edison disc record

The Edison Disc was a type of audio disc record marketed by Edison Records in the 1910s and 1920s. Edison had previously concentrated on producing phonograph cylinders, but decided to get into the disc market due to the increasing market share of disc sound recordings, especially the discs of companies such as the Victor Talking Machine Company (what would later be called "78 records"). Victor and most other disc record companies used side to side or lateral motion of the stylus in the record groove, whereas in the Edison system the movement was up and down or vertical, as in a cylinder record. An Edision Disc Player is distinguished by the diaphragm of the reproducer being located parallel to the disc surface. The Victrola diaphragm is located at right angles to the surface of the disc. The grooves on an Edison Disc are smooth on the sides, and have a variable depth. Standard lateral discs will have a more constant depth, but the sides of the groove are scalloped. Vicor's Victrola phonograph system could not play Edison Discs satisfactorily, and the Edison system could not play the Victor or other lateral discs, unless one used special adaptor equipment. The Edison records had their greatest commercial success in the late 1910s, and arguably had better audio fidelity, but were more expensive than and incompatible with other brands of records, so they ultimately lost out in the marketplace.

Edison Disc Record

See also