Historical Development of Analog Disk Recording Technology and Artifacts Now in Existence

77 Pages·2017·6.79 MB·English

Historical Development of Analog Disk Recording
Technology and Artifacts Now in Existence
1
— Shift from Mechanical to Electrical Recording Methods for Longer
Duration Recordings and Stereo Sound —
Takeaki Anazawa
■Abstract
Chapter 2 of this study, titled “The Birth and Rise of the Phonograph,” touches on related
developments . The history of analog recordings dates back to 1877 when American inventor Thomas
Edisoncame upwithanewphonographthat enableduserstorecordsoundontoarecordingcylinderand
replay that audio. In 1887, just 10 years later, German inventor Emile Berliner created the gramophone.
The era from that time up until the end of World War I was one where the cylinder-based recording
medium competed with the disk-based medium. Later, the disk medium, which was more conducive to
massreplication,wentontodominateintherealmofanalogrecordings.
Chapter 3 of this study, titled The Birth of Acoustic (Mechanical) Disk Recording and Playback,
describes developments in Japan with respect to audio recordings . Toward the end of the nineteenth
century, Japan began importing wax cylinder audio devices. At the beginning of the twentieth century,
WesternrecordcompaniesbeganmakingrecordingsinJapan,andthenreproducedthoserecordingsback
homeforexporttoJapan.In1909,aJapanesecompanybeganmanufacturingdisk-shapedrecords(single
sided78-rpmrecords,10-inchesindiameter),whichwerereleasedunderthe“Nipponophone”label.One
yearlater,in1910,Japan’sfirstdomesticallyproducedgramophoneplayerwasreleased.
Chapter 4 of this study, titled The Advent of Electrical Recording, describes circumstances ensuing
after the end of the World War I. This era marked the advent of broadcasting, the success of which
hinged on numerous developments, such as with respect to vacuum tube and microphone technologies.
Such e ortsusheredinanerainanalogrecording,beginningin1924,whereelectricalrecordingo ering
superioraudioqualitycametoreplaceearliermechanicalrecordingtechniquesthatdidnotuseelectricity.
Initiallyff, users of gramophones would have to make their own recordings for playback sometimefflater.
However, it became easier to mass-reproduce analog recordings with the advent of electronic recording,
where records couldbe produced using conductiveanalogrecord masters withpre-cut grooves. Whereas
this enabled distribution of analog recordings of music, it also gave rise to issues with respect to the
piracyofmusicrecordings.
Meanwhile, up until the introduction of magnetic recording devices in 1950, broadcasters would
createprogramcontent usingdisk-based recordingequipment,oneprime example ofthis beingcoverage
oftheBerlinOlympicsin1936.Japanalsoembarkedondevelopmentofdisk-basedrecordingequipment
o ering performance and audio quality exceeding that of equipment from overseas, with the intent of
using it in what were to have been the 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, whereas the eventual
caffncellation of those games meant that those devices were ultimately not used for that purpose, they
would later be used in broadcasting the imperial edict that brought World War II to an end. During the
immediate pre-war to post-war era, many Japanese engineers engaged in original development e orts,
which yielded breakthrough technologies, such as Filmon sound belt devices, which o ered up to
36-minute recordings, the disk recording equipment mentioned previously, broadcast microphonesff, and
magnetic recording devices. These technologies would go on to form the foundations offf consumer
devicesdevelopedinJapanafterthewar.
Chapter 5 of this study, titled The Shift to Longer-Playing and Stereo Disk Records, traces such
developments. First, the chapter overviews developments with respect to methods for picking up sound
with microphones and sound field reproduction. It then goes on to trace changes in sound pick-up and
recordingtechnologyfromtherecordingstage tothatof editing,mixdown,andcutting(diskmastering),
both analog and digital. The chapter then touches on the topic of integrating recording and playback
equalizers, and that of test recordings that drawon recording disk calibration methods and monitoringof
recordingdevices.Explanationsarealsogivenwithrespecttodevelopmentoftechnologiesforcorrecting
recording disk playback distortion and those for cutting grooves on recording media with up to four
channels of audio. The latter half of Chapter 5 touches on technologies for manufacturing read-only
1
records and looks at improvements in materials used in making records. More specifically, this section
provides details on developments with respect to conductive properties of master recordings, the use of
electroplating techniques with lacquer masters, manufacturing processes for master plates, mother plates
and stampers, and record manufacturing processes. It also touches on changes with respect to base
materials used in making records, and adds details about the flexi disc format (flexible records) and other
special types of records. The chapter later introduces the subject of developments in record player
technology, providing details about pick-up cartridges, tone arm and phono motors, throughout the
respective gramophone, tuner equipped player and stereo set.
Chapter 6 and later chapters delve into background details necessary in understanding technological
developments. Chapter 6 goes into changes in the record and record player industries, and trends with
respect to factory shipments. Chapter 7 looks at various standards, such as international, Japanese and
industry standards related to recordings. Chapter 8 delves into numbering schemes of the International
Standard Recording Code and respective means of copyright protection. Chapter 9 conveys details about
artifacts still in existence.
As this study suggests, American companies played a large role in the early days of analog audio
recordings. On a more limited scale, Japanese engineers, fueled by a passion for such technology, also
developed superior technologies on par with those coming from the U.S. Some prime examples of this
include the likes of Koichi Tsubota, who developed a superior cutter head, Naotake Hayashi, who
developed a world-leading condenser pick-up and condenser “ear speakers,” and Masaru Ibuka, who
developed magnetic recording devices for consumer use. Many other world class consumer devices were
later conceived of in Japan, including noteworthy developments with respect to the introduction of
practical digital recording applications in the 1970s and the development and market launch of compact
disc technology 10 years later. Meanwhile, some have asserted that digital technology is unlikely to
surpass levels achieved using analog means in areas with a close connection to the arts. Going forward, it
is hoped that audio engineers from Japan and other countries will mobilize their collective talents and
knowledge in order to overcome such hurdles.

