Edison Model E Triumph value

[Raphael]

A machine came up earlier in the week in Washington state. It had a wooden music master horn in what looked like very good condition. Machine itself — case and bedplate — just looked okay to me. O reproducer. Buy now price of $3900. Machine sold same day.

A few months ago I sold the Triumph E that is the subject of discussion on this thread. The young buyer also bought a B-375 and shortly thereafter a Concert. He subsequently became enamored with a vintage car and sold off his Edisons.

My sale of the Triumph to him was high $3k's off-eBay, then he sold it for $3900 on eBay. I also put a similar Triumph E on eBay last week and it sold within hours for $4k. So there you have three recent examples in the same general price range.

Markets and prices change. But 2/4 Triumph's with wood horns and an O reproducer that I have sold for a number of years have always brought that kind of money. It doesn't matter how they compare technically to a 1A or an Opera; they are different machines and will have their own following.

Raphael

[AmberolaAndy]

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Markets and prices change. But 2/4 Triumph's with wood horns and an O reproducer that I have sold for a number of years have always brought that kind of money. It doesn't matter how they compare technically to a 1A or an Opera; they are different machines and will have their own following.

Raphael

All I know they are 3 machines I don’t have my in collection yet. Has anybody ever had a family member angry at you on how much you spent on a machine? “You could of bought X but you wasted your money on Y!” Because I’m afraid that’s what’s going to happen if I put 3K On a machine.

[JerryVan]

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Markets and prices change. But 2/4 Triumph's with wood horns and an O reproducer that I have sold for a number of years have always brought that kind of money. It doesn't matter how they compare technically to a 1A or an Opera; they are different machines and will have their own following.

Raphael

All I know they are 3 machines I don’t have my in collection yet. Has anybody ever had a family member angry at you on how much you spent on a machine? “You could of bought X but you wasted your money on Y!” Because I’m afraid that’s what’s going to happen if I put 3K On a machine.

Keep saving, then buy X & Y! That way, there's balance in the universe!

[drh]

Keep saving, then buy X & Y! That way, there's balance in the universe!

And it will be a boy!

Er, if you really want to buy the phono (or anything else) for that kind of money, don't just go and do it--sit down with the spousal unit, say what you want to do, and explain why you want to spend the money that way. You may get a resounding "no," and if so, honor it but maybe state that you intend to start saving for something like that in the future. If you get a "yes," the purchase has been blessed and will cause no friction later. At least, that was always my approach to big ticket "toys," and until I got too many the answer was usually "yes."

[drh]

A machine came up earlier in the week in Washington state. It had a wooden music master horn in what looked like very good condition. Machine itself — case and bedplate — just looked okay to me. O reproducer. Buy now price of $3900. Machine sold same day.

A few months ago I sold the Triumph E that is the subject of discussion on this thread. The young buyer also bought a B-375 and shortly thereafter a Concert. He subsequently became enamored with a vintage car and sold off his Edisons.

My sale of the Triumph to him was high $3k's off-eBay, then he sold it for $3900 on eBay. I also put a similar Triumph E on eBay last week and it sold within hours for $4k. So there you have three recent examples in the same general price range.

Markets and prices change. But 2/4 Triumph's with wood horns and an O reproducer that I have sold for a number of years have always brought that kind of money. It doesn't matter how they compare technically to a 1A or an Opera; they are different machines and will have their own following.

Raphael

Thank you for that. Now I feel a little better about my own 2/4 Triumph of that sort. By the way, we've never talked directly, but please let me take the opportunity now to tip my hat over the beauty of all the machines you post. I've been seeing them on eBay for years, and they always are gorgeous things.

[JerryVan]

Keep saving, then buy X & Y! That way, there's balance in the universe!

And it will be a boy!

Er, if you really want to buy the phono (or anything else) for that kind of money, don't just go and do it--sit down with the spousal unit, say what you want to do, and explain why you want to spend the money that way. You may get a resounding "no," and if so, honor it but maybe state that you intend to start saving for something like that in the future. If you get a "yes," the purchase has been blessed and will cause no friction later. At least, that was always my approach to big ticket "toys," and until I got too many the answer was usually "yes."

"And it will be a boy!"

Ooohh, that's excellent!

I agree wholeheartedly to your other advice as well. Involvement right at the start is honest & respectful, no matter what the situation is.

[AmberolaAndy]

Well I can’t buy anything until this whole Covid situation is finally under control. And I’m getting more hours at my work (finally) Not to mention a raise. So X and Y might be in my future!

[phonojim]

My Triumph D-2 was my first ever cylinder machine. I had wanted a cylinder machine since I saw my first one at about 8-10 years old but I had to wait until I was 26 to own one. I have owned that Triumph for 49 years now. It came as part of a collection which included a Triumph B, a Vic V with a spear point horn, several hundred cylinders and 3 other machines. It came equipped with an O reproducer and an oak cygnet horn. It is a real workhorse, mechanically excellent, versitile and sounds wonderful. I regularly use a diamond B or an O and I have an adapter ring which allows me to use an Automatic for brown wax. I would like to have a mahogany Opera for eye candy if nothing else, but I really can't justify the cost (mostly to my wife). I also have a 1-A which is a wonderful machine in all ways, but I do prefer the sound of the Triumph setup by a slight margin.

Jim

[mjbarnes]

I have just two machines: a Standard D is as-new condition, and an Opera I bought from the dear widow of a dear collector friend. I was very surprised when the Opera sounded wobbly — a problem that was recently addressed here in another thread. Not knowing about the spring (I have learned a lot from this forum) I put a dollop of grease between the flywheel and the shaft, and that has seemed to stabilize the rotation and the sound to this day. Thirty years ago when I had a first mortgage and babies on the way, I was offered several combination Triumphs with music master horns from a collector who was disposing of everything. He was ill, though he did not tell me. Those were the kinds of machines that were collected by the first generation collectors — he was one — pretty pristine, probably one-family ownership until acquired by the collector. I wrote to George Frow about the wobble in my Opera. He replied telling me he preferred his Idelia over his other machines. We did not correspond often. I have only once seen part of an Idelia: a bedplate in a museum. Happy listening!