The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

So many members here with an Opera model Edison...How did you justify the cost of one to your families without making them angry? How much does one go without a horn? Asking for a friend...

AmberolaAndy wrote:So many members here with an Opera model Edison...How did you justify the cost of one to your families without making them angry? How much does one go without a horn? Asking for a friend...

Probably a lot of collectors just went ahead & bought them when they were out of the house--
Everyone's in a different situation though.

James, the attachment on the Triumph you see is a Lewis Consonator, which in theory, was supposed to make the sound cleaner and clearer through the removal of harsh passages. More of a gimmick. The other attachment that is hard to see is a "J" repeater.

Andy;

I bought my Opera when I first started collecting and was single, so it was a no brainer

I would guess a mahogany Opera without a horn might sell for $2500 or so.

Scott

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:

AmberolaAndy wrote:So many members here with an Opera model Edison...How did you justify the cost of one to your families without making them angry? How much does one go without a horn? Asking for a friend...

Probably a lot of collectors just went ahead & bought them when they were out of the house--
Everyone's in a different situation though.

Probably. I-I mean my friend will just have to settle for a Triumph until his living situation becomes different. It’s just plain not the right time.

Good luck Andy! (Honestly I would enjoy "settling for" a Triumph too...but my real temptation is to spend the money on more records, and then play them on cheap phonographs.)

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:Good luck Andy! (Honestly I would enjoy "settling for" a Triumph too...but my real temptation is to spend the money on more records, and then play them on cheap phonographs.)

A 2/4 minute Triumph can be just as good as an Opera for half the money, I assume. But right now everything is up in the air until the pandemic goes away. Can’t count my chickens before they hatch.

AmberolaAndy wrote:A 2/4 minute Triumph can be just as good as an Opera for half the money, I assume.

You could make the same argument/comparisons of Edison Standard vs Edison Fireside, Victor V vs Victor VI, or Victrola XVI vs Victrola XVIII.

It's a matter of performance vs desirability or "worth," although in the case of Triumph vs Opera, there are more technical differences such as the venerable Triton motor and 2/4 minute ability in most Triumphs and the traversing mandrel/fixed reproducer position on the 4 minute Opera. They are both solid machines, but I know some collectors who prefer Triumphs to Operas.

AZ* wrote:

AmberolaAndy wrote:A 2/4 minute Triumph can be just as good as an Opera for half the money, I assume.

You could make the same argument/comparisons of Edison Standard vs Edison Fireside, Victor V vs Victor VI, or Victrola XVI vs Victrola XVIII.

It's a matter of performance vs desirability or "worth," although in the case of Triumph vs Opera, there are more technical differences such as the venerable Triton motor and 2/4 minute ability in most Triumphs and the traversing mandrel/fixed reproducer position on the 4 minute Opera. They are both solid machines, but I know some collectors who prefer Triumphs to Operas.

In my current living situation I think I can justify the price of a Triumph since they seem to go for around $1200. As much as I want an Opera too I can’t justify the price. I can picture the chewing out I’ll get for “spending 3k + on a record player” when I should have bought a car instead.

Hey Andy--I don't want to sound rude or anything but spending $3000 on an Edison Opera, if you needed a car or computer, would be unwise.

My brother spent that kind of money & ended up with a Buick sedan. I spent $5400 last year & bought my first semester of college since 2018. Right now my life is consumed wholly by college, except for the fun times procrastinating with you guys on the Talking Machine Forum, plus freelancing a bit (secretly) and writing fiction & trying to start publishing my works.

I know phonographs and vintage items are important to you, and I know the draw of a special interest in something like that--it's almost like a compulsion, feeling like the need to eat or drink or breathe. Phonographs can be a lot of fun, and the people in the hobby make it so much better. But still, $3000 is a lot of money on anything. And paying that much for an antique phonograph is a lot, even if it's a very nice phonograph and worth the money.

If you wanted to do something to get an Opera for yourself--I know you have some other vintage pieces; perhaps you could try selling them. The Philco Predicta television is worth a great deal restored; could you perhaps teach yourself to repair electronics and then get some of that old stuff working? You could also sell it as an unrestored piece; the Antique Radio Forum very much likes vintage televisions. Same goes for old radios (But that Philco cathedral is honestly kind of cute.)

I've had to do that; I don't like selling vintage pieces but I have had to do it. I wish I had the cylinder machines back that I sold. But anyway that is what one has to do sometimes.

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:Hey Andy--I don't want to sound rude or anything but spending $3000 on an Edison Opera, if you needed a car or computer, would be unwise.

My brother spent that kind of money & ended up with a Buick sedan. I spent $5400 last year & bought my first semester of college since 2018. Right now my life is consumed wholly by college, except for the fun times procrastinating with you guys on the Talking Machine Forum, plus freelancing a bit (secretly) and writing fiction & trying to start publishing my works.

I know phonographs and vintage items are important to you, and I know the draw of a special interest in something like that--it's almost like a compulsion, feeling like the need to eat or drink or breathe. Phonographs can be a lot of fun, and the people in the hobby make it so much better. But still, $3000 is a lot of money on anything. And paying that much for an antique phonograph is a lot, even if it's a very nice phonograph and worth the money.

If you wanted to do something to get an Opera for yourself--I know you have some other vintage pieces; perhaps you could try selling them. The Philco Predicta television is worth a great deal restored; could you perhaps teach yourself to repair electronics and then get some of that old stuff working? You could also sell it as an unrestored piece; the Antique Radio Forum very much likes vintage televisions. Same goes for old radios (But that Philco cathedral is honestly kind of cute.)

I've had to do that; I don't like selling vintage pieces but I have had to do it. I wish I had the cylinder machines back that I sold. But anyway that is what one has to do sometimes.

You’re not being rude at all. I think I’m thinking rationally. I got to take care of my needs first. Which I think even the members here with an Opera had to take care of first. We’re on the younger side of this board, there will be Edison Operas for sale 5 or 10 years from now. But for right now $1500 is the maximum I will spend on a machine.