesting video. Then I thought it would be even more interesting if it also showed the reproducer that replaced the No. 10 as well. I had never heard a No. 10 reproducer before today. I recently picked one up and immediately sent it to Wyatt Markus to rebuild. He does such good work (and such fast returns) and I could not be more pleased or surprised at the result. Thanks Wyatt!

The video sound is not the best as it comes from my phone that recorded the video. But, it clearly shows the difference in sound between the two. The No. 10 is more mellow and softer, but still a surprisingly good sound comes from it. I wish I had a better microphone situation so the true full sound could be represented in the video. The exhibition reproducer on the other hand is louder, brighter and more surface noise is apparent. But, it is clear to see why they switched. The Gold plated No. 10 with all its surface decorations and hefty size and weight must have cost much more to produce. But, the No. 10 is wonderful thing to see. It is pure bling!

The recording by Caruso is one of his shortest at 1:49 minutes which works well for the demonstration. Thankfully it is also one of his best records.

Verdi: Il Travatore: “Di quella pira” recorded February 11, 1906

Reproducer Wars: Victor No. 10 vs. Exhibition round hole

(Double-click the video above or click this link to watch the video on YouTube in HD.)

https://youtu.be/PnqQQzeYTJw

[donniej]

Thanks for taking the time to make such a great video. That's a piece of hardware few of us will ever see in person and it's nice to hear the actual difference between it and the Exhibition.

[melvind]

Thanks for taking the time to make such a great video. That's a piece of hardware few of us will ever see in person and it's nice to hear the actual difference between it and the Exhibition.

My pleasure. It is exciting to find one of these reproducers, and to finally hear one.

[drh]

Thank you! Interesting comparison, and to be honest I like the No. 10 a lot better, at least as presented here. Natch, since the things are pretty much unobtanium. Beautiful machine, and nicely polished video work, too.

If you're looking for dedicated audio recording equipment (a response to your own comment--no complaint about what you achieved with the phone from this listener!), this sort of device works quite well; can be had without spending a fortune; and can attach to a standard photographic tripod, obviating the need for dedicated microphone stands: https://www.amazon.com/Tascam-DR-05X-Ha ... 592&sr=8-4 I haven't tried that particular model, but I have another like it, and I've been very happy with the results.

Not to hijack the thread, but how do you get your videos to embed? I've tried a time or two, and no matter what I do I end up just showing a URL link. The little forum posting buttons like "YouTube" and "URL" don't make any difference; all I get is that same URL with an extra HTML code tacked on at either end. I've also tried the "embed" URL from the YouTube end; again, no dice.

[melvind]

Thank you! Interesting comparison, and to be honest I like the No. 10 a lot better, at least as presented here. Natch, since the things are pretty much unobtanium. Beautiful machine, and nicely polished video work, too.

I will continue to compare, but it is a softer mellower sound for sure. Both with a loud tone needle blast you out of the room. But, it was best for recording from my phone.

If you're looking for dedicated audio recording equipment (a response to your own comment--no complaint about what you achieved with the phone from this listener!), this sort of device works quite well; can be had without spending a fortune; and can attach to a standard photographic tripod, obviating the need for dedicated microphone stands: https://www.amazon.com/Tascam-DR-05X-Ha ... 592&sr=8-4 I haven't tried that particular model, but I have another like it, and I've been very happy with the results.

Thanks! I will look into it. Not expensive at all.

Not to hijack the thread, but how do you get your videos to embed? I've tried a time or two, and no matter what I do I end up just showing a URL link. The little forum posting buttons like "YouTube" and "URL" don't make any difference; all I get is that same URL with an extra HTML code tacked on at either end. I've also tried the "embed" URL from the YouTube end; again, no dice.

If you have embedded videos in the past you may just need to change the http to https in the links you try. When they secured the site recently all links require https to work. Here is an example of one I use. I left off the first [ so it would show. You would need to put that back in to make it work.

youtubehd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvHsoApvLJ8[/youtubehd]

The string after v= is the same video identifier string as in a shared YouTube link. You cannot use the shared link string as it comes from YouTube.

[52089]

Thank you for that YouTube tidbit, Dan. I am going to post it as a topic because it is 180 degrees from the old advice!

[VanEpsFan1914]

This is fascinating. I wonder how a No. 10 would sound with soft tone needles on one of the early VTLA's with the lid down? It's already a soft & mellow sound, and if it were to be used with the added noise dampening of a lidded machine, would it help filter the surface noise out?

Thanks for demonstrating it and sharing this true rarity with the rest of us!

[melvind]

This is fascinating. I wonder how a No. 10 would sound with soft tone needles on one of the early VTLA's with the lid down? It's already a soft & mellow sound, and if it were to be used with the added noise dampening of a lidded machine, would it help filter the surface noise out?

Thanks for demonstrating it and sharing this true rarity with the rest of us!

I will give that a try with my VTLA. If it is interesting, I may post a video of that as well. We'll see.

[drh]

Not to hijack the thread, but how do you get your videos to embed? I've tried a time or two, and no matter what I do I end up just showing a URL link. The little forum posting buttons like "YouTube" and "URL" don't make any difference; all I get is that same URL with an extra HTML code tacked on at either end. I've also tried the "embed" URL from the YouTube end; again, no dice.

If you have embedded videos in the past you may just need to change the http to https in the links you try. When they secured the site recently all links require https to work. Here is an example of one I use. I left off the first [ so it would show. You would need to put that back in to make it work.

youtubehd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvHsoApvLJ8[/youtubehd]

The string after v= is the same video identifier string as in a shared YouTube link. You cannot use the shared link string as it comes from YouTube.

Thanks! Next time I have a video to put up on the forum, I'll refer back to this.