Frequency Response of Big HMV and Victor Re-Entrant Horns

[Steve]

My word, that is one boring record!

I wonder what the frequency is at 38 seconds into the video of the 194, as this perfectly coincides with my tinnitus.

Thanks for the hearing test. I couldn't hear a thing within about a minute of both videos ending! Is this bad or normal, I wonder?

[PeterF]

No, even in person much of the low end was barely perceptible. And yes, there are definitely painful spots in there as well!

But it's kind of fun to experience. At some point maybe I'll find a cheap electronic source for the sweep tone, and feed it into the tonearms to remove the record and reproducer as variables (of course whatever transducer is used at the tonearm would add its own characteristics - but have your heard the amazing bass response on some of the earbuds the kids are using these days?).

[Wolfe]

I know, I started with the volume high and had to keep reducing it as it got into the midband frequencies. Yow.

For what this test revealed - the Credenza was clearly better.

[De Soto Frank]

No, even in person much of the low end was barely perceptible. And yes, there are definitely painful spots in there as well!

But it's kind of fun to experience. At some point maybe I'll find a cheap electronic source for the sweep tone, and feed it into the tonearms to remove the record and reproducer as variables (of course whatever transducer is used at the tonearm would add its own characteristics - but have your heard the amazing bass response on some of the earbuds the kids are using these days?).

Peter, could we prevail upon you to make another recording with the same video outfit and reproducer, but playing the record on an earlier acoustic machine, something equivalent to a Victrola XI, or the like, so we could get an idea how much the Orthophnic's frequency response was improved over the earlier machines ?

[PeterF]

Oh geez.

All right, when I have a bit of time, I'll record it on a few other machines and put them up on YouTube.

[De Soto Frank]

Wear ear-plugs ?

I think it would be interesting for us pre-computer techno-geeks...

[PeterF]

Ok, I just finished recording and posting the Vicky Freaky Reccy as played on two more of my machines,

Pathé Actuelle: http://youtu.be/FvmzXL_H4e8

G&T Monarch Senior: http://youtu.be/pcvFF4svufA

Notes:

1. The Pathé has a new paper cone, made from something that seems similar to blotter paper. It came from a guy who makes and sells them on eBay, out of somewhere in the Midwest. The high end response was noticeably better on this machine than any of the other three.

2. The Monarch is using a Victrola #2 reproducer, rebuilt with a glass diaphragm by Bob Waltrip.

3. I used the same medium tone tungstone needle on both of these recordings.

That's all I've really got handy right now to play the record on, unless we put a lateral adaptor on an Edison C-19 or Edisonic Schubert, but I don't think there's much to learn from that.

Plus I am now damn sick of the record.

[phonojim]

Very interesting. I listened to the Credenza video last night and didn't hear anything that approached the generally accepted frequency response for that machine. I worked as an AV repair tech. for many years and the last thing I did before a 16mm projector left my shop was to run the SMPTE "Jiffy" test film as a final checkout. One of the things contained in that is a 50-5 Khz tone sequence, so I'm very familiar with how that range should sound. It makes me wonder how the test record was recorded; whether it is flat or compensated to bring out the best response in the machine. I have long been convinced that the bass response was heavily boosted in the recording process in order to give the desired output in playback. That would account for the extremely strong bass which is far more than necessary when the records are played back on modern electrical equipment.
Thanks for posting the videos. I'll check out the two latest ones but only one at a time. One can only take so much as you already know! This has turned out to be very interesting but the amount of variables and unknowns make it very difficult to come to any useful conclusions.

Jim