■ Profile May 2002 Appointed President of DRM &
Takeaki Anazawa Solutions Inc.
March 2009 Retired as President of DRM &
Chief Researcher, Center of the History of Japanese
Solutions Inc.
Industrial Technology, National Museum of Nature
April 2013 Appointed Chief Researcher at the
and Science
Center of the History of Japanese

Industrial Technology, National
March 1967 Graduated from Waseda University’s
Museum of Nature and Science
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Director of the Japan Audio Society
March 1969 Completed a master's degree in
Fellow of the AES (Audio Engineering Society)
acoustics at Waseda University’s
Member of the Acoustical Society of Japan
Graduate School of Science and

Engineering
April 1970 Entered Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. ■Contents
and joined the Recording Department, 1 Introduction .................................................. 3
where he was involved in music 2 The Birth and Rise of the Phonograph .......... 4
content digitization and the 3 The Birth of Acoustic (Mechanical) Disk
development and production of Recording and Playback ............................... 6
4-channel audio and karaoke. 4 The Advent of Electrical Recording ........... 11
April 1972 Commercialized a digital PCM audio 5 The Shift to Longer-Playing and Stereo Disk
recording device. Records ....................................................... 22
1974–1985 Engaged in digital audio recording and 6 Changes and Shipment Trends in the Record
production of classical music, etc., in
Industry and Record Player Industry .......... 63
Europe and the U.S.
March 1992 Awarded the AES Silver Medal for 7 Audio Record-Related Standards/Codes ..... 68
Outstanding Achievements in Digital 8 Methods of Identification and Protection for
Audio Technology Recorded Materials ..................................... 70
June 1995 Assumed the position of board member
9 Current State of Reference Materials .......... 74
of Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.
October 2001 Retired and assumed the position of 10 Epilogue ...................................................... 77

board member of Nippon Columbia
Co., Ltd. and Denon, Ltd.
March 2002 Retired as COO of both companies
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1
Introduction

