The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Funny to hear a BC listed as a dream machine...I felt that way about that model once, until I got one! Cool, but huge and heavy and ponderous, and even when the Higham is working, just not all that much fun. So it left again.

But the best part of dreams is realizing them, I suppose.

Zon-O-Phone Model A. But the problem is, I can think of a dozen others simultaneously.

I'm zipping my flame suit up here. OK, here goes.

I want a sorry Victor VI with a roached cabinet and no horn so I can replate all the metal and put it in one of Eduardo's Vic VI cabinets with one of his matching record cabinets underneath, topped with a matching Eduardo mahogany horn.

I want the cabinet filled with mint red label Monarchs, Deluxes, and a few Special Deluxes thrown in.

Game over at my house.

Hahaha --I love it

And make sure those red monarchs include the complete run of the imported 5000 and 91000 series

With so many original Victor VI's out there...only one thing comes to mind - Why??

Because it'd be awesome.

I'd like to see that, too--it's a wonderful idea. I wish they still made phonographs. Something like a Victor III with a replica No. 4 reproducer would likely sell like hotcakes.

I do respect the opinions of others. With the current market on the phonograph trade now, IMO, a reproduction market would simply reduce our more common original machines to rubble.

There are a few machines on my bucket list that I know I will be able to afford at some point, namely a VTLA and a fancy case Victor MS or Victor D. Just a matter of time and space.

My dream machine that I will never be able to afford or justify is an Auxetophone. Those to me are the coolest machines ever built. Yes, a Zonophone A or a trademark Berliner would be cool as well, but those are mostly for display. But an Auxetophone simply blows you away

Andreas

I like the idea of the Auxetophone--a little too complicated but that's half the beauty of it.

As far as market values, I think part of the problem is that the acoustic phonograph suffers from a very poor reputation for sound quality and ease of use. Market value itself is a chancy thing...

The phonographs have value. Intrinsic value. I mean the value inherent in a beautiful thing, the beauty of an old-growth mahogany cabinet (YES I like mahogany, oak isn't the only "Nice" wood!), and the design of a well-made motor or tonearm. I like the hand-carved wings on my common upright Victrola as much as the finger-joints on my Edison Standard, and the simple, industrial design of my Amberola...and that lovely Queen-Anne style aircraft carrier of a console I'm restoring in the basement. Phonographs are good. ALL the phonographs.

To me, a VV-XI carries more human significance than a Class M. The XI was the machine of the people, the musical Model T that brought the average American his first taste of recorded enjoyment. This was only possible with lessons learned from the Class M, of course, and the explosive beauty of exposed wires and brown-wax records is worthy of preservation (And I always wanted to hear one playing a record, just cuz!)

But what makes a Class M worth $20K? Or $25K--they should fetch that for a desperate collector. Well, they're rare and really cool. But suppose Class M's were made for ten or twenty years, and every antique store had one sitting in the back for about $400. Would you crave a Class M then? Or does one only acquire pleasure from owning something other people don't? Because if that's the way it is we're all just a bunch of hipsters playing up to ourselves in the mirror.

We see the same thing on eBay with all the machines being parted out. And in Yankee Trader too. Are there no neighbors nearby to give those old clunkers to? Then you could have some collector buddies nearby and an evening of records and beer would suit most of us just fine.


I think it's time to reconsider our collecting philosophy. If we invest in phonographs, we invest in the subjective feelings of others...they don't like, then the market crashes and we don't love those phonographs as much as we did when they were worth five grand. But if we invest in enjoyment...then we have something worth hanging on to.

The technology is incredible. People hear the phonographs I have and they want one too. Let's also say--if we could travel back in time and buy phonographs we would. So why we don't have new ones nowadays is beyond me. Isn't the technology worth preserving--and I don't mean as display pieces?

How much do we really love phonographs anyway?

Sorry about the article here. Just been thinking about value a lot lately with purchasing a Vic I...I read too much philosophy but it's part of my job description.