The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

If you looked at a snapshot in time when the D series of machines were introduced from top to bottom they were:

Idealia or Ideal with C & H reproducers (both finished in oxidized bronze)
Triumph with C & H reproducers
Home with C & H reproducers
Standard with C & H reproducers
Fireside with K reproducer
Gem (maroon in color) with K reproducer

As you can see, the better machines came with both C and H reproducers while the more budget models came with the K. It was cheaper to make one K compared with making and selling the C and the H. With that said, if I bought a Home and it came with the K you'd probably see me do a little happy dance. The K is very desirable. But would I trade both a C and H for one K? The answer is probably not unless I was trying to complete a Fireside or Gem. You can use the search feature to see the comparisons of the K, C, and H reproducers. Enjoy your Home. It's a very worthy project.

The Edison Company clearly recommended using an H when playing four minute cylinders and the C when playing two minute cylinders. Is the reason optimum sound reproduction or the wear on the record or perhaps both?

Jerry Blais

Jerry B. wrote:If you looked at a snapshot in time when the D series of machines were introduced from top to bottom they were:

Idealia or Ideal with C & H reproducers (both finished in oxidized bronze)
Triumph with C & H reproducers
Home with C & H reproducers
Standard with C & H reproducers
Fireside with K reproducer
Gem (maroon in color) with K reproducer

As you can see, the better machines came with both C and H reproducers while the more budget models came with the K. It was cheaper to make one K compared with making and selling the C and the H. With that said, if I bought a Home and it came with the K you'd probably see me do a little happy dance. The K is very desirable. But would I trade both a C and H for one K? The answer is probably not unless I was trying to complete a Fireside or Gem. You can use the search feature to see the comparisons of the K, C, and H reproducers. Enjoy your Home. It's a very worthy project.

The Edison Company clearly recommended using an H when playing four minute cylinders and the C when playing two minute cylinders. Is the reason optimum sound reproduction or the wear on the record or perhaps both?

Jerry Blais

I have not seen anything from the Edison Co. recommending the C & H over the K but I would agree that the C & H as a pair are preferrable to a K for typical use. That mechanism for rotating the stylus bars is cumbersome to operate and if one is not careful to rotate it all the way, you could end up playing a record with the stylus bar at somewhat of an angle which cannot be good. Also it's cumbersome to remember which way to rotate it to have it in the proper 2 or 4 min position. The C & H are also a bit more tolerant of slightly out of round BAs or Indestructibles too. Most of all though, if you take your best sounding C & H and play a two and 4 minute record, then play the same to records with the K, you will notice that the C & H sound a little bit better. Still I have multiple A model Firesides and a D model Gem and I keep the correct K reproducers with them.

Of course the slightly later O, M, L, N & Diamond A, B, Cs are much better yet for getting the best sound out of your records.