POLL: Best-sounding mechanical fire alarm 2017

Which mechanical signal has the best sound?

  • Edwards DC Adaptahorn
  • Edwards AC Adaptahorn (Square)
  • Edwards AC Adaptahorn (Round)
  • Wheelock 34(T)
  • Wheelock 7002/1(T)
  • Wheelock 31(T)
  • Simplex 4050/Faraday 5410
  • Simplex 4051/Faraday 5640
  • Simplex 2901-9833/9838
  • Simplex 4903-9219/Siemens U-HN/Gentex GMS
  • Vibratone 350/Simplex 4040
  • Vibratone 450/Simplex 4041
  • Vibratone 450/Simplex 2901-9806/SAE 2DCD
  • Amseco Motor horn
  • Any other AC horn
  • Any chime
  • Any bell
  • Any Siren
  • Other
0 voters

Which is the best-sounding mechanical fire alarm signal?

Due to the poll size being limited to 20 options, I decided to do two polls - one for electronic and one for mechanical. The other poll can be found here: <URL url="POLL: Best-sounding electronic fire alarm 2017 text=“viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8706”>POLL: Best-sounding electronic fire alarm 2017

Of course, I choose the 2901-9838, because its sound is, for me, the quintessential fire alarm.

The series-wired AC Edwards 360-series Adaptahorns that are installed in my high school continue to be my favorite. Set them on loud and they’ll rattle the windowpanes! I’ve even heard of them referred to as the “burglar alarm from hell,” so I may try to source a few 120v units and link them to my security system because man will those things make you jump!

Same. My school has them, so I had to choose that.

If I had to choose, I would go with the Simplex 9219/Siemens U-HNH/Gentex GMS simply because it was the alarm I had heard the longest when I had gone through my school years and the one that I was used to and had developed a liking for that and always hoped I would hear them again sometime in my life because I found them very enjoyable. The sound is something I associate with fire alarms. I always thought of them as the alarm that there was the most of within schools at least.

I had that alarm at my elementary school too! Unfortunately I haven’t heard it since, and the remote horn that I thought was a 9805 (9219 base horn) turned out to be a 9822.

Was it the most common alarm within the school? Its weird because it was in my elementary school and then 9838s were the second most common alarm but for high school it switched around. However in high school we only had 4 9219s instead of the 7 9838s we had in elementary school (and which are no longer there)

Yeah 9219s were the most common alarm in my Elementary School, aside from the newer renovated areas with TrueAlerts. There is only one 4901-9822 in my high school, apart from all the 9846s. Both of these were on 9105 strobe plates.