Acoustics is a branch of the natural Bruno Walter and other musicians who
sciences that has been studied since the time escaped the oppression of the Third Reich.
of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks and is The recordings of famous musicians who fled
not merely concerned with making and to Western Europe from Hungary in the
testing physical and mathematical theories, upheaval after WWII cannot be overlooked
but also the designing of churches, temples, either. Péter Bartók, son of the well-known
and musical instruments. When the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, became a
phonograph record was invented in the latter successful recording and sound engineer in
half of the nineteenth century, and freed from New York, and made a recording of the
the limitations of hard classical craftsmanship celebrated cellist János Starker (also from
in the twentieth, it gave a powerful impetus to Hungary) playing Kodály’s sonata for solo
the yet-unanticipated content industry, and cello – which was said to have the sound of
heralded a time of growth and prosperity for “flying rosin” – and which eclipsed all
the same. previous records to became the most famous
The content industry is tied into a wide LP record of its time. Fritz Reiner, who was a
range of technologies and disciplines, such as conductor for the first Japanese stereo LP
mechanical engineering, electrical records, was also Hungarian. EP (extended
engineering, acoustics, and chemistry. play) records are relevant to iconic singers
Acoustics, which underlies the content like Hibari Misora, Elvis Presley, and the
industry itself, is a fundamental Beatles. Japan’s PCM (Pulse Code
interdisciplinary study that lies on the Modulation) digital audio recording efforts
boundary of physics and engineering. This, propelled Maria João Pires, a talented but
accordingly, not only includes engineering, obscure Portuguese pianist, into the spotlight
but many other fields besides. A notable with Mozart’s complete piano sonatas. Also
characteristic of this industry is the fact that it world-renowned were the complete collection
encompasses not only technology that falls of Beethoven’s string quartets played by the
within the domain of engineered machinery, Smetana Quartet (who were the pride of
but also art outside of the domain of Czechoslovakia), and Mahler’s collected
engineering. symphonies conducted by Eliahu Inbal.
The history of the technical innovation Whenever successful records have seen
surrounding phonograph records is actually technical improvement, there have always
full of great artists. SP (standard play) records been first-class artists supporting them.
appeared during the peak of the career of the The history of phonograph records has
famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, enabling seen the development of technologies such as
people to enjoy his voice through SP records recording and playback media manufacturing
and record players, and the marches technology, content data recording
composed by John Philip Sousa that Edison technology, long-term storage technology,
loved gave enjoyment to Americans through mass-production technology, distribution
records and broadcasts. SP records have systems, and copyright protection technology.
captured the renowned performances of the This expertise and these accomplishments
Spanish artist Pablo Casals, cellist, opponent will undoubtedly continue to be applied to the
of fascism, and artist of the same caliber as mass duplication-free distribution of digital
Picasso; and they have also captured the content in the new fully-networked society.
profound inner world of Albert Schweitzer,
the organist, philosopher, and researcher of
Johann Sebastian Bach.
The era of LP (long play) and stereo LP
records saw the first Japanese LP records (see
5.5.5), which captured the performances of
3
2
The Birth and Rise of the Phonograph

