The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

It's been hectic since my return from the show with three machines and a giant pile of records, but I also picked up this W-250 I thought I'd share photos of before I did anything with it. It's another example of a machine that just sat for decades untouched. I've almost completed cleaning and waxing the cabinet and I'll post some after shots in a few days, all this really needed was a very thorough cleaning and waxing though. I never realized just how BIG these were until I actually saw it. Just for fun, I put it in front of my C-19 just so you can see how big this monster, albeit a very striking one, is! It has the Duncan Stop mechanism there, but all of the wiring is gone. Perhaps this winter I'll see if I can re-run the wiring and get a battery, it would be neat to have one working although it works fine with it's regular auto-stop. Also interesting to me was the orginal dolphin key, which has the same sort of oxidized finish like the rest of the machine, I've only ever seen the others in gold.

PS, the XVIII is still awaiting the "royal treatment" so I've got nothing new to share on that one for probably a couple of more weeks.

Sean

Neat find Sean.

Clay

Sean,

I'm curious what are the dimentions of the grill opening as compared to the C19? That larger horn cavity is what makes these sound so good.

By the way, mine, posted somewhere here as a featured phono, also had a key which matched the "gun metalish" (not really gun metal) finish except mine was the "E" type key.

Valecnik wrote:Sean,

I'm curious what are the dimentions of the grill opening as compared to the C19? That larger horn cavity is what makes these sound so good.

By the way, mine, posted somewhere here as a featured phono, also had a key which matched the "gun metalish" (not really gun metal) finish except mine was the "E" type key.

I'll measure them when I get home from work and post the dimensions of each. You're right, though, this thing is by far the loudest Diamond Disc machine I've ever heard, my NOS gold reproducer sounds amazing on it, the one that came with it needs a rebuild, which I'll be having done soon. It plays OK, but it's a little blasty, thankfully the stylus in it is perfect.

Sean

Congratulations Shawn. What a stunning machine. I wish I had more space for large uprights...
Andreas

That is a great machine---you might want to check, but I believe from old photographs that the grille is in upside-down. It's interesting to see all the variations, but I have a fumed oak C-250 with the battery bracket, but none of the other accoutrements for the electric brake.

Ah, yes, I did figure out the upside down grill and corrected that while I was cleaning it up.

More pics later (well, likely not for a few days, but...)

Sean

Wow, that is a big machine! I didn't think anything was bigger than the C19! I like the oxidized bronze reproducer and horn neck!

Yeah, it's pretty big, but very attractive. I have to get some shots of it now that I've got it cleaned and waxed, it really looks great, especially the contrasts in the blended parts on the drawer and such, really stunning.

I measured just the grills last night and they aren't much different in size: the C-19 is 16 ¾" wide and 13 ¾ high, while the W-250 is 17" wide by 14" high. The actual horn cavity inside the cabinet of the W-250 is much larger though, and I'm pretty sure that's where the extra volume and better tone comes from.

Sean

I can picture it in a period dining room with a set of matching furniture.