Portable Victrola Advice

[KCW]

For a while now I’ve been interested in portable Victrolas. I’m mostly interested in Edison machines but so have a nice Vic V and VV 8-9.

I know next to nothing about portable victrolas. I’d love to get one that is functional, not too large and not too expensive. What is a reasonable machine? I’m not looking for perfection and no so little about these. Can anyone offer any advice on a good entry level machine and what this might cost? There are some in eBay, but I hesitate to get one of these as I worry it might not arrive working. Years ago I bought a working late 1890s Edison Home with a brass mandrel and it arrived and clearly had a broken motor and hadn’t been functional for a very long time. I had it fixed up and now I love it but it was a lot of work to get it fixed. Any advice is MICU appreciated!

[OrthoFan]

For starters, this is a good primer -- http://myvintagetv.com/updatepages1/cha ... tables.htm

In terms of sound quality, and build quality, and overall size and weight, you can't beat an HMV-102 portable, especially if you favor electrically recorded records (post-1925 era). They really do sound like an electrically amplified phonograph, and are well-worth the investment.

OrthoFan

[KCW]

Thanks for this! Great information. I had no idea Edison made a portable. Not a huge fan of diamond discs but do like my B250.

Are there any reputable dealers that have any nice portable Victrolas for sale? I love dealing with 4-4time.com but they don’t have any.

Again, many thanks for any advice!

[KCW]

Thanks for this! Great information. I had no idea Edison made a portable. Not a huge fan of diamond discs but do like my B250.

Are there any reputable dealers that have any nice portable Victrolas for sale? I love dealing with 4-4time.com but they don’t have any.

Again, many thanks for any advice!

[OrthoFan]

I had no idea Edison made a portable. Not a huge fan of diamond discs but do like my B250.
Are there any reputable dealers that have any nice portable Victrolas for sale? I love dealing with 4-4time.com but they don’t have any.
Again, many thanks for any advice!

Again, for starters, you might want to post a wanted ad in the Yankee Trader sub-forum (direct jump: viewforum.php?f=9 ) Make sure you follow the guidelines posted at the top of the forum.

As for the Edison portables, they did not play diamond disc records, only lateral cut (standard) 78s. They were not manufactured by Edison, but by a third party supplier, but were sold by Edison.

Along with the HMV-102 I recommended, another great sounding option is the Victor Victrola 2-55, but you'd probably want a restored/overhauled model to save yourself the expense and headache of doing it yourself. The 2-55 is much heavier than the 102, but provides a room-filling sound quality.

The ones, I think, to avoid, are later US-built portables from about the mid-to-later 1930s and beyond, such as the RCA branded phonographs--with the exception of the 2-65 which is comparable to the HMV 102 and Victrola 2-55.

Here's a page describing them -- http://www.mulhollandpress.com/styled-2 ... index.html

There were similar models sold by other companies -- Birch, Pal, etc. -- during the later 1930s into the earlier 1950s that share the same components and build quality and unlike the earlier models, they were fitted with paper-based, fiber horns and horrible pot-metal tonearms that tended to swell, crack and freeze with time. Even with a restored sound box (reproducer) they have sort of a hollow tone compared to their predecessors.

HTH,
OrthoFan

[KCW]

Thank you this information! I’m considering a VV 2-50 like you mentioned. My only concern with it is that it looks a bit bulky. I’m running low on space since I have WAY too many phonographs. I wonder if the later smaller ones would be better. And still; the earlier models definitely appeal to me more. Seems like there are quite a few 2-50s out there.

[52089]

Thanks for this! Great information. I had no idea Edison made a portable. Not a huge fan of diamond discs but do like my B250.

Are there any reputable dealers that have any nice portable Victrolas for sale? I love dealing with 4-4time.com but they don’t have any.

Again, many thanks for any advice!

The Edison portables are very hard to find. When found, the reproducer back is usual damaged and/or crumbling because of pot metal. They do sound very good when in decent condition.

For acoustic discs, the Victor VV-50 is a good choice and is not hard to find. For early electric discs, the Victor 2-55 is a good choice. The (US) Columbia Viva-Tonal era portables are also very good, but they are less common.

If you can, come to the Wayne show on April 30. There are always all kinds of portables for sale there.

[KCW]

Probably can’t make it to Wayne. It’s reasonably close but tough to get there in my schedule.

What do you all think of this VV 2-50 on eBay? It looks to be in decent shape. I guess it’s a gamble that it works. This model is a little big for my taste, if I do prefer “earlier” machines rather than later ones. Any thought in the price etc? Thanks in advance everyone! I know very little about these portable machines.

eBay link below:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115765916313?_ ... %7Ciid%3A1

[OrthoFan]

That's not a 2-50. That's a VV-50. That was made before the transition to electrical recording, so it's ideal for playing pre-1925 records also known as acoustic recordings. SEE: http://www.victor-victrola.com/50.htm

The one I mentioned above is the VV-2-55, which is an Orthophonic model designed to play electrically recorded records with far greater fidelity than the older, pre-1925 models. SEE: http://www.victor-victrola.com/2-55.htm

The VV-50 is very well-built but quite heavy. The tone chamber is really just a pocket under the tonearm, but if you prefer acoustically recorded records, it would be ideal. If you're more into the the later 78s--1930s/1940s/early 1950s--one of the portables profiled on the site I provided a link to above would be better suited.

OrthoFan

[KCW]

Thank you for this advice! Regarding the VV 50, is the price reasonable?