The Gramovox Visits Audiogon

The Gramovox, a hybrid of today’s technology with the nostalgia of vintage audio, has been buzzing around the internet for the last week, and Audiogon was thrilled to receive a private demonstration at AXPONA Chicago 2013.

The creators of the Gramovox, both audiophiles themselves, were looking for a way to wirelessly stream their favorite jazz and rock pieces through a vintage gramophone horn. Initially, all they discovered were products that kept them tethered to the device, which they felt was too inhibiting in today’s world. As a result of their frustration, the Gramovox was born – a bluetooth gramophone that allows the user to wirelessly stream their music collection from an Apple or Android device.

We started out with some Duke Ellington and found the sound to be quite moving. It’s how our grandparents and parents listened – the sound that made jazz famous. For Audiogon’s President, Steve Clay, it was evocative of a time when he was a child, sitting with his father around the radio. Pavan and Jeff admitted to using Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” during testing to make sure they got it right.

The next step was to stream music that’s a little more current, so we chose “Rumor Has It” by Adele and John Mayer’s “Gravity.” While not the realistic sound that we’re used to nowadays, the Gramovox added a very pleasant, almost ethereal quality to the vocals and highs, with some excellent mid-bass sound.

The Gramovox design is worthy of an art piece, with all the Bluetooth components housed unseen inside a smoothly polished natural wood cabinet that allows the horn to truly be the star of the show. As a prototype model, it’s gorgeous, and they intend to keep intact the marriage of vintage and modern aesthetics when it goes into production later this year.

So what do you think? Would you be interested in hearing your music on the Gramovox? Let us know in the comments.