Hi Randy, On page 115 of the "Edison, Lambert Concert Records & Columbia Grand Records and Related Phonographs" by George A. Copeland & Ron Dethlefson there is a new photo of an Edison concert with three horns. It says Concert phonos could be fitted with 2 or 3 horns, the volume was not greater, but but the sound was dispersed so that a larger audience could better hear. This book is excellent, and has information that even regular Edison phono people can enjoy. I will never be able to own a concert, but I am so happy I purchased this book.
http://members.aol.com/allenamet/PhonoBooks.html called the The Five-Inch Cylinder Book, development & discography, 148 pages w/ 156 illus., by Dethlefson/Copeland, $43.95 on Allen's site. I remember the one in the photo you are talking about, this is the closest thing I have seen and explains, at least to me, that the one Columbia made most likely would not have increased volume and have been hard to operate, but it would be very interesting if any survived. Steve > On page 494, in the second edition of From Tinfoil To Stereo, is a > picture > of an ad for a monstrous device called, "The Multiplex Graphophone > Grand," and > its maker is said to be the Columbia Phonograph Company. This machine > came > with three 56-inch horns, and a special crane to support them, three > reproducers, three recorders, 12 Multiplex Grand records, and 6 Multiplex > Grand > blanks. Obviously, the cylinders for this machine had three sets of > grooves and > it looks like they were 5-inches in diameter. The text says the machine > was > made in 1898, or 1899. This huge Columbia carried a list price of $1,000. > > Has anyone ever seen one of these three-channel behemoths? Have any > survived? Were they ever really made? > > As a fan of modern audio, I found the use of the term "Multiplex" very > interesting, because that is the term applied to FM stereo technology. > (Early > devices used to convert mono FM tuners to stereo were called "Multiplex" > adapters.) > > Randy > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > [email protected] > > Phono-L Archive > http://www.oldcrank.org/pipermail/phono-l/ >
