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Old meets new in 1920s-inspired Bluetooth Gramophone

Old meets new in 1920s-inspired Bluetooth Gramophone
Gramovox's Bluetooth Gramophone blends the old with the new
Gramovox's Bluetooth Gramophone blends the old with the new
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Gramovox's Bluetooth Gramophone blends the old with the new
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Gramovox's Bluetooth Gramophone blends the old with the new
The horn is made from made from steel and brass and is hand-welded
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The horn is made from made from steel and brass and is hand-welded
Customers can choose between a walnut (dark) and maple (light) wooden base
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Customers can choose between a walnut (dark) and maple (light) wooden base
The Gramoxov is 20 in (50 cm) in height
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The Gramoxov is 20 in (50 cm) in height
On the backside of the wooden base, you can find a control panel with an on/off switch, 3.5 mm AUX input and MicroUSB port
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On the backside of the wooden base, you can find a control panel with an on/off switch, 3.5 mm AUX input and MicroUSB port
According the CEO Pavan Bupa, the horn emits an organically mid-range, vintage sound
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According the CEO Pavan Bupa, the horn emits an organically mid-range, vintage sound
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Chicago-based company Gramovox has merged the old with the new in its Bluetooth Gramophone. The fusion of vintage audio device and modern technology takes the form of a 3:4 scale replica of the R3 Magnavox horn speaker and packs a Bluetooth 3.0 module to allow wireless connection of mobile devices.

Drawing inspiration for the S-curve horn from the 1920s-era R3 Magnavox, Gramovox CEO Pavan Bapu used stereolithography (SLA) to 3D print a prototype of the horn. However, the production horns will be made of hand-welded steel and brass and mounted on a base made of walnut or maple sourced from an Ohio lumber yard.

An inner cavity in the base houses an audio driver and a custom-printed circuit board (PCB) optimized for the acoustics of the Gramovox. It also houses the Bluetooth 3.0 module that allows for a range of 30 ft (9 m) when streaming audio to the unit, along with a 3,300 mAh Li-ion battery that the company says provides 15 hours of battery life.

Customers can choose between a walnut (dark) and maple (light) wooden base
Customers can choose between a walnut (dark) and maple (light) wooden base

A small control panel featuring a 3.5 mm AUX input, on/off switch and MicroUSB port for recharging can be found on the backside of its sleek wooden base that measures 4 x 2.7 x 8.5 in (10 x 7 x 22 cm). With the horn, the entire unit stands 20 in (50 cm) in height.

Bapu claims the horn produces "an organically mid-range, vintage sound" and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to get it into production. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised just over US$35,000 of its $100,000 goal in under a week. US residents can pledge $249 for a Gramovox of their own, while customers in Canada, Australia and Europe will need to pledge $299, $319 and $349 respectively to get it shipped to their neck of the woods.

Shipping is slated for May 2014 if the funding goal is reached, with customers able to select either a walnut (dark) or (maple) light wooden base.

You can learn more about the thinking behind the Gramovox in the video pitch below.

Source: Gramovox

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1 comment
1 comment
Nostromo47
Sorry, I don't get it. It has a quaint antiquie look to it. Kind of arty. But sonically there does not seem to be much going for it after the novelty wears off. But then again, I thought putting a digital camera in a cell phone was goofy idea way back when.