The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hey everyone,


I thought that i'd create a poll in the free time that I have today, so here goes. Diamond disc, or Pathé?

Sadly, the polling function doesn't work here.

But: Edison. Higher quality and durability, plus better selection of music.

Edisons generally have better fidelity but can sound just as scratchy if not more so. The European Pathé's have a quieter surface and more interesting music than their American counterparts. Apart from breakage, the Pathé's are very durable; I don't see wearing them out. The variety of Pathé models make them more interesting to collect than the Edison. I can't say that one is "better" than the other, and so I collect both.

Definitely Edison for me.

Absolutely without a doubt Edison. Diamond Discs sound better than any other type of acoustic disc I've heard.

-Stephen

I cannot compare Edisons with Pathés, the only common point between them is the vertical cut, but otherwise I don't know how to measure one against the other. Both have completely different repertoires, recording quality varied a lot over the production life of both, pressing quality on both varied from excellent to pitful over time ...

Ah, and if we mention vertical cuts, there were other smaller brands in the US (Vocalion, Okeh) and in France (Opera, Henry) that produced vertical cut records.

Edison

Edison was technically superior in their recording techniques. Their records are built like battleships. The early DD music is tough to listen to but who cannot love the Electric era music? Pathé recordings have a style to them which is to my liking as well. I enjoy all of the vertical recordings that were offered at the time. I use a couple of vertical conversion heads to play them on my outside horn machines. I have a variety of Edephone reproducers for both Victor and Columbia. I converted one that had a broken sapphire point to play Pathé by inserting a ball stylus. They produce a phenomenal sound quality. I also use a Clarvox reproducer for playing Electric DDs on my Victor MS. My leaning is towards Edison as I have a pretty good collection of late DDs but I have also developed a decent collection of various label vertically cut recordings.

For sound, Diamond Disc by some distance.

For repertoire, Pathé by some distance.

Repertoire wins, so, it's a boatload of Pathé discs and a Pathé-ola (or whatever you call it) for that desert isle.