acoustic gramophone
A young woman carefully places a record on the turntable of an acoustic gramophone.
Noun: An early, non-electrical device for playing sound recordings, specifically gramophone records. It operates by using a needle (stylus) that physically follows the grooves on a rotating disc. The vibrations from this needle are mechanically channeled through a horn or soundbox, where they are naturally amplified as sound waves before being emitted. This distinguishes it from later electric record players that use electronic amplification.
- Noun:
- The museum displayed an early 20th-century acoustic gramophone next to a collection of shellac records.
- Before the advent of radios and electric players, families gathered around the acoustic gramophone for entertainment.
- The term is often used in historical or antique contexts to specify the technology, differentiating it from modern turntables.
- Collectors value the craftsmanship of the horn on a genuine acoustic gramophone.
- Gramophone: A more general term for a record player, which can include both acoustic and electric models.
- Phonograph: A largely synonymous term, more common in American English, for an early sound-reproducing machine.
- Record player: A broader, modern term that typically refers to electric devices.
- Horn gramophone
- Mechanical phonograph
- Victrola (a trademarked brand name that became generic for some acoustic gramophones)
- Acoustic recording: The original method of making records designed to be played on an acoustic gramophone, where performers directed sound into a large horn.
- These acoustic recordings have a distinct, historical sound quality.
This term specifically refers to the technology prevalent from the late 19th century to the 1920s. Its key characteristic is the absence of electronic components for amplification; all amplification is achieved through acoustic resonance, typically via a large horn. The word "acoustic" in this compound explicitly denotes this mechanical, non-electric operation.
A young woman carefully places a record on the turntable of an acoustic gramophone.
- an antique record player; the sound of the vibrating needle is amplified acoustically