Trollheart

Surely that was just one of the old box hi-fis? Not an actual gramophone? Like, HMV? With the big ear trumpet thing? Surely not. How old are you?

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Mucha na Dziko

A gramophone isn't only the big ear trumpet thing, I believe.

At least in polish a "gramophone" is anything that can work with vinyl records, and not a specific thing.

__________________

jwb

Carrying around anything that plays vinyl sounds pretty bizarre to me regardless lol

Trollheart

We grew up with a thing called a radiogram. It was a massive piece of furniture with speakers (well I think only one) built into it and huge knobs and dials on the outside. You lifted the lid and there was a record player inside - turntable, stylus, needle and that bit in the middle, the upright metal dealy that you could stack records on. Pretty sure it had a radio built into it too. TMM a gramophone IS the old ear trumpet thing. If you look it up, you'll get images like this
almost exclusively. Other than that, it was a record player, turntable or hi-fi unit. Maybe it's different in Poland, but I never heard anyone here call a "modern" player a gramophone, except if they wanted to slag it off.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

bob_32_116

To repeat myself, it was definitely not "hi-fi". This was in the late 1960s.

I also saw one of the old style gramophones that you refer to; I think my mother got it from one of her aunts, along with a few 78s. The power source consisted of a motor powered by a spring that you would up with a handle.It did not have the "ear trumpet" speaker though.

The difference between that one and mine was, firstly the power source, and secondly the speed settings - and of course a certain difference in sound quality. Mine had four speed settings: 78 rpm, 45, 33, and 16. (Has anyone ever seen a 16rpm record? I haven't.) Apart from those differences, the functionality about the same, and the size was about the same, hence "gramophone" is a correct term for what I had. "Record player" would also have been correct, but "hi-fi" definitely not.

Of course I can't speak for other countries regarding terminology.

bob_32_116

Yep, that's a radiogram, and that was what most people of my parents' generation would have in their homes. We never had one, which in retrospect I find odd because my father was a classical music buff and we could certainly have afforded it.

Sometime in the late 60s, Dad decided to get a proper "hi-fi" system - you know, where you get to study specs and select the components individually: turntable, amplifier and speakers. Obviously I availed myself of it when i could, rather than listen on my little portable player. though the latter still came in useful if I wanted to listen in the privacy of my bedrooom.

Trollheart

OK cool if you had a gramophone that's fine. I was one year old in 1963 so I would not have seen any such thing except as I say on the label of the His Master's Voice records my so-called father collected.

Ah, separates! When you could be the state-of-the-art guy, eschew all those three-in-ones where if one part (record player/radio/tape) broke you had no way to replace it, and go for the components of your choice, having endless fun linking them all up with RCA cables and then figuring out how the damn speakers fit into the whole setup! The freedom to "upgrade" your tape deck, or turntable - heaven. Good days.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Hi-fi's actually came out in the 1950's. That's when you began to see albums that would advertise themselves as "Stereophonic" and "High Fidelity". I think they dropped the hi-fi tag by the late sixties and simply began to call them stereos.

__________________

Trollheart

1. Do you prefer wired or wireless keyboard/mouse?

2. How many times a day do you have tea or coffee?

3. What talent do you have, if any, which you feel is being wasted, or not used to its fullest potential?

4. What, if anything, would you consider acceptable or understandable as an excuse for murder/manslaughter?

5. Do you, generally, spend more time looking back or forward, i.e., do you keep going over or looking to the past, or are you a person more concerned with the future?

6. Will apes be our masters?

But seriously...

6. Given the opportunity, would you rather be a bird or a fish?

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

1. Do you prefer wired or wireless keyboard/mouse?

Wireless mouse, more maneuverability

2. How many times a day do you have tea or coffee?

Neither. I gave up caffeine years ago

3. What talent do you have, if any, which you feel is being wasted, or not used to its fullest potential?

I used to be a great kazoo player

4. What, if anything, would you consider acceptable or understandable as an excuse for murder/manslaughter?

Better question. If you could go back in time and had a chance at popping off Hitler, would you take it?

5. Do you, generally, spend more time looking back or forward, i.e., do you keep going over or looking to the past, or are you a person more concerned with the future?

I guess I'm guilty of going into the past wondering what I could have done different. No real hope for the future, sad to say.

6. Will apes be our masters?

I thought we were the apes.

But seriously...

6. Given the opportunity, would you rather be a bird or a fish?

Why would I want to be a fish? I mean who wants to get chased by bigger fish all the time and get their mouths stuck on hooks because you have an appetite for worms?

__________________