Some Euro-Gramophones

[OrthoFan]

I stumbled across this "portal" listing a number of interesting gramophones, one or two of which I've never seen before:

http://de.picclick.com/Pathé-Grammophon ... 47862.html

I also spotted an early HMV 163 -- http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0642589887 -- with a nice photo showing the horn.

HMV ReEntrant Horn.JPG (25.69 KiB) Viewed 886 times

This one is equipped with a #5 sound box which is identical to the Orthophonic sound box--including the cracking pot metal surfaces.

HMV 5.JPG (29.94 KiB) Viewed 886 times

I used to have an HMV #5, though mine was in near perfect condition. I think the #5a came out a year or so after the Re-Entrant models were first produced, but don't remember exactly when. (Shane? Steve?)

[AZ*]

I stumbled across this "portal" listing a number of interesting gramophones, one or two of which I've never seen before --

Plus a few we've seen way too many of with their bright, brassy horns.

[antique1973]

I stumbled across this "portal" listing a number of interesting gramophones, one or two of which I've never seen before --

Plus a few we've seen way too many of with their bright, brassy horns.

Yeah, you would think they would run out of the surplus crappy portable
motors for making crapophones by now. We need a giant craphophone bonfire
please!

[gramophoneshane]

Im not sure exactly when the no.5 was replaced by the 5a either, but I didn't think they even lasted a year??
I've never actually seen a no.5 before, and I've never seen an HMV soundbox with such a crappy potmetal back either. Im shocked lol.

[Steve]

HMV didn't appear to keep very well documented records of when things were introduced? I think (and I'm only basing this on conjecture and recycled comments made by some 'experts') that the No. 5 was introduced with the 'New Improved Models' of late 1927 ie. the re-entrant models. All the original 1927 versions of these machines and possibly a few other No. 5 type tone-arm machines were fitted with the No. 5 soundbox originally, a direct imported design from Victor.

The 5a was probably not brought out until well into the following year. I do own a No. 5 in my collection in good condition - it plays better than any of my 5a/5b's even though it has never been rebuilt and does not look the part!

Interestingly very few of the early re-entrants, such as the 163 Ortho_Fan has provided a link to, appear today with the '5' soundbox. I can only assume that much like today, the public were gullible and increasingly persuaded to 'upgrade' to the latest better thing, even though it's debatable if it really was! Did HMV save money with the later design?

By the same token, you'd expect there to be a lot of 'spare' No. 5's floating around today? Or were they all discarded long ago?