It’s no secret that the audio quality of the iPhone’s built-in speakers isn’t exactly what you would consider to be hi-fi. Sound quality aside, there are plenty of times where even the volume doesn’t do the music justice. While you can always go out and buy a fancy dock to amplify your iGadget’s sound, artist [Christopher Locke] has a different take on the subject.
For a while now, he has been constructing what he calls “Analog Tele-Phonographers”, metal sculptures that can be used to amplify a mobile phone’s audio. Built out of steel and old trumpets, his audio sculptures require no electricity, instead utilizing the same amplification technology as the original phonographs.
While the Tele-Phonographers won’t make your iPhone sound like a high quality tube amp, they do undoubtedly increase the phone’s volume and they are nice to look at. We can certainly get behind this sort of recycling/reuse of old items.
Continue reading to see a quick video of his Analog Tele-Phonographer in action.
[Thanks, Chris]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MJFNpE7SLZI&w=470]
That is really fun. Nice work.
Yesssss !
I want one
Cool sculpture and nice amplifier, just one suggestion, for the next build replace the iPhone holder with a container for a bluetooth earpiece, wireless audio amplified by art, cooler than the other side of the pillow!
Shouldn’t it be passive- no electricity as opposed to analogue, which most amplifiers already are?
I think you mean passive, not analog. An amp can be analog and still use electricity
Very retro…very impressive any time someone finds a good use for old junk like that. Can you believe some people actually use those things as phones?
the same thing was on how to win on dragons den uk tv last week but was made out of plastic
Not analog, passive. Not an amplifier either, just something that channels the sound more effectively (like an “impedance matcher”).
While I’m a fan of balancing tubes of paper on phones to get better sound, this seems like a giant waste of space and musical instruments.
Maybe if these objects were smaller and looked less clumsy, I’d be a fan.
Put your iPhone in a plastic bowl. Hear that amplification. =]
Smaller, less clumsy.
Did similar thing (i.e. passive amplification) with spare bugle and earphones. If chosen properly, earpiece fits inside the bugle’s mouthpiece just fine without any modification. Sounds a little brassy though =)
Thanks, Hackaday, for the write-up. And thank you to the community for the helpful words. Unfortunately, it’s too late to change the name to “passive tele-phonographers.” But I will definitely stand corrected.
Well done! And Brubeck too!
What is the gear that it’s mounted on? Is it a Gravely starter clutch?
It’s a gear that I saved from the scrap pile when I worked at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC. (I think.) Thanks for the comment!