Orthophonic
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The Victor Orthophonic Victrola, first demonstrated publicly in 1925, was the first consumer phonograph designed specifically to play electrically recorded
phonograph records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...
. The combination was recognized as a major step forward in sound reproduction.
Electrical recording A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gro ...
was developed by
Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...
, although a primitive electrical process was developed by
Orlando R. Marsh Orlando R. Marsh (August 6, 1881 – September 7, 1938) was an electrical engineer raised in Wilmette, Illinois. In early 1920s Chicago, Illinois he pioneered electrical recording of phonograph discs with microphones when acoustic recording with ...
, owner and founder of
Autograph Records Autograph Records was an American record label in the 1920s owned by Marsh Laboratories of Chicago, Illinois, which was owned by Orlando R. Marsh, an electrical engineer. Marsh made recordings by his own experimental methods. Autograph was the ...
. Western Electric demonstrated their process to the two leading recording companies, Victor and Columbia, who were initially unwilling to adopt it because they thought it would make their entire existing record catalogs obsolete. However, parched revenues in the record industry caused by the mushrooming new medium of
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
soon forced both Victor and Columbia to begin experimental electrical recording., p. 142-143 The design of the Orthophonic was informed by progress in telephony and transmission-line theory. It was developed by two Western Electric researchers, Joseph Maxfield and H. Harrison. Early electrical recordings sounded harsh when played on the acoustic phonographs of the day, which had been designed by trial and error, had highly "colored" frequency response, and emphasized higher frequencies. The researchers invented the
exponential horn A horn loudspeaker is a loudspeaker or loudspeaker element which uses an horn (acoustic), acoustic horn to increase the overall efficiency of the driving element(s). A common form ''(right)'' consists of a compression driver which produces sound ...
, and, on realizing that it needed to be nine feet long to reproduce the lowest frequencies on the new discs, designed a method for "folding" the horn into a cabinet of practical size. The design was released by Victor as the "Orthophonic" Victrola in the autumn of 1925. Its first public demonstration was front-page news in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', which reported that: :The audience broke into applause...
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...
aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...
"Gentleman, that is a band. This is the first time I have ever heard music with any soul to it produced by a mechanical talking machine." ... The new instrument is a feat of mathematics and physics. It is not the result of innumerable experiments, but was worked out on paper in advance of being built in the laboratory.... The new machine has a range of from 100 to 5,000 frequencies, or five and a half octaves.... The "phonograph tone" is eliminated by the new recording and reproducing process. A
Wanamaker's Wanamaker's was an American department store chain founded in 1861 by John Wanamaker. It was one of the first department stores in the United States, and peaked at 16 locations along the Delaware Valley in the 20th century. Wanamaker's was pur ...
ad from October 31, 1925 invited people to come to "Wanamaker's Salon of Music" and "join the throngs" who were "HEARING the new Victor Orthophonic Victrola . . . . imagining performers present . . . . blinking unbelieving eyes" and promising "you will never forget it if you live to be one hundred!" A historian comments that, :playing one of the new records on an Orthophonic was a revelation to listeners accustomed to acoustic reproduction: the dramatic increase in volume, the clear sibilants, and, most of all, the amazing reproduction of bass notes. The Orthophonics set the standard in sound reproduction. Backed by advertising which rightly claimed that their sound was vastly superior to any other machine, they sold very well. As part of a publicity blitz, Victor designated November 2, 1925 as "Victor Day" and, within days, was "swamped with orders exceeding $20 million." List prices ranged from $95 (≈$1,400 in 2020 dollars) to $300 depending on cabinetry. $375 "Victrolas with Radiola" incorporated a "five-tube Radiola tuned radio frequency receiver with orthophonic reproduction." A $650 "Victrola-Electrola" incorporated a "two-way valve" allowing both "Orthophonic as well as electrical reproduction," while the $1,000 (≈$14,820 in 2020 dollars) "Orthophonic Victrola—Radiola and Electrola" had it all, including an eight-tube Radiola Super-Heterodyne. Dance music enthusiasts were not initially impressed; it was classical music that "sold" the new device. The Orthophonic became recognized as a status symbol.
Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...
's father, for example, though unemployed, maintained his self-image as an ''artiste'' by "own ngthe best record player available, a 'very special Orthophonic Victrola'" In the early 1950s, the memory of the Orthophonic was fresh enough for RCA Victor to introduce the name "New Orthophonic" for its improved recording process and line of high-fidelity long-playing records and "Stereo-Orthophonic" was applied to RCA Victor's celebrated "Living Stereo" recordings issued later in the decade.


Note

The term "orthophonic" had previously been used in connection with speech therapy; an 1870 book mentions a therapist who "devised a series of orthophonic exercises to restore the harmony between nervous action and the organs of articulation."
p. 147
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See also

* Victor Talking Machine Company: Electrical recording era
Youtube video: Victor Orthophonic Vicrola, Credenza model, playing "No More Worryin" by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra


References

{{Western Electric Recorded music Audio players