Bargain HMV 511 on UK eBay.

[epigramophone]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265432648332 ... 0290.m3507

Someone in the Midlands needs to snap up this early 511 (a converted 510) at the Buy it Now price of only £300.

[Inigo]

Very nice machine. I wonder how well this model sounds... I've never listened to one in the flesh.... I've known very few gramophones in performance. I remember listening when young to what must be a 157 or 163, when buying a record. The nice man in the antique store played it for me on that machine. I had never seen one before.. . It didn't sound strong, because the record is not too loud (HMV B 2XXX, Arthur Meale at the organ playing Fountain Melody and Vesper Song, recorded in Westminster Hall organ or something alike, with ambient mics, lots of echo and low music volume, but I've always loved that record) and also because the gramophone didn't have its original 5a soundbox, but an exhibition or something alike, as far as I remember...
I also remember listening to a 127 in another store, and I got impressed by its good deep sound. Now I own one...
And once in the same store I saw a saxophone horn upright, must be the 161 or 181... But they didn't play it.
And if course, in the flea market I saw many portables when young, but they used to sound disastrous when played for exhibit to the passing people.
I remember vividly a lowboy Edison, played with an attachment for standard 78s, and it sounded wonderful! That must have been in 1980... Something like the chalet model... Was amazingly beautiful.

[Ahmed]

Very nice machine. I wonder how well this model sounds... I've never listened to one in the flesh.... .

It's a pretty good sounding model, here is the example I had before passing it on to make room for the Expert (I did insulate the horn which made a big difference to sound quality, also I'm using a Meltrope II here) https://youtu.be/JnJZxTbnb00

It has a long folded horn which is unique to this model. I definitely miss it, and if I had the room it wouldn't have stayed on eBay long enough to be featured here!

[Inigo]

Thanks...
How did you isolate the horn? I've always imagined to fill with some intert material the gramophone case around the horn to kill its resonances... using polyurethane foam, for instance, or judiciously placed wooden sticks to fix the tin horn panels against the wooden case sides, to cut their vibrating span...

[Ahmed]

.. or judiciously placed wooden sticks to fix the tin horn panels against the wooden case sides, to cut their vibrating span...

That's most if it yeah. I used rubber bound tightly to the horn, then stuffed cardboard between the horn and case to stop it resonating. Once done, the horn sounded dead sort of like like wood if you knock on it, rather than a bright metallic ring

[Inigo]

That's it, to remove that tin thumping sound. I suppose the overall sound would be more realistic, and will loose that mid-bass resonance. I must try that.

[epigramophone]

Here is how the Micro-Perophone Chromogram (the finest cabinet gramophone most people have never heard of) designed their horns. My Model MP23 resembles a scaled down HMV511 and performs every bit as well.

[Steve]

Sorry, but its not my idea of a bargain: heavily water stained pot marked lid, faded case which looks stripped of its original finish in one photo, missing gilt used needle bowl, dented wood around hinges etc

I don't think a mint example would fetch more than £450 these days.