The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I don't have one, but I have seen a couple of YouTube videos, and they sound quite nice and full with the air supply running. My question is this, as I have only heard them reproduce acoustic recordings. How do they sound with late 1920's electric recordings?

In a word: fantastic.

In the video I posted on Youtube I played an electric recording of Stars & Stripes March. Tremendous bass and depth.

I often demonstrate it with a one-sided 12" Victor of the appropriate 1906 era, and while it sounds great and is more historically correct, the electric recording is simply more impressive.

Is there any tendency towards distortion when playing electricals ?

I wonder what it would sound like if you fed the amplification of an Auxetophone through a Credenza horn?

There is definitely distortion but to my admittedly very untrained ear it seems to be less with electrical recordings. But for sure, no record will play on an Auxetophone with the clarity of a well-tuned credenza.

But the volume is staggering. These were really made for use in large auditoriums or outdoors. It's very hard to judge inside a normal room because it's simply too loud.

I remember that when Dave Heitz was alive he always made guests stand as far away from his machine as possible when he demonstrated it. His museum was pretty large so it was possible to move a good distance away. The overall tonal quality at that distance was much more satisfying than when I play mine in my living room.

Let me rephrase that: when I demonstrate it. I rarely sit down and play an entire record. I don't want my neighbors knocking on my door to complain. But even in my relatively small space I make people stand as far back as I can. Up close it can actually hurt your ears, and the distortion is much more evident.

The only Auxetophone I've ever seen it its original home was the one in the Ringling Mansion in Florida, and it was in a sizeable ballroom. I wonder what has become of that machine - it was rather battered and very touch-damaged while on display, and they did remove it.

Like Rene said, it has an awesome volume. It is so loud it will blow your socks off. The one in the Johnson Victrola Museum is on the second floor, which is one big room. You can stand 20 feet away and it gives you a glimpse of what it would have been like in a grand ballroom. They play it for every visitor and it is an experience you should not miss if you're ever in the Delaware area.

Andreas

And congrats to you, Andreas, for getting theirs back into working order after it sat idle for far too long. You did a great service to not just the collecting community but the general public.