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0 pointsAnimats3y ago0 comments

With the 1950s mic and speakers, it was substantially better than a smartphone.

The Western Electric model 1500 [1], from 1963, is generally considered the best analog phone [1]. This was rented, not sold, so it is extremely reliable and rugged.

Best audio quality was with ISDN phones. Digital end to end, synchronized at the bit level, no noise, no dropouts.

[1] http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/we/we1500.html

0 comments

Aloha3y ago

I'm not sure why you picked a 1500 as the best sounding, the 500, 1500 and 2500 all used the same network, receiver, and transmitter elements - I've used all three, they perform identically, the 1500 set is actually incredibly rare - touch tone was just not common until the 2500 was out.

The best speakerphone ever made (even better than modern ones) is a 4A Speakerphone.

Also in my opinion, an AE 80 with a non cohered up carbon mic will outperform a 500/1500/2500 on a short loop (sub 15kf), and can be tuned to outperform on a long. The self compensating network in the WE set is better however.

That all said, a modern Northern Telecom or Aastra analog phone will consistently outperform a 500 set, because of the electret mic in them. Carbon mics have benefits as an amplifier, but transistors rendered them obsolete in most cases.

E39M5S623y ago

You know your phones.

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