My New HMV 130

[Steve]

The 5A would have been nickel plated whereas your current 5B is chrome.

It looks to have had replacement grille cloth too.

[Steve]

#ed

[Steve]

Here's an oddball example of another Indian machine:

[Inigo]

The 'modern' 5B soundbox could have been a replacement fitted by a former owner. In my 102 I had the first 5B I owned. My 194 came with its original golden 5A. This was badly spoiled, so I acquired in time another silver 5A. The 194 now has the original golden front ring, but the back came from the replacement 5A. I also had to repair the 102 soundbox, and in the end the two gramophones have good repaired soundboxes, and I managed to make another good one from the rests. So now I own a golden 5A, a silver 5A and a silver 5B, all them are restored and work fine, but none of them are fully original anymore! Drawbacks of being a tinkerer-collector....

[Jwb88]

Steve, I'm not sure if your comments are directed at my machine or Rip1955's. If they are directed at my machine: the replacement 5B soundbox and grille cloth are mentioned clearly in the original post. Also, I never claimed this was the best table gramophone, I simply stated, "I'd long heard that the HMV 130 was the best sounding tabletop machine (or the 104 or the 150, too?)."

I will say that an HMV 130 is a very good gramophone for ease of use and has very good sound quality, especially when considering its size.

The example Steve has posted is interesting and seems to have obviously higher-quality components, including the cabinetry. Personally, I don't care for the drop-down door over the grille that many colonial models have. To each his own.

Inigo, I too have gathered damaged HMV 5 soundboxes and have done similar things. It's nice to salvage what one can. Since posting this, I have found a correct nickel 5A for this machine. I was able to assemble two very good sound boxes out of three damaged ones. The only downside is that I now have a very nice spare 5A--but the back is from a 5B. Oh well, it's still nice to have as a backup!

[Steve]

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