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As a collector of portables I could not resist this totally original unrestored Orchorsol.

Although not well known to collectors today, Orchorsol were once in direct competition with EMG, winning medals at the Steinway Hall competition in 1924 (see record cover pictured) and the Gramophone Congress in 1925. By 1930 Orchorsol's glory days were over, and their portables bore more than a passing resemblance to the HMV101, but they retained their distinctive adjustable soundbox.

Despite a rock hard "lifebelt" rubber coupling my new acquisition plays very well. An enterprising eBayer advertises replacements, but my machine is so original that my instinct is to leave well alone, as it will not be an everyday player.

Another GREAT find, congratulations, Roger!
I really enjoy to see these hard to find portables in detail, and the soundbox on this machine, is for sure also unique. A stunning and rare portable, and it no doubt deserved a place in your collection of portables:)

Congratulations Roger, that's an absolute beauty! And a nice unusual colour too!

I can understand your sentiments regarding the original lifebelt. Also, the pot metal parts of some of those can disintegrate when disturbed. You probably saw Alex Kirtley's post recently - he made a new compression ring for his. Perhaps you might find another identical soundbox at some point, to have an alternative which you can put in good order - these Orchorsols can sound very good indeed.

It looks splendid, congrats! It's so pristine that I understand your temptations to leave it as is... I'd only improve the mechanics, just as needed for regaining the expected original performance....

There's only one thing I can say about this machine.......WOW! I'm envious!

Barry

That's a nice machine! How does it sound? does the spring loaded soundbox make any difference in the reproduction?

CarlosV wrote:That's a nice machine! How does it sound? does the spring loaded soundbox make any difference in the reproduction?

When time permits I will carry out a side by side test against some of my other portables. If I can remove the soundbox without risking damage I might even try it on my Expert.

epigramophone wrote: When time permits I will carry out a side by side test against some of my other portables. If I can remove the soundbox without risking damage I might even try it on my Expert.

A comparison would be nice, Roger. Removing the soundbox however may be a risky job, as it seems to be made of pot metal. There are people who specialized in rehauling pot metal soundboxes, like Wyatt Markus that does great work with Orthophonics, but the difference is that if you crack the back of an orthophonic you can easily find a replacement, which is not the case with such orchorsols.

The Orchorsol soundbox does sound very nice indeed.
I have a Mica item which appears to be based on the Exhibition and an Aluminium version which I use currently on a Decca 120 and as far as I am concerned they take a lot of beating. It even transformed the sound dramatically on a Victor 1 and a Victor VV IV.
The soundbox is easily dismantled and If wanted the original Rubber lifebelt should be removed and preserved.
I also have a Cabinet model which has complex and large Bifurcated internal horn in a very deep case with a long swan neck arm.
Again this outperforms most of this type of machine and is well worth hearing.

It looks wonderful! A top notch acquisition; congrats!