NICE HMV machine on Ebay

[Valecnik]

Here's a very nice HMV. Nice looking and I'll bet it sounds pretty good too. Perhaps one of our European members could elaborate on the model and other particulars. I also notice it says on the back of the lid, "Close Lid Whilst Playing" which is kind of interesting.

The only unattractive thing is the price. The seller would have to come down a few thousand before I could get really excited...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

[Guest]

It's an oak HMV157, sometimes referred to as the baby re-entrant model, but it isn't really as the horn only splits twice. Not to be confused with the larger 163, 193 or 202.
Worth about £150 over here in UK, although it does look in good order and nice figuring on the veneer.

[bart1927]

Here's a very nice HMV. Nice looking and I'll bet it sounds pretty good too. Perhaps one of our European members could elaborate on the model and other particulars. I also notice it says on the back of the lid, "Close Lid Whilst Playing" which is kind of interesting.

The only unattractive thing is the price. The seller would have to come down a few thousand before I could get really excited...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

I'm not an expert on HMV's (or on any type of phonograph for that matter), but this one looks like an HMV 157. I've never heard one in person, but I have been told they sound nice. It has no re-entrant type of horn, unfortunately, so it doesn't sound as good as the HMV 163, which is the smallest and cheapest re-entrant available. While the 157 looks like a nice machine, it's not considered very desirable among European collectors. The price tag is ridiculous, though, I think a price tag of $ 500 would be more appriopriate.

The "close lid whilst playing" line is present on most HMV cabinet or table models. My 130 also has it.

The seller claims it's a rare model, well it ain't. Also it's not hard at all to find a machine of this age in good working condition. I can find you one in 5 minutes! The wind-up motors in those HMV's are absolute top quality, all they need after 80 years is cleaning and re-greasing. (The graphite grease HMV used hardens over the years). The back of the HMV 5A and 5B reproducers is pot metal, but usually they are in good shape. Taking them apart can be tricky, though, because the back may have expanded.

[gramophoneshane]

I think in the USA, these are considered to have "Orthophonic" horns?
While it is a folded exponential horn, it only divides into 2 sections, unlike the HMV re-entrant & Credenza/10-50 horns which divide into 4 sections.
The 157 was never considered a Re-entrant model in the UK, but oddly enough, they were advertised here in Australia as a Re-entrant machine originally.
Of course we know better now days
They're a nice little machine, and definately an improvement over the saxaphone horn models using a No.4 soundbox, but as Bart says, they're not worth much more than about $500.