Re: Viva-Tonal on Ebay
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:03 pm
The Columbia Viva-Tonal machines are interesting, if only to compare them with the Victor orthophonics of the same era. I have the 611, 613, and 810 models. The little 600 series sounds just about the same as the small Victors such as the 4-3 (which I also have). They used a simple, non-folded exponential style horn which was nearly the same size and shape on both the small Columbias and Victors.
The 810 is not up to par with the big Victors such as the Credenza, largely because the horn is not an accurate embodiment of the exponential principle. Columbia chose not to pay the royalties to Western Electric for the patents related to the large exponential horn, so they set out to design their own larger horns. But the 800 series is still pleasant sounding with a somewhat mellower sound than the big Victors. I and others have written extensively about this in posts to the "other" boards. Unfortunately, those posts are apparently lost to history, so I guess we'll have to trot out these opinions all over again on this forum. I have not heard one of the 700 series of Columbias, so I can't comment on them.
The Columbia #15 reproducer is quite friendly to rebuild - much easier than the ortho Victor. The biggest problem is the rubber connector frammis that couples the reproducer to the tonearm mount. This was a custom-molded piece. These have now hardened to stone, and I don't know of anyone who is making reproductions. The main issue here is that this rubber piece also seals the connection to prevent air leaks. When you replace this piece, you have to figure out how to do it in such a way to seal up the air leaks. It's difficult to explain without pictures, but this is a somwhat complicated rubber coupling. I have replaced it with a contraption made of screws, washers, and flat rubber bits, but it doesn't look like the original. But the #15 is not nearly as good a design as the Victor from several standpoints. It tracks at a heavier force than the Victor, has more moving mass and less compliance, and consequently does not have as extended a frequency response with poorer bass and poorer treble performance.
Still, I recommend that you consider adding any of the Viva-Tonals to your collection as they are better sounding than any of the pre-ortho style phonographs.
The 810 is not up to par with the big Victors such as the Credenza, largely because the horn is not an accurate embodiment of the exponential principle. Columbia chose not to pay the royalties to Western Electric for the patents related to the large exponential horn, so they set out to design their own larger horns. But the 800 series is still pleasant sounding with a somewhat mellower sound than the big Victors. I and others have written extensively about this in posts to the "other" boards. Unfortunately, those posts are apparently lost to history, so I guess we'll have to trot out these opinions all over again on this forum. I have not heard one of the 700 series of Columbias, so I can't comment on them.
The Columbia #15 reproducer is quite friendly to rebuild - much easier than the ortho Victor. The biggest problem is the rubber connector frammis that couples the reproducer to the tonearm mount. This was a custom-molded piece. These have now hardened to stone, and I don't know of anyone who is making reproductions. The main issue here is that this rubber piece also seals the connection to prevent air leaks. When you replace this piece, you have to figure out how to do it in such a way to seal up the air leaks. It's difficult to explain without pictures, but this is a somwhat complicated rubber coupling. I have replaced it with a contraption made of screws, washers, and flat rubber bits, but it doesn't look like the original. But the #15 is not nearly as good a design as the Victor from several standpoints. It tracks at a heavier force than the Victor, has more moving mass and less compliance, and consequently does not have as extended a frequency response with poorer bass and poorer treble performance.
Still, I recommend that you consider adding any of the Viva-Tonals to your collection as they are better sounding than any of the pre-ortho style phonographs.