HMV202 from Japan

[Steve]

In UK eBay:
[ebay]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256156379098 ... R9y-m5iyYg[/ebay]

Photos do not show the horn, a potential buyer should ask for them before bidding. The motor is not the oil bath, but probably the 4-spring nr 34.

I have an oil-bath hmv 202 in very good condition imported from Australia years ago. I was like USD 4600.00. Since it was before Covid, the cost for the shipping was not so expensive. I have been enjoying it very much.

Bargain price. They are fantastic machines and under-appreciated considering they're the best acoustic gramophone made before the end of the era and the start of the 1930's when electrical apparatus took over. Only then were niche companies like Expert and EMG really able to produce the better sounding acoustic machines, albeit with a very limited visual appeal to the mass market.

Enjoy it.

[Inigo]

I agree with that. The large reentrant models produce an outstanding sound. I don't know the features that make my 194 sound so good.... The complete balance of parts and the huge, well made horn, i suppose

[Garret]

As the seller may discover, the days when big Re-Entrants made this kind of money are long gone.
When prices were at their height and the Japanese were buying, a collector friend sold his 203 and used the proceeds to buy a vintage car. Over the ensuing years the car has held it's value. The big Re-Entrants have not.

Ian Maxted's superb EMG Xb Oversize Export Model, the subject of another thread, will probably make a fraction of the 202's asking price when it is auctioned next week. I know which I would rather have, regardless of price.

The 202/203 is still really a fine machine, even by American gramophone standards. Even the 163 beats the flagship Victor Credenza for sound.

Garret

[Watanabehi]

As the seller may discover, the days when big Re-Entrants made this kind of money are long gone.
When prices were at their height and the Japanese were buying, a collector friend sold his 203 and used the proceeds to buy a vintage car. Over the ensuing years the car has held it's value. The big Re-Entrants have not.

Ian Maxted's superb EMG Xb Oversize Export Model, the subject of another thread, will probably make a fraction of the 202's asking price when it is auctioned next week. I know which I would rather have, regardless of price.

The 202/203 is still really a fine machine, even by American gramophone standards. Even the 163 beats the flagship Victor Credenza for sound.

Garret

I know how well 163 reproduces sound. But Victor made more than 60000 Credenzas and there are so many different qualities of them. Even though the horn is well constructed, for about 90 yeas it dries out since it is mostly made of wood. So when the horn is restored with good lubrication and filled in the gaps, holes and fix whatever airtight issues, with a great brass reproducer, it reproduces fantastically SWEET sound due to its wooden horn. HMV re-entrant models have metal horn which cause extra metal vibrations. I have four Credenzas restored and enjoy them everyday.