The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Selling a 5A HMV reproducer. Plays very well, looks very good. Hard to take good pictures of a shinny object. I wondering if this is really nickel plated or if it is chrome plated. Asking $250. Will always entertain offers. 145

Price lowered to $200.

If it were the gold-plated one I would have bought it.

I wish it was gold too. How low will it go?

Did the HMV reproducers use pot metal like the American Orthophonic did? edisonplayer.

The HMV reproducers did not use pot metal. Maybe I should have put that in the ad.
(edited 1/31)
Learned that these are pot metal, but boy they sure look good.

Jeff

edisonplayer wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 8:28 am Did the HMV reproducers use pot metal like the American Orthophonic did? edisonplayer.

The back of all HMV 5a and 5B soundboxes is made of pot metal, as is the one in the photo. A common consequence of the pot metal instability is that their fascia, made of thin metal, tend to crack at the side, due to pressure caused by swelling of the pot metal. Sometimes they are also hard to disassemble due to that. Another consequence of the pot metal instability over the decades, that I found by experience, is that today the sound quality of these soundboxes vary significantly from one to another, even though there is no discernible deformation at naked eye. Not much can be done to remedy that.

Skihawx wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 2:30 pm The HMV reproducers did not use pot metal. Maybe I should have put that in the ad.

Jeff

Hi Jeff:

No, unfortunately they did, as Carlos confirmed. But, for whatever reason the HMV pot metal has held up better than the Victor version. The problems tend to surface when the back plate is removed--according to what I've been told. A seemingly solid back plate can be stuck, and once removed, may crack apart. The nice thing about the 5a/5b sound boxes is that, unlike the Victor Orthophonic Sound Boxes, they were fitted with felt diaphragm gaskets, so if it plays very well, there should be no need to open it. (I've read that putting a couple of drops of penetrating oil at the edge of the diaphragm, and swishing it around, will ensure an air-tight seal.) I'm not sure if replacing the "throat gasket" has any risks, so I'll let the experts chime in about that.

Along this line, the original HMV no. 4 sound box, which came with my recently acquired Spanish HMV 101, is all pot metal--both the front and back. I lucked out because it's in excellent condition and--by some miracle--still has relatively soft diaphragm gaskets, so it plays very well. Even the lower notes come out clear. The person who overhauled the gramophone told me, because of this, it's best to leave it as-found. At some point, though, I'd like to hunt down a pristine all brass or serviceable no. 4 sound box, but this will hold me until I do.

OrthoFan

OrthoFan wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 6:27 pm

Skihawx wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 2:30 pm The HMV reproducers did not use pot metal. Maybe I should have put that in the ad.

Jeff

The nice thing about the 5a/5b sound boxes is that, unlike the Victor Orthophonic Sound Boxes, they were fitted with felt diaphragm gaskets, so if it plays very well, there should be no need to open it. (I've read that putting a couple of drops of penetrating oil at the edge of the diaphragm, and swishing it around, will ensure an air-tight seal.) I'm not sure if replacing the "throat gasket" has any risks, so I'll let the experts chime in about that.

Along this line, the original HMV no. 4 sound box, which came with my recently acquired Spanish HMV 101, is all pot metal--both the front and back. I lucked out because it's in excellent condition and--by some miracle--still has relatively soft diaphragm gaskets, so it plays very well. Even the lower notes come out clear. The person who overhauled the gramophone told me, because of this, it's best to leave it as-found. At some point, though, I'd like to hunt down a pristine all brass or serviceable no. 4 sound box, but this will hold me until I do.

OrthoFan

You are correct about the quality of the pot metal on the HMV being higher than that used on Victors, especially the earlier Victor 5s. The later Victors, the ones made for portables, have a more stable compound. You are also right in that they don't need to have diaphragm gaskets replaced. However, replacing the throat gasket is tricky: normally the rubber is petrified, and exerting pressure on it will crack the pot metal that encircles it. Sometimes even trying to unscrew its little screw may cause a breakage. The safest way to replace it is to arm yourself with a little knife and a lot of patience, and slowly dig away little portions of the rubber until it can be removed. I had success removing a bit of the rubber and instilling some drops of winter green mixed with alcohol that softened the rubber and made it easier to remove.

On the HMV 4, differently from the Victor 4, the brass version is not rare at all, you can find them for sale in the UK eBay. I found them relatively easy to service. You can buy the specific gasket, or utilize normal tube gaskets. I prefer the tube gaskets, they are more flexible than the slotted gasket that I could find and thus provide a better sound. The advantage of the brass version is that you can easily disassemble it, which is necessary in the nr 4 as its gasket will be hardened, and with the brass back it is easier to poke out the petrified throat gasket.