The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Valecnik wrote:This thread is titled, " Your favorite machine from your entire collection?"

In spite of the very clear title of the thread, very few of the contributors were able to stick to the rules and just mention one machine!

Maybe it would be easier if we dropped the "from your entire collection" stipulation...


To those of us that have "collections", they're ALL "favorites"...


Now, if you asked me simply "what is your favorite talking machine?", I would probably go with Edison Class M or Class SM. ( A machine which is NOT in my collection. )

if you asked me simply "what is your favorite talking machine?"

That's a good point but occasionally our "favourites" are determined by what we've only seen in books or items we may aspire to own but have never actually seen in real life. One thing I've discovered over the past several years is that sometimes the real item can be a slight disappointment in the flesh! One example is build quality; you cannot possibly determine the overall quality of any machine from simply looking at photographs of it in a book. This is a risk you take when buying "blind" over the internet.

Some machines I used to rate highly from looking at them in books, now get down-graded in my estimation once I have owned a few examples and failed to be impressed by them. Of course, sound reproduction quality is another important factor. How can you reliably tell how good a machine is without actually owning it and putting it through its paces with a variety of recorded media?

In general, in recent years, I've tried to stop buying / latching-onto stuff "because it was there", or "because it was free"...

Sometimes, though, a machine finds you, and there's "no saying no".

Im not quite sure if a finger is being pointed to me for some reason concerning my recent post. As my post states, this Gold Plated Berliner is my machine.

Why the dramatic's all of a sudden??? People got to get a life if they have to worry about things like this.

As the originator Kirtley said this was supposed to be a fun thread...

fmblizz

Im not quite sure if a finger is being pointed to me for some reason concerning my recent post. As my post states, this Gold Plated Berliner is my machine.

Why the dramatic's all of a sudden??? People got to get a life if they have to worry about things like this.

As the originator Kirtley said this was supposed to be a fun thread..

????? Completely puzzled by this comment. I can't see any reference to any question of ownership of your machine anywhere? It is a fun thread so paranoia should be left at home.

Valecnik wrote:This thread is titled, " Your favorite machine from your entire collection?"

In spite of the very clear title of the thread, very few of the contributors were able to stick to the rules and just mention one machine!

Sorry it was just a timing thing I guess.. This quote by Valecnik popped up immediately after my posting of my favorite machine. That was the reason for my response.

fmblizz

oh yea, I am at home

fmblizz wrote:

Valecnik wrote:This thread is titled, " Your favorite machine from your entire collection?"

In spite of the very clear title of the thread, very few of the contributors were able to stick to the rules and just mention one machine!

Sorry it was just a timing thing I guess.. This quote by Valecnik popped up immediately after my posting of my favorite machine. That was the reason for my response.

fmblizz

oh yea, I am at home

Umm, yes, but the quote from Valecnik has nothing whatever to do with your post. You did select one machine--and a very nice one indeed.

Clay

Steve wrote:

Im not quite sure if a finger is being pointed to me for some reason concerning my recent post. As my post states, this Gold Plated Berliner is my machine.

Why the dramatic's all of a sudden??? People got to get a life if they have to worry about things like this.

As the originator Kirtley said this was supposed to be a fun thread..

????? Completely puzzled by this comment. I can't see any reference to any question of ownership of your machine anywhere? It is a fun thread so paranoia should be left at home.

Valecnik was speaking about guys like me...

Valecnik also qualified his statement with a little smiley face. I must say, Valecnik is one of my favorites on this forum. The dude has a collection second to none, but he also shows humility and perspective. He was just poking fun at everyone (himself included) for sometimes going overboard with quantity (look at all my machines) instead of just pausing and celebrating one machine in depth.

pughphonos wrote:Valecnik also qualified his statement with a little smiley face. I must say, Valecnik is one of my favorites on this forum. The dude has a collection second to none, but he also shows humility and perspective. He was just poking fun at everyone (himself included) for sometimes going overboard with quantity (look at all my machines) instead of just pausing and celebrating one machine in depth.

Humility and perspective??? you make me blush. Seriously though my earlier posting was really not directed at anyone. I too when I posted my favorite machine could not resist pointing out the "close second place" machine in the background.

I agree the thread was meant to be fun and I think it is. However anytime someone expresses something in writing, there's room for misunderstanding.

"Favorite" often coincides with most valuable but often not. Some describe their favorite as a machine that has been in the family, acquired from good friends and so on. Several have related very nice stories behind their choice or choices. This is what the thread is about imho. So please enjoy reading and have fun!