Gramophone, Pathéphone, Phonograph, Phonolamp, "talking machine" – how differently those playback devices were called! What is the difference between them? Let us gain insight on it.

- At its core, a Gramophone is a kind of Phonograph, but instead of cylinders for recording and reproducing sounds, discs are used - the very ones that later came to be called records.
- The Gramophone patent prohibited companies from using that name to sell their audio playback and recording devices, and companies had to come up with their own names. Thus, for example, in the USA, to designate a mechanical turntable, such terms as Graphophone, Phonograph, Victrola, "talking machines" and others were used.
- Pathéphone - the invention of brothers Charles and Emile Pathé Company can be called a Gramophone variation. Having created a Gramophone of a peculiar design, in appearance not much different from an ordinary one, brother Pathé named it in their honor - a Pathéphone. Still, there are several significant differences between a Gramophone and Pathéphone. First, it is the “eternal” sapphire needle, which did not require replacement and reduced noise that improved the sound quality, moreover, Pathé records were played not from edge to center, as usual, but on the contrary - from center to edge.

The museum site is continuously updated with new exhibits. Today we present to your attention refreshments in the section "Recording and playback devices”.

* On the cover: "Pathé Olophone" gramophone. France, 1918. Pathé Frères