Page 1 of 1

Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 1:34 am
by travisgreyfox
Seen this on ebay. Anybody know how these things sound? At $150 it seems like a decent deal to me.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/SONORA-ORTHOPH ... SwMxxc~SBY

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 5:11 am
by stetam
Check out his youtube link. The machine sounds real nice.

Stetam

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:39 am
by VanEpsFan1914
The condition is amazing and would be a good buy even if it were equipped with conventional pre-'25 tonearm.

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 10:30 am
by OrthoFan
Is the "Super Fine" sound box equipped with the mica diaphragm original to this model, or is it a replacement, culled from an earlier model, for the Sonora "Tonalic" sound box? According to Joe Wakeman's Sonora book, it should have the new style reproducer equipped with an aluminum diaphragm, etc..

OrthoFan

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 2:27 pm
by AZ*
The soundbox is a Super Fine and has a mica diaphragm as shown in ebay listing.

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:38 pm
by OrthoFan
AZ* wrote:The soundbox is a Super Fine and has a mica diaphragm as shown in ebay listing.
I looked over my question and see I didn't word it very well. What I was wondering was, is the Super Fine sound box the correct one for this model, or should it have a Tonalic sound box like the larger Tonalic models?

I haven't come across very many Sonora Phonographs from the late 1920s, and most of those I've seen did not have their original reproducers. Apparently, as with other pot metal sound boxes, they were prone to disintegrate with time.

OrthoFan

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 5:35 pm
by BillH_NJ
I acquired this machine from the eBay auction. It did have the Super Fine soundbox but I replaced it with a No. 5 that I have. The gasket on the No. 5 is new and not an exact match to the original, but the tonearm does appear to be designed to mount the Tonalic reproducer. The result can be heard here — https://youtu.be/opInGRD0yW4.

Bill

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 9:12 pm
by OrthoFan
BillH_NJ wrote:I acquired this machine from the eBay auction. It did have the Super Fine soundbox but I replaced it with a No. 5 that I have. The gasket on the No. 5 is new and not an exact match to the original, but the tonearm does appear to be designed to mount the Tonalic reproducer. The result can be heard here — https://youtu.be/opInGRD0yW4.

Bill
No. 5, as in Sonora No. 5? -- http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=13601

Judging from the video, it sounds pretty good; similar to a Victor Consolette.

OrthoFan

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:15 am
by BillH_NJ
Yes, a Sonora No. 5. Pot metal back is in decent shape although the diaphragm has a couple of dents.

Re: Sonora Orthophonic

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:22 am
by VanEpsFan1914
The machine sounds very nice--still has the mica-diaphragm sound that we associate with a 1920s phonograph but with the lid closed it really does put out. A nicely designed phonograph, and worthy of any collection--well worth shoehorning in there behind that Grafonola, like you did!

I love the test record too. Wouldn't it be nice if Gilbert & Sullivan records were more common?