Ever wish the VE 9-55 was offered with an Orthophonic horn?
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 3:44 pm
Well, your day has come. After collecting four empty VE 9-55 cabinets and collecting parts from unrestorable VE 10-50s, I have completed my first marriage of the two machines. I will be finishing the other three VE 9-55 conversions within two weeks. I'm selling 3 of them and keeping the 4th, see picture #6 below. It's amazing how well the VE 10-50 horn just squeezes into the VE 9-55 and how it seems this was meant to be. I had always hoped I could find the original Radiola 28 setup that goes into those four VE 9-55s but none ever came up. Then I thought RE-45s would be a could substitute but after realizing the VE 10-50 tonearm would have to be shortened and replated, I decided against that idea and to use what I had, which makes way more sense to me.
The VE 10-50 horn shares its left side wood panel with the wall that divides the two sides of the VE 10-50. The horn sides are made of rectangle shaped boards, as can be seen photo #3 below. The tops of the two sides had to be trimmed and on an angle even with the top of the horn so it could slide into the right side opening of the VE 9-55, as can be seen in photo #4 below. Prior to doing that, the wooden flanges at the horn's base had to be removed that were outboard of the horn and after cutting one inch off the bottom of the sides, the wooden flanges were remounted to the inboard side of the bottom of the horn. This so happens to be the difference between how the wooden flange is on the Credenza (outboard flange) and the VV 8-30 (inboard flange). The center wall of the VE 9-55 required an oval hole to be cut so the horn pipes can cross from the changer side over to the horn side, just as the VE 10-50 has. Lastly, a ¾" spacer had to be created and mounted between the big 90 degree turn pipe piece that attaches to the back of the horn, and the long funnel shaped pipe piece that goes from one side of the cabinet to the other, see photo #5 below.
Pictures #1 and #2 are the front and back of the first completed converted VE 9-55 I have listed on eBay. To see more pictures and to access the eBay listing link, click on the following TMF posting:
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 82#p229282
The VE 10-50 horn shares its left side wood panel with the wall that divides the two sides of the VE 10-50. The horn sides are made of rectangle shaped boards, as can be seen photo #3 below. The tops of the two sides had to be trimmed and on an angle even with the top of the horn so it could slide into the right side opening of the VE 9-55, as can be seen in photo #4 below. Prior to doing that, the wooden flanges at the horn's base had to be removed that were outboard of the horn and after cutting one inch off the bottom of the sides, the wooden flanges were remounted to the inboard side of the bottom of the horn. This so happens to be the difference between how the wooden flange is on the Credenza (outboard flange) and the VV 8-30 (inboard flange). The center wall of the VE 9-55 required an oval hole to be cut so the horn pipes can cross from the changer side over to the horn side, just as the VE 10-50 has. Lastly, a ¾" spacer had to be created and mounted between the big 90 degree turn pipe piece that attaches to the back of the horn, and the long funnel shaped pipe piece that goes from one side of the cabinet to the other, see photo #5 below.
Pictures #1 and #2 are the front and back of the first completed converted VE 9-55 I have listed on eBay. To see more pictures and to access the eBay listing link, click on the following TMF posting:
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 82#p229282