The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have to put a good word in for the Fireside A. They are more compact than the Standards, and have factory 2/4 gearing. They do cost a little more than the Standard, but not much.

I highly suggest a 1908-1909 Edison Standard "D" model. It has the factory 2/4 gearing built in, and just by changing reproducers, You can play both types of wax cylinders (Brown wax and Black), and both types of amberols...("Damnberols" , and Blue Amberols..)

It's a very versatile machine!

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

At the very beginning of my collecting hobby, I traded my very first machine (a sweet early Home B with the banner-front cabinet) for a Standard D. Why? Because that way I could also listen to both 2- and 4-minute records and I was of course only ever going to have one machine.

Hah!

I've regretted it ever since.

Homes are classier machines, far better looking, and from the days of the spring-suspended motors onwards, noticeably quieter than Standards. A Home D pretty much has it all - no end-gate, easy 2/4 speed changes, pretty two-color pinstriping. Any of the machines without end gates can have center bearing issues, so no advantage there. Somebody earlier in the thread talks about feedscrew tension or a half-nut adjustment or some such on Homes, but I've never experienced any of that. And Fireside A is essentially the same as a Standard, but with a less-fancy cabinet.

Don't get me wrong, with a cygnet, they all pretty much sound the same anyway. So it comes down to the form factor, and which suits you best on available display space, portability, and how it strikes your eye. You may find that over the years as you collect, you will have some machines as workhorses on which you do most listening, and others that are mainly for display or occasional use. I have a super early Home that is beautiful but pretty harsh in use, and a similarly early and beautiful Gem that is marginal in performance. I also have a beat-up Home A with 2/4 gearing that runs like a champ, so it gets way more playing time than both those others. And that #2 machine, the Standard D, is still here...it also runs like a champ but is in a closet someplace.

At the end of the day, folks who don't want/need multiple machines get to choose on their own criteria.

Of course a Triumph trumps all of them. In well maintained condition they can be turbine-like, smooth and virtually silent. But they weigh a ton and have a large footprint.