Adelphi soundbox

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epigramophone
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Adelphi soundbox

Post by epigramophone »

This was in a job lot of soundboxes which I purchased recently, and I can find nothing about it on line.
The letters "S.R.C." and the letter "L" below them must stand for something, but what?
There is a very rare Adelphi record label, but a connection is unlikely.
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Adelphi f.JPG
Adelphi r.JPG

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poodling around
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Re: Adelphi soundbox

Post by poodling around »

epigramophone wrote: Sat Feb 07, 2026 11:25 am This was in a job lot of soundboxes which I purchased recently, and I can find nothing about it on line.
The letters "S.R.C." and the letter "L" below them must stand for something, but what?
There is a very rare Adelphi record label, but a connection is unlikely.
According to 'AI' (take it or leave it):

"The Sound Reproduction Company (S.R.C.) was a British component manufacturer active during the height of the gramophone era in the 1920s and early 1930s". .............

and the letter 'L' stands for "large diaphragm size". ...................................

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jamiegramo
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Re: Adelphi soundbox

Post by jamiegramo »

It’s very interesting as this is a believable sounding answer from AI.

If I play around with the words and initials I get completely different answers from AI and not the one you got.
Jamie

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Re: Adelphi soundbox

Post by poodling around »

jamiegramo wrote: Sat Feb 07, 2026 1:18 pm It’s very interesting as this is a believable sounding answer from AI.

If I play around with the words and initials I get completely different answers from AI and not the one you got.
So, here is the definative 'AI' answer:

In the niche world of acoustic gramophone collecting, a soundbox marked
SRC is often identified by experts as a product made or modified by EMG (E.M. Ginn) or their closely associated workshop partner, Horace Hill.
Here is how the "SRC" marking connects to the EMG legacy:
The SRC and EMG Connection

Manufacturer: The marking SRC typically stands for "Scientific Reproducer Co.". While this was a distinct branding, it is historically linked to the craftsmen who built EMG and Expert machines.
The Horace Hill Link: Horace Hill was the engineer who machined all the metal parts for EMG gramophones in their Grape Street basement. After E.M. Ginn lost control of EMG and founded "Expert Handmade Gramophones," Hill continued making parts for both firms. It is widely believed in the collector community that Hill used the SRC brand for soundboxes he produced independently or under license.

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Re: Adelphi soundbox

Post by epigramophone »

Thank you both.

Given that the Adelphi is a cheap generic soundbox, I will go with "Sound Reproduction Company".
Horace Hill's "Scientific Reproducer Company" with it's EMG associations was a far superior outfit. Hill was a personal friend of E.M.Ginn, and rented the basement of 11 Grape Street as an independent engineering business. He made all the metal parts for EMG on site, but I doubt that he made his own soundboxes.
After the great schism of 1930 Hill moved out and set up business elsewhere, but continued to do all the metal work for EMG.

At least AI pointed me in the right direction, straight to "The EMG Story" by my much missed friend Frank James.
Frank's research was always thorough and accurate. What would he have thought of AI :shock: ?

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Re: Adelphi soundbox

Post by CarlosV »

epigramophone wrote: Sun Feb 08, 2026 4:43 am
Frank's research was always thorough and accurate. What would he have thought of AI :shock: ?
Most likely FJ would conclude that AI is no more than a plagiarism scam, that expertly compiles information gathered by humans and mixes them to disguise the sources. There are useful and legitimate uses for AI, but information source is not one of them.

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Re: Adelphi soundbox

Post by Orchorsol »

CarlosV wrote: Sun Feb 08, 2026 6:48 am
epigramophone wrote: Sun Feb 08, 2026 4:43 am
Frank's research was always thorough and accurate. What would he have thought of AI :shock: ?
Most likely FJ would conclude that AI is no more than a plagiarism scam, that expertly compiles information gathered by humans and mixes them to disguise the sources. There are useful and legitimate uses for AI, but information source is not one of them.
Hahaha, 100% agreed! And the perils of AI 'research' are well illustrated here - the soundbox in question being of a common generic design and nothing whatsoever to do with EMG or Expert. :D
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