The retrospective shows purely mechanical reproduction — sound that needs no electricity at all.
None of the machines in the first section has a plug. Sound arises from the vibration of a needle, is amplified by a diaphragm and leaves through a horn — there is no amplifier anywhere in the chain.
That means the volume is set by the construction and cannot be adjusted. Koval says this is what surprises visitors most: the impossibility of making it quieter.
