The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have bought two external horn players (a Victor 0 which I recently sold in favor of buying a Victor V) and I am not even 30 yet. While I agree that external horn players are more expensive than your garden-variety Victrola XI or something like it, that is chiefly because demand for them is higher as kitschy decorative objects by non-collectors (grrr!) than it is for them as dedicated record collector's playback instruments. They are not necessarily "rare" in the sense that there are only a handful of them still out there, but they are "rare" in the sense that finding one in fully-functional playback condition (or at least in good enough condition that an experienced collector will find the thing find suitable for listening), is a VERY rare occurrence "in the wild". This is also why people new to this hobby think they are getting a great deal on a new outside horn machine but experienced collectors rightly call them "crapophones".

Because of that, my recommendation is to learn how to fix external-horn players and get a functional knowledge of what machines use what parts, what common repairs need to be made to them, etc. BEFORE you are ready to purchase one. Not only will this save you money initially by buying a fixer-upper rather than paying top dollar for one in perfect condition at the start, but it will also save you future headache and hassle should your machine ever need another repair while you still own it - remember, these machines are virtually all over 100 years old by now and their reliability is never guaranteed.

"...Not only will this save you money initially by buying a fixer-upper rather than paying top dollar for one in perfect condition at the start, but it will also save you future headache and hassle should your machine ever need another repair while you still own it..."

That can be true, as long as there are no missing parts. Parts can be hard to find, and expensive as well.

I was pretty lucky someone here had the other half of the Standard Model X that was missing when I purchased it at an antique store! Unfortunately the same store had a Standard Model A case and that was it.