70
The Gramophone, Septembe1', 1923
Both the Lenthall and the Sonat were a trifle blurred. The B.R.O.S. was exceptionally clear and gave a beautiful reproduction of the violin tone. The H.M.V. Exhibition gave a poor tone.
LO (Casals). Columbia medium-tone needle: Astra, 8; B.R.O.S. I); H.M.V. Exhibition, 5; H.M.V. No.2, 7; Lenthall, 9 ; Saturn,7; Sonat,9. The B.R.O.S. and the Sonat resembled one another very much, 'lnd were in sharp contrast to the Lenthall. I t is, however, i ifficult to say that the reproduction was better in one case than the other. There is something very agreeable in the looseness of the former two. The Lenthall has a much severer quality. The Astra was particularly good for the lowest notes of the accompaniment.
CHA<'1BER MUSIC (Lener Quartet). Columbia medium-toned needle :
Astra, 10; B .R.O.S., 9; H.M.V. Exhibition, 6; H.M.V. No.2, 8; Lenthall, 10; Saturn, 6; Sonat,9. The best discrimination of the instruments from one another was given by the Lenthall . The Astra was almost as good in this respect and the tone was rather sweeter. The B .R.O.S. and the Sonat were as usual very much alike. No detail was lost by either. The H.M.V. No.2 gave great brilliance.
SOPRANO (Scotney). Vocalion needle: Astra, 7; B.R.O .S., 9;
H.M.V. Exhibition, 4; H.M.V. No.2, 8; Lenthall,8; Saturn, 5; Sonat,8. There was a particularly charming loose, open quality in the voice as reproduced on the B.R.O.S. The H .M.V. No.2 and the Lenthall were almost as good but the voice was not quite so sweet. The Sonat resembled the B.R.O.S. pretty closely. The Astra was excellent for the detail but a tI'ifle harsh.
CONTRALTO (Dame Clara Butt). Columbia medium needle: Astra,
7; B.R.O.S., 9; H.M.V. Exhibition, 5; H.M.V. No . 2, 8 ; Lenthall, 7 ; Saturn, 7; Sonat, 8. There is not very much to be said about the results of the contralto test. The B.R.O.S. seemed rather to smooth out the difference of quality in the di'fferent registers which to many is so unpleasant a feature in contralto records.
TENOR (Fleta). H.M.V. medium needle: Astra, 8 ; B.R.O.S., 9 ;
H.M.V. Exhibition, 6; H .M.V. No.2, 7; Lenthall, 7; Saturn, 8; Sonat, 9. The B.R.O.S. and the Sonat were very sweet though not very loud. The Saturn was surprisingly good, and resembled the H.M.V. No.2 but gave a more agreeable tone. The H.M.V. No.2 was very brilliant but the result was a l i t t le overpowering. The Astra was very full but lacking in subtlety.
BARITONE (Stracciari). H.M.V. medium needle: Astra, 8; B.R.O.S.,
9; H.M.V. Exhibition, 4; H.M.V. No.2, 5; Lenthall, 7 ; Saturn, 8; Sonat, 8. Stracciari's voice is one which on this instrument is very apt to prove too much for the sound-box, and a great deal of vibration is l ikely to occur. The H.M.V. No.2, which usually will take anything, failed here conspicuously. The result with the Lenthall was heavy. The B.R.O.S. and the Sonat were as usual l ight and elegant.
BASS (Chaliapin). H.M.V. medium needle: Astra, 10; B.R.O.S.,
6; H.M.V. Exhibition, 7; H.M.V. No.2, 8; Lenthall, 7 ; Saturn,7; Sonat,7.
The surprising thing in this test was the failure of the B.R.O.S. to cope with Chaliapin's voice. There was a distinct lack of body throughout, though the last faint notes of the song were good. By far the best result was given by the Astra which gave a beautiful open tone and reproduced the last notes well. With the Saturn the last notes were very faint; the tone was good though i t sounded somewhat throttled . Both the H.M.V. boxes gave adequate renderings,~especially No.2.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A sound-box is an instrument that is extremely sensitive to weather conditions. The quality of sound from a mica diaphragm might almost be used by anyone with a sufficiently sensitive ear as a barometcr. I t will then not be beside the point to repeat that these tests were made during the recent heat wave and represent the performances of the instruments under i ts influence. Doubtless i t would have been preferable to have made the tests under different weather conditions and to h ave compared the results , but t ime was l imited.
The B.R.O.S. is a sound-box that none of us had heard before. As will be noticed from the description i t is very large and very l ight. It is probably this combinatiqn of size with l ightness that gives i t a peculiarly sweet and refined tone. There is a certain looseness in the sound that is palticularly agreeable with some records. The Sonat though heavier and smaller often resembled i t closely in tone. The Astra is probably not suited to any machine that has not a large amplifier.
The Lenthall being entirely of metal is probably less influenced by weather conditions than any of the others. It is exceptionally good for Chamber music.
The H.M.V. Exhibition did not de) very well in the tests and we are all surprised at the result. It must be remembered that sound-boxes are delicate instruments and i t may weIl be that the particular example we used was not in perfect condition. We did not consider i t part of our duties to adjust any of the instru· ments before testing them. We put ourselves in the position of ordinary members of the public who might be supposed to go into a dealer's and buy a sound-box across the countcr and use i t just as they found i t . I t is true that some enthusiasts take a delight in "tinkeririg" with sou'nd-boxes and machines, and get a principal part of their pleasure from gramophones out of such H t inkering," like some motorists who regard a motor car almost more as an object capablc of being taken to pieces than as a means of locomotion. Most of us , however, prefer to have the mechanical work done by the manufacturers, and trust them to give us something as nearly fool-proof as may be. It is possible that the Exhibition box has a constitution peculiarly sensitive to heat waves. We feel that in fairness to this instrument, we must say that our previous impressions of i t were much more favourable, and that although for most records we have always preferred the No.2, yet for some things, notably for piano records, the Exhibition has been found distinctly superior.
GRAMOPHONES
In consulting the following tests of gramophones i t must be noted that in most cases the needle used was that which 'would presumably be chosen by the manufacturer of the record, while the sound-box was that supplied by the maker of the gramophone. Possibly these could have been replaced with advantage by, for instance, a Petmecky needle and a Nom-y-ka sOUIld-box (about which we hear for the first t ime from our correspondent E.S.G. on p. 72 of this issue). Possibly independent research has produced a needle and a sound-box definitely preferable to those recommended by the record and gramophone makers. This may transpire hereafter, but for the present i t is obviously only fair to those gramophone makers whose wares we are comparing to test them under their own chosen conditions.
From t ime to t ime we receive letters from our readers asking us for advice in the purchase of a new gramophone, and are hard put to i t to give an answer which will satisfy them as well as ourselves. But these reports on practical tests will probably prove to our readers how necessary i t is for the individual to form his own judgment after due deliberation in the music saloon of his local dealer, after taking, for