In 1877, 137 years ago, Thomas Edison of radio programs. Attempts were made to
invented the phonograph record. Some of the perfect stereophonic records, and records
changes surrounding them that have with increased recording and playback time
happened since that time are shown in Fig. were also attempted. In the 1950s, after mono
2.1, such as recording media, recording LP records had run their course, the real era
techniques and other methods of production, of LP, EP, and stereo records began. The late
the diameters of disk records, their rotational 1960s were the golden age of stereo LP
speed, groove type, base material, playback records, but technology was already being
time, frequency response and dynamic range. developed that would underpin the next
Also included in Fig. 2.1 along with SP generation of records, and recording sites
records, LP records, EP records and CDs are began to use digital PCM recording when it
phonograph cylinders, the Filmon Sound Belt, was practically implemented for the first time
which was invented in Japan in the 1930s and in 1972.
which boasted over 30 minutes of recording More than 400 digitally-recorded albums
and playback, compact cassettes, which were made during the next ten years, and the
became established as a medium for audio in first digitally-recorded music recordings
their own right, and MDs, SACDs, DVDs, etc. reached homes in 1982 in the form of CDs, a
The bottom row shows changes in broadcast quarter-century after the era of stereo LPs had
technology, as well as the devices used to begun in earnest.
record programs, such as disk recorders, Though Japan pioneered some of the
prototype PCM digital recorders, and MH popular technologies shown in Fig. 2.1, there
microphones, all of which will be examined were some, such as the Filmon Sound Belt
in this paper. and the CD-4 (a 4-channel record), that failed
As can be seen below, disk records have to gain popularity. Much of early Japanese
undergone drastic changes every recording technology was an imitation of
quarter-century. Their history now spans 137 foreign technology developed by AT&T Bell
years, from the era of mechanically-recorded Laboratories and other companies. Some
cylinders and SP records beginning in the late Japanese technologies of particular note are
nineteenth century, through the era of pressure microphones (see 5.1.1) and CDs,
electrically-recorded SP records, and the era which were jointly developed by Japanese
of LP records and 45-RPM 17-cm (7-inch) and European companies, and PCM/digital
EP records, to the era of 12-cm and 8-cm recording machines/editing machines/mixing
CDs. consoles (see 5.1.3 and 5.1.4), all of which
First came the early days of records, became successful on an international scale
when cylinder and disk-type records after they were developed with the active
competed for dominance, then came the era support of musicians and others in the music
of 78-rpm mechanically-recorded disk business.
records that lasted for a quarter century until It is impossible to mention CDs without
the end of WWI. During the next mentioning the fact that although more than
quarter-century period from the beginning of 30 years have passed since their introduction,
the Great Depression to the end of WWII, the quarter-century cycle of technical
electrical recording and transmission systems innovation in records has not continued,
were developed for broadcasting, and these raising ever-increasing concerns about the
developments were also applied to records, lack of new developments.
leading them in to the era of electrical
recording. This era saw the introduction of
disk recorders into broadcasting stations as
recording machines for use in the production
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1888 – 1897 – SP 1924 –SP
Cylinders Mechanical Recording Electrical Recording Mono 1958 – LP, EP Stereo 1982 – CD (Compact Disk)
Dthaew En roaf Approx. 25 years Approx. 25 years TrPaenrsioitido n Approx. 25 years 30 years +
Recording Direct Recording Microphone recording (Introduction of velocity microphones Introduction of pressure
(ribbon, etc.) and condenser microphones, etc.) microphones
Recording Magnetic PCM/Digital recorders/editing
Method Direct Recording (Mono) Recording (Stereo) machines/mixing consoles
Diameter
Rotational
Speed 78 rpm 33 1/3 rpm, 45 rpm 500–200 rpm (l.2–1.4 m/s)
Groove Standard Groove Micro Groove Pit Recording
Disk
Ebonite Shellac PVC Polycarbonate
Material
Recording Approx. 2 Approx. 5 Approx. 30 mins/ Approx. 74 mins./
Time mins. mins. Approx. 5 mins. Approx. 20 mins.
Band
Dynamic
Range ≥ 20 dB Just under 30 dB Just under 60 dB 97.8dB (16-bit theoretical)
Main recording media other than the SPs, LPs, EPs and CDs mentioned above.
Filmon Sound
Cylinder Belt 1966 Compact Cassette
Underlined items indicate those Broadcast 1925 Radio broadcasts 1952 Stereo broadcasts 1977 Broadcasts of digitally recorded programs
where Japan has made a major 1963 FM stereo broadcasts 1990 PCM music broadcasts
contribution. Program Late 1930s – disk recorder, from around 1950s – magnetic recorder, 1967 prototype PCM/digital recorders
Production Carbon microphone, Fitz microphone, MH microphone, condenser microphone

Fig. 2.1. Changes over the 137 year history of disk records

large-scale illegal distribution such as record
Although early records were invented and piracy and overpressing, where extra records
developed with the aim of making acoustic would be produced without permission. This
equipment that could record and reproduce paper will continue to report on the
sound on the same machine, with the systematization of record technology, which
diffusion of records via the new music underwent a revolution every quarter-century.
distribution business, they came to be widely
used in the early twentieth century as a means Bibliography
of distributing audio content. [1] Fifty Years of Audio History, Japan Audio
The history of this content distribution Society, 1; The curtain rises on audio, 2;
medium has been the history of man’s efforts Toward the era of electrical gramophones,
to realize the efficient reproduction of high 4; The state of audio in the ’30s
quality recordings, the history of acoustic (December 1986)
improvements in playback quality, and the [2] The History of Phonographs and Records
history of the trend toward increased by Kei Ikeda, Recording Industry
playback times and three-dimensional Association of Japan (October 1959)
(stereo) sound reproduction.
The first records faced difficulties due to
pirated copies being made, as high-quality
copies could be efficiently and easily
duplicated. Piracy began quite early in Japan,
where in 1912, in the last days of the Meiji
period, pirated records were made and sold
by buying and electroplating records to make
stampers.
The twentieth century could be called the
“century of recording” for the remarkable
growth of its record industry, but it was also a
century full of the fight against piracy.
Additionally, it was a century full of want for
the development of technology to prevent
5
3
The Birth of Acoustic (Mechanical) Disk
Recording and Playback

3.1 Competition Between Disk and
Cylinder Records

In the U.S. on December 6, 1877,
Thomas Edison invented the cylinder
phonograph, the first talking machine that
could record and reproduce sound.
This experiment in recording used the
nursery rhyme “Mary had a little lamb,”
recited by Edison himself. The original
recording has unfortunately been lost, but

another recording of Edison reciting “Mary
Fig. 3.1 Edison Standard Model B wax
had a little lamb” from the 10th anniversary
cylinder phonograph. Made in the U.S.A. in
event of the phonograph has survived, and is
1901 (Kanazawa Phonograph Museum).
available for people to listen to (Japan Audio

