I recently bought an orthophonic machine that had an HMV 5a reproducer instead of the pot-metal American original. It played "OK", but with the lid open it made a lot of noice and things sounded a bit tinny.
Also, on the side of back where it attaches to the tonearm there was a chunk of metal missing.
Given all that I decided that I should get it fixed up. I emailed Wyatt Markus (MicaMonster on the forum) and asked a few questions and sent some pictures. He said he thought he could get it working better. I mailed it to him and the same day he got the reproducer in the mail he started work on it. He sent me a couple of pictures of it disassembled. He explained that the screws had pierced the diaphragm when originally built. But he still thought he could make it work better. He was able to reuse the original wool/felt gaskets. He said they were still in great shape and still soft.
He sent it back to me and I received it yesterday. Wow... It is hard to believe it is the same reproducer. It plays very clear and loud without any distortion at all. Even with the lid open it sounds great. I compared it to an Orthophonic pot-metal reproducer I own that plays very well. But, this reproducer now out performs it! I could not be happier with Wyatt's work.
Here are pictures of the finished product. Notice he repaired the chipped metal and has his silicon flange on the back. He even polished up the reproducer to make it look great.
I just wanted to congratulate Wyatt for his great work. It is so nice to have access to such a great number of good qualified phonograph/gramophone repair guys. And, it is all thanks to this forum!
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