diamond discs enjoyed their greatest commercial success from the mid-1910s to the early 1920s, with sales peaking in 1920. although they arguably had better audio fidelity, they were more expensive than, and incompatible with, other makers' products and ultimately failed in the marketplace. not least among the factors contributing to their downfall was thomas edison's insistence on imposing his own musical tastes on the catalog. as an elderly man who favored old-fashioned "heart" songs and had various idiosyncratic preferences about performance practices, he was increasingly out of touch with most of the record-buying public as the jazz age of the 1920s got underway. it was not until mid-decade that he reluctantly ceded control to his sons.