Society 60th anniversary commemorative
On September 26, 1887, 10 years after
CD). This phonograph recorded and
Edison invented the phonograph, Emile
reproduced sound by pressing a needle
Berliner invented the gramophone, which was
attached to a diaphragm from a telephone
first talking machine to use flat disks. He
transmitter onto a sheet of tin foil that was
sang the children’s song “Twinkle, twinkle,
wrapped around a helically-grooved metal
little star” for its first recording test. One may
cylinder, with the initial intent of recording
still listen to this recording (Japan Audio
and reproducing sound in a self-contained
Society 60th anniversary commemorative
unit. CD).
In 1888, prompted by the increasing need
Figure 3.2 shows cylinder and disk
for pre-recorded cylinder records for records.
reproducing music, Edison released an
improved version that recorded onto wax
cylinders, and the Columbia Phonograph
Company also began selling molded cylinder
records in the following year. Edison
continued to make improvements, releasing
the Triumph Model A for household use in
1896 and the Standard Model B wax cylinder
phonograph in 1901. Figure 3.1 shows a wax
cylinder phonograph.

Fig. 3.2 Cylinder and disk records (SP type).

The gramophone recorded sound waves
as lateral vibrations on wax-coated zinc disks,
which were then etched with acid to make
grooves. In this method, the master disk was
electroplated to make stampers, which were
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then used to press appropriate materials, and almost military supplies, the ease with which
it had the advantage of being able to produce disk records were mass produced indicated
large quantities of records. However, the the eventual triumph of disk records over
grooves of disk records (which were usually cylinders.
laterally recorded) had a lower amplitude Over in Japan, Edison wax cylinder
than those of cylinder records (which were phonographs were reportedly being imported
usually vertically recorded), the etched sound and sold by Waichi Araki (owner of Araki
grooves had a rougher surface, and Shoten) in Osaka in 1896.
additionally, the ebonite or vulcanized rubber Various accounts exist of Japan’s first
substrate made a very disagreeable scratching disk recordings, but it is generally accepted
noise, so disk records did not equal cylinder that Japanese music began to be recorded
records in audio quality until the first half of after recording equipment was transported by
the 1890s. the Gramophone Company in England to
In 1897, Berliner improved the methods Japan in 1901 so that they could record
and material used to cut the wax master disks Japanese music. They worked with A.
in order to obtain better sound quality. Cameron & Co in Kobe City and recorded
The competition between cylinders and 170 7-inch records and 110 10-inch records
disks intensified as they entered the twentieth over the period of a month at the Hotel
century. In 1902, the Columbia Gramophone Metropole in Tsukiji, Tokyo. Recordings
Company (previously known as the Columbia were made of gagaku, tokiwazu, kiyomoto,
Phonograph Company), which had been nagauta, and other forms of traditional
producing wax cylinder phonographs, began Japanese music. The master disks were taken
selling disk records, and in France in 1907, to England, where they were used to produce
Pathé Records, which had been selling records that were then exported back to Japan.
cylinders, began selling disk records One such record is shown in Fig. 3.4.
employing the same vertically-cut recording
method as cylinders.
In 1912, Edison released the “Diamond
Disc” record, a high quality vertically-cut
disk record that could record vertical
high-amplitude signals by virtue of its
thickness.
Figure 3.3 shows a Diamond Disc record.

Fig. 3.4 The first disk record recorded in
Japan (Kanazawa Phonograph Museum).

Various American and European
companies went to Japan to make recordings
in the wake of the Gramophone Company in
1901. Columbia Phonograph recorded 900

