The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am offering my Amet Echophone for sale. This is the earliest version, with wood mandrel -- far scarcer than the usual gutta percha mandrel. It is in working condition, and can be seen in operation in my Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARaIwtnvsA

Email for details and additional pictures: [email protected].

I've always wondered- how do these sound in person?

gunnarthefeisty wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 6:58 pm I've always wondered- how do these sound in person?

They play remarkably well - - especially through ear tubes.

George P.

Instead of a mica or glass diaphragm, the Echophone uses a thin piece of wood which receives the sound transmitted by the glass stylus. The wood piece acts like a mini piano sound board amplifying the sound which is directed out the hole for the listening tubes or horn. Like George said, they work surprisingly well.

I'll add that there's a piece of rubber tubing under the thin board on top of the reproducer assembly, sealed at each end and with a hole in the bottom, where the related 90-degree hole in the wood support leads to ear tubes or a horn. The rubber receives the vibrations of the wood on top and transmits them through the hole. Very odd but effective, as my Youtube video shows. But without a feedscrew, keeping it perfectly, absolutely level is essential for it to track. That's the hardest part.

It's not a machine I would rely on for frequent playing, but it does work. Keep in mind that this cost only $5 in 1896, when the cheapest commercial machine was the Columbia Type N, which cost $40. The Echophone was impossibly cheap. And Columbia very quickly sued them out of existence, which is why it is now rare.

Beautiful Amet, Rene, GLWTS. My favorite piece on these machines is the glass-tube stylus. Absolutely brilliant.