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What reproducer was supplied with the VV-X? Mine came with a No. 2, which works well, but I'm tempted to buy an Exhibition to try. But which is correct for the model? I can't seem to find that sort of information...

Incidently, I dreamed last night I was in a second-hand store, having to pick between several really wonderful machines. Is it time to start looking for help? ("Hi, my name's Nat, and I accumulate phonographs... ") Or maybe just a sign I should buy another machine?

If the serial number is between 554000-595000, then it came with a No.2, otherwise the Exhibition is correct...according to the Victor Victrola site

http://www.victor-victrola.com/X.htm

Either one should be fine, I think the No 2 sounds just a bit better than the Exhibition.

A No.4 will also fit & sound even better, but it wont be correct for the machine.

gramophoneshane wrote:A No.4 will also fit & sound even better, but it wont be correct for the machine.

Well... yes and no. In the US market, the Victor #4 sound box was sold as an upgrade component starting around 1926. The five dollar price tag -- ($60-$75 in today's money) probably stopped a lot of potential "upgraders" in their tracks. ($5 would also have made a neat down-payment, along with the trade-in value of the old Victrola, itself, toward the purchase of a new Orthophonic model.)

The big problem, of course, would be locating a Victor #4 sound box in good condition. Except for the earliest ones, they were made of pot metal. Exhibition and #2 sound boxes are generally far more serviceable.

I guess you could easily get a HMV no.4. If you're going to put the wrong reproducer on a machine, you might as well go all the way

IMO, unless your X has the "fat" taper tube, it is doubtful that you would realize much improvement from a no. 2/4 over the Exhibition, which is really a very good device. See Paul Edie's technical article at http://www.victor-victrola.com/Soundbox%20Article.htm. (This assumes, of course, an Exhibition that has been properly rebuilt and adjusted.)

Thanks, all! I think I'll get an Exhibition and give it a try. After all, you can't have too many extras for these machines!

One reason you're getting so many answers to your inquiry is the fact that the Victrola X was made for such a long period of time. It started as a table model, quickly became the spider leg X, and then became the more traditional X with four doors and record storage and continued through several improvements and variations. Jerry Blais

Jerry B. wrote:One reason you're getting so many answers to your inquiry is the fact that the Victrola X was made for such a long period of time. It started as a table model, quickly became the spider leg X, and then became the more traditional X with four doors and record storage and continued through several improvements and variations. Jerry Blais

I think the question - "What reproducer was supplied with the VV-X?" was answered correctly in my first post, provided the information on the Victor Victrola website is correct. Irrespective of cabinet style, the serial number of the machine will determine which soundbox was originally supplied with any VV-X.
The second response and those after it, are really irrelevent to the original question asked.