Best Sound Quality?

[phonephan]

Hi All,

New here.  I have been running a Siemens Brothers 354 in my kitchen for years now.
Took a few minutes to wire in a new plug and it was up.  Spent my childhood rewiring
WE 500-type phones (back when we had to evade that extra charge for each ringing extension). 

As is the way of new phones, the one in my home office has crapped out.  I want a
new one.   New as in old.  I am putting together a vintage office.  I am slightly
inclined towards a wall phone, if only to save desk space. 

I love the way that Siemens Brothers 354 looks.  But I do not love as much the
way it sounds.  The bells are great, but the handset sound is serviceable. 
For the office I need something that sounds top notch.  Ideally it would have a
handset I can cradle, but this is not necessary. 

So of the deco/40s/vintage era phones with metal or bakelite bodies (spit cup optional),
which has the best sound?   Popular opinion is always Western Electric 302 or 354.
But I find the 354 too understated in its design and the 302 is of course a desktop model.
I like the look of that flat Northern Electric wall phone and the redbar wall phone.  And lots
of others of the era, too.  A super cool unusual desktop phone would be acceptable, too
(like that "pewter" 302 with the blue handset someone posted here... sigh). 

- Which provide the best sound? 
- Who has one for sale?

And for extra credit, is there a speaker phone of that era worth using?
Is the Automatic Electric 880 the oldest speaker phone I should consider?

I have read a lot of posts here, but have not seen answers to these questions.
Apologies if I missed a thread- please post a link. 

TIA

[LarryInMichigan]

phonephan,

The AE 50 is one of the most popular and stylish wall phones.  I have one in my kitchen, and the sound quality is as good as anything.  AE 50s appear frequently on ebay, and I also see them on craigslist and at flea markets and antiques shops.



Larry

[Phonesrfun]

354's have excellent sound, but the F style handset is hard to cradle.

Bell system made some speakerphones that predate the AE 880, but the older ones are hard to come by.  The 880 has excellent voice quality, in my experience.

[phonephan]

I must admit the AE 50 is a stylish phone. That may be the solution.
I take it they are simple enough to be worth picking up an unrefurbished
unit off of eBay?

I'm also tempted by an old chrome pay phone. 

What are the model numbers of the Bell system speaker phones which
predate the AE 880?  Any you might recommend for sound quality? 
I could be willing to pay a bit and search a bit if there is something good.
And you never know- a member here might be willing to part with one. 

Thanks so far!

[Dan]

I second what Larry says about the AE50. Not only are people stunned to hear how old these beauties are, they can't  believe how clear they sound. I have one as my main basement phone

[GG]

Agreed: AE 50. 

And this might be part of the reason: the transmitters used in those were mechanically compatible with the later models used in AE 80s, so they may have been updated.  The way to tell is, look on the underside of the transmitter and you'll see something like AECO 41 on an original, or the number 81 or 810 on a later replacement.  If the front of the transmitter is black or dark brass it's probably original.  If a brighter brass it's probably 60s - early 70s.  If aluminum color, it's late 70s - 80s. 

If you want to cheat a little, get hold of a later AE 80 or 80E and swap out the transmitter.

The receiver elements may not be swappable between the 40/50 handset and the 81/810 handset, except there were some early AE 80s with drop-in receivers (for some reason I'm thinking the Canadian AE factory did this more often).  Those receivers might have thinner diaphragms and slightly better high frequency response.  (At least, I've never swapped a new AE receiver into an old AE handset; since I have examples of both in use I should check to see if the new one will fit into the old handset, hmm....)

Some later-production AE 40s & 50s had varistors (click suppressors) installed across the receiver terminals inside.  If yours doesn't, and you get obnoxious loud clicks in the receiver, do the trick with a pair of 1 N 914 diodes (available at low cost at Radio Snack).  Take two diodes and lay them down next to each other.  Now turn one of them around in reverse (the little black bands on them will face in opposite directions).  Now twist the wires together so you have two diodes in parallel but facing in opposite directions.  Now connect across the receiver terminals in the base of the phone.  Instant click suppressor, and perfectly acceptable for old phones that are in actual use. 

OK, so now y'all have got me wanting to install an AE 50 in the kitchen.  Hmm... :-)