The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've been looking for a horn driver that I can use on my Victor phonogrsph and this came up on ebay : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Phonograph-Vict ... 566c8a40c3 is anyone familiar with these? I'm wondering how they sound and if they work because if not I was wondering about this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Phonograph-Vict ... 7331&rt=nc
-Tom

What do you plan to connect the driver to? They are designed for a specific type of electronic connection that may not match with modern equipment, such as an iPod. If, for example, you wanted to play your iPod through your phono's horn, all you need to do is take an old earbud or headphone and connect it - with an airtight connection - to the throat of the tonearm, and you'll have the same result.

Those drivers were meant to adapt early radios to use phonograph horns to amplify their output, before speakers had been developed very well.

I am planning on hooking it up to a radiola from my Victor l-door. I'm not sure how the one that vibrates the soundbox would sound but it seems interesting to me so if it sounds good I'd like to get one .
-Tom

So you have a Radiola? Has it been electrically restored? Be very careful with antique electronics.

I collect early radios from the 1920's as well as phonographs and will confidently say that those drivers have the proper impedance to match a Radiola of that same period just fine. The output of those early battery radios came straight from the plate of the output tube. Just how well those drivers perform depend on their type. The earliest horn drivers are nothing but heavy duty earphones. The later and better ones used an armature to drive the diaphragm.

The only thing that bothers me about the seller's ads (apart from his being a phonograph butcher) is his disclaimer about their working condition. All he had to do was touch the leads to a 9v battery and listen for crackling sounds. At least then you'd know the windings have continuity.

I don't have a Radiola yet but plan to sell my re-45 and get a radiola in place. Thanks for the info but I think I'll just hold off until I come across one in the wild.
-Tom

Most of those radio-to-phonograph-horn adapters were 1000-2000 ohms, which is just right for the early Radiolas & most other 1920s radio sets. I have one for Edison DD horns, and it works perfectly with my Radiola 17. You can also get an audio transformer from Radio Shack for about $3, which will adapt 8 ohm modern outputs to antique speakers.

Tpapp54321 wrote:I've been looking for a horn driver that I can use on my Victor phonogrsph and this came up on ebay : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Phonograph-Vict ... 566c8a40c3 is anyone familiar with these? I'm wondering how they sound and if they work because if not I was wondering about this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Phonograph-Vict ... 7331&rt=nc
-Tom

The "Needle Driver" phonograph units such as the Rhamstein Needlephone that you mentioned work well enough, but they do tend to add their own internal resonance to the resonances of a talking machine reproducer. The diaphragm type phonograph units, such as the Western Electric and the Atwater Kent are generally better sounding. The best all-around phonograph units, however, are those which use a "balanced armature" system driving a mica or aluminum diaphragm. The Magnavox, Utah, Baldwin, and Sonora units are among the best of these.

What sort of Radiola are you looking for? A Battery Set or a Light socket model.? The era of radio will affect the choice of the ideal phonograph unit.

If you are looking for a Battery Radiola, and would like to do the restoration yourself, PM me. I have a cellar full of them, and have had a great many years of experience operating battery sets.