Help ID an HMV

[Zeppy]

So for all you guys on the other side of the pond, what can you tell me about this machine:







Thanks for any help.

JP

[gramophoneshane]

It's a model 511, which started life as the 510 lumiere pleated diaphragm machine. Because they were so unsuccessful, the record cabinet was fitted with a horn & a normal tonearm added. They're not an easy machine to find from my experience.
The same thing happened to the table model lumiere machine (model 460) which became the 461. I think they're a 1925-26 conversion.

[Zeppy]

It's a model 511, which started life as the 510 lumiere pleated diaphragm machine. Because they were so unsuccessful, the record cabinet was fitted with a horn & a normal tonearm added. They're not an easy machine to find from my experience.
The same thing happened to the table model lumiere machine (model 460) which became the 461. I think they're a 1925-26 conversion.

Sounds like it would be worth picking up? Is it an exponental horn? Any clue on the sound quality.

[Zeppy]

Well, my bad luck. It's already sold.

And boy, was the price right....$200

[AZ*]

That would have been a nice machine to acquire. Somebody got a bargain. The 511 has a long coiled horn and sounds quite good according to a friend who has one, although as has been stated previously, it's no Orthophonic/re-entrant.

I have a couple of the HMV saxophone horn machines which also have the #4 soundbox and long horn. Again, not as good as a re-entrant, but they absolutely blow the socks off a conventional Victrola, and they handle electric recordings tolerably well.

[MordEth]

Well, my bad luck. It's already sold.

And boy, was the price right....$200

We could start up another thread for all the deals that slipped past us—that was definitely an interesting topic on our previous home.

— MordEth

[Zeppy]

And to top it off, it was local....

Might as well share the Craig's list add, since I don't have to worry about competing offers:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/ ... 41516.html

[Lenoirstreetguy]

And it was good enough for Compton Mackenzie ..founder of The Gramophone. I've posted this pic before in a previous life, but here it is again. The chap on the right is Christopher Stone who was Mackenzie's brother-in-law and co-editor. This pic was taken in his home on one of the Channel Islands...Jethou, it was. Stone became kind of a media celebrity due to his record review programme on the early BBC.

Jim

[MordEth]

Jim,

Great picture! Thanks for sharing it with us!

I’m busy cutting out more stuff to share in other image threads.

— MordEth