The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all.

I had a question to which I really can't answer well one way or the other. I was ask about the length of time that the from type diaphragm such as my True Tone might last. It was mentioned that they might deteriorate in a few years perhaps. I know that Steven Medved provided me with a Waltrip Diaphragm when I first met him which by now is at least 7 years or more. It was still preforming at that time. I know others here who have mentioned they owned some installed by Bob and wouldn't wish to part with them.. So I am curious to find if any of our members are still using his foam versions and how long ago you got them? I really don't know the history of Waltrip so I can't say when he was producing them?

My other comment to the prospect was that if the item is reasonable and provides a number of years then is it not still worth it for that time and amount? I have had to recently replace my 90.00 stylus for a turntable, not to mention the cartridge, they were not more than two years old. Its pretty common today to have to change out parts of nearly anything to keep it going.

My work with the foam probably goes back about 2009 from what I am seeing on my Designing a Edison Disc Diaphragm thread over on the Edison Online Site. Anyone have any test versions of that going back to the 2010 era?

Larry

I have one in fine shape, but it is very seldom used.

Do you have some idea when it was produced?

thanks
Larry

larryh wrote:Do you have some idea when it was produced?

thanks
Larry

No, I've had it about ten years, and it was given to me. It's in a vertical cut Cheney soundbox that sounds good, but isn't much used.

I still use one of my Bob Waltrip rebuilt (with foam diaphragm) Edisonic Diamond Disc reproducers often. He rebuilt it about 20 years ago and it sounds just as good today as it did the day I received it way back then. When he was alive he was the best there is for rebuilding Edison Diamond Disc reproducers in my opinion. I will never sell any of mine that he rebuilt. If anyone wants to listen to Bob Waltrip's fine rebuilding skills with Edison Diamond Disc reproducers just watch and listen to any of my YouTube videos featuring play of one of the Edison Diamond Disc records from my collection.

Doug

Doug,

Thanks for that information, I will check out your videos as well.

Larry

My Diamond Disc A-290 has a Waltrip reproducer rebuild. I don't know when it was done, but it was well over 10 years ago since I've had the machine that long. I'd guess it was done many years prior. It sounds fabulous.

I had another that was equally ancient, on a Diamond A reproducer. I've never heard one better, though I sold that machine a couple of years ago.

He was a quirky guy but brilliant.

If the question is whether a newly introduced replacement diaphragm such as Larry's deteriorates over time, it surely does but who cares. If you can get 5 or 10 years or longer of enjoyment out of it and after that still enjoy it with slight deterioration, what the heck! We pay hundreds of not thousands for new I Phones, Pads, TVs and throw them away after 5 years.

I have a diamond A and B with Waltrip diaphragms that I got when he first started installing them, or at least when I first became aware he was doing that. They were very expensive as I recall but certainly big improvements over the unrestored originals. The standard rebuild at the time was "slap in a couple gaskets" and "maybe" a replacement stylus of questionable origin and call it good. Also the typical replacement diaphragms out there were awful.

Some years later, I found an Edisonic and Standard DD reproducer at Union with Waltrip diaphragms. Bought them both for a fraction of the price he was originally charging for installation and they both sound great, still have them. The standard has a paper label stuck on the bottom of the weight that says something like, "Waltrip xx-xx-1980", something like that. I could be wrong on the year but it was certainly a long time ago.

Obviously no way to compare against how they sounded when they were new but in side by side comparisons of the Waltrip Diamond A & B & DD standard against Bogantz diaphragms or Larry's diaphragms, the Waltrips generally are not quite as good in my opinion, but very good. The Waltrip A&B perhaps a bit less strident and the standard can have a slight rattle on late acoustics which the others don't although I thought it slightly outperforms the later ones (and originals in my opinion) on early "frosty" label discs and softer performances generally.

One last thought; I don't think one should assume that original diaphragms need to be replaced. One could write a dissertation on the pros and cons of various new and original diaphragms. I think the conclusion would be that one sounds the bests on very early acoustics, another for late acoustics, depends on whether you prefer volume over range, prefer piano music over dance, etcetera and that really having two or three reproducers with different diaphragms around is the best solution.

Valecnik wrote: They were very expensive as I recall but certainly big improvements over the unrestored originals. The standard rebuild at the time was "slap in a couple gaskets" and "maybe" a replacement stylus of questionable origin and call it good. Also the typical replacement diaphragms out there were awful.

I agree Bruce. Bob Waltrip charged me $150 each for rebuilding my DD reproducers. At the time (and still today!) I recall thinking it was outrageous. But one thing that Bob did that no one else was doing at the time was that he would send you one of his rebuilt reproducers to try out. Yes, a complete rebuilt reproducer. If you liked how it sounded then you sent it back to him along with yours for a rebuild. When I got one of his test reproducers I was stunned at the difference in sound and I was completely convinced of his superior ability to rebuild reproducers - at least DD reproducers. It was a great marketing technique on his part to send out a test reproducer. Of course, it requires a lot of trust that the recipient will return it either way but he told me one day over the phone that he never had a single reproducer "stolen". He was quite a character and didn't mind using lots of expletives in normal conversations. If you could get past that aspect of his personality he was a good guy to deal with and he would rebuild your reproducer just as you wanted it. And if you were not pleased with it - send it back to him and he would tweek it and send it back to you until you were pleased.

Doug

Larry, in the interest of documenting the longevity of your diaphragms, perhaps you should mark them with a serial number and keep a log of them. Sometime in the future, that data might prove useful.