Fig. 3.3 Edison’s Diamond Disc record single-sided disks with performances by the
(Kanazawa Phonograph Museum) master musicians of the Meiji period in Japan
during 1905 and 1906. Wega from Germany
Even Edison began to sell disk records, also made recordings in Japan in 1906,
and when Decca portable gramophones came followed by the Victor Talking Machine
to be widely used by British soldiers after Company in the U.S. in 1907. Wega is said to
WWI broke out in 1914 to help them to pass have produced over 3,000 SP records.
the time at the bogged down front, making
portable gramophones and disk records
7
3.2 Japan’s First Gramophones and available for sale, pirated records containing
Disk Records the same song as the ordinary record shown
in Fig. 3.5 appeared on the market for lower
Japan’s first gramophones and disk prices. Figure 3.6 shows two such records.
records appeared in less than a decade after It could be argued that these SP records
the turn of the twentieth century. The are not pirate copies as they were not illegal
Japan-American Phonograph Manufacturing under contemporary legislation, but the fact
Company pressed the first Japanese-made remains that the performers were never paid.
disk records (10-inch single-sided records) in This kind of piracy remained rampant until
1909, which were then sold through Nippon laws were enacted during the Taisho (1912–
Chikuonki Shokai. 1926) period. Until then, expensive records
Figure 3.5 shows a single-sided SP that paid royalties to performers were
record of the nagauta “Kuramayama” targeted. Pirates would buy two single-sided
performed by Ijuro Yoshimura, which is a records containing hit songs, then electroplate
typical example of a Japanese-made record them to make molds, manufacture copies,
sold by Nippon Chikuonki Shokai at the end glue on attractive authentic-looking labels,
of the Meiji period (1912) under various and sell them as double-sided records without
labels such as Symphony and Nipponophone. paying any royalties.
At the end of the Meiji period, shortly
after Japanese-made disk records became

Fig. 3.5 An SP disk record of the nagauta “Kuramayama” performed by Ijuro Yoshimura
(Kanazawa Phonograph Museum).

Fig. 3.6 Am example of a pirated record from the Taisho period (a pirated version of the record
shown in Fig. 3.5) (Kanazawa Phonograph Museum).

In 1910, shortly after disk records released the Nipponophone Model 25
became available [in Japan], Japan (numbered after the retail price of 25 yen),
Phonograph Trading (previously named The the Nipponophone Model 32 han (32.5 yen),
Japan-American Phonograph Manufacturing the Nipponophone Model 35 (35 yen), and
Co., Ltd., now Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.) the Nipponophone Model 50 (50 yen), which
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were the first record players to be made in morning glory-shaped horn. (Kanazawa
Japan. Although they were called various Phonograph Museum)
names at the time, they eventually came to be
known as chiku’on-ki (which translates as The exterior is shown in Fig. 3.9.
“sound-storing machines”).

Fig. 3.9 A 1911 Eufon record player with
internal horn as loved by author Kenji
Miyazawa. The horn in located internally in
the right front of the unit. (Kanazawa
Phonograph Museum)

Fig. 3.7 The first record players to be made in
Japan. The Nipponophone Model 35 with 3.3 The Birth of Legendary
morning glory-shaped horn. (Kanazawa Record-Playing Masterpieces
Phonograph Museum)
In the early twentieth century, cylinder
A Nipponophone Model 35 and Model and disk record players had exposed
50 are shown in Fig. 3.7 and Fig. 3.8 mechanisms and large horns that were
respectively. frowned upon by housewives. Then in the
In 1911, Nippon Chikuonki Shokai U.S. in 1906, the Victor Talking Machine
released two models of record player that had Company released the Victrola, which
an internal horn instead of a morning featured an internal horn concealed inside a
glory-shaped external horn. One of these, the wooden cabinet. This improvement in
Eufon, is known to have been favored by the external appearance was accompanied by the
famous author Kenji Miyazawa. introduction of acoustic improvements such
as horns with longer equivalent lengths and
the adoption of duralumin diaphragms in
soundboxes (the section of a record player
that turns vibrations from the needle into
sound). These acoustic improvements
continued into the late 1920s, and led to the
advent of magnificent machines that were
known as “grand gramophones” such as the
HMV Model 194 (England, 1927–1930) and
the Orthophonic Victrola Credenza (USA,
1925–1928), and other outstanding tabletop
record players, portable record players, and
record players with horns.
Technical masterpieces were made that
were said to cost as much as a house. One

such machine, the Victrola Credenza, is
Fig. 3.8 The first record players to be made in shown in Fig. 3.10.
Japan. The Nipponophone Model 50 with
9
Bibliography
[1] The History of Cylinder and Disk Record
Players, Kei Ikeda, published by the
Music Disc Association of Japan, October
1934.
[2] The Gift of Nostalgic Sound, published by
Kanazawa Phonograph Museum.
[3] Japan Audio Society 60th anniversary
commemorative CD Tracing the Path of
Audio Century using Sound and guide.
（JAS Journal 2013 Vol.53 No.2）

Fig. 3.10 The famous Victrola Credenza
VV8-30. Made in the U.S. during 1926 and
1927. (Kanazawa Phonograph Museum)

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