Comment by thereallyniceman on August 22, 2013 at 18:27

Hey Marc,

I was a bit busy last month and missed this post. It looks like a nice project. I am sure it will be a lovely addition to your home when restored. I have an old HMV 102 portable.

I notice that the sound quality is quite poor. Maybe the record is worn, but more likely the sound box needs work? My 102 sounds quite good and much less "tinny" even for an old 78rpm portable machine.

Have you seen this website?     GRAMOPHONES

It gives information on what to check when the sound is very "tinny" and thin:

Poor Sound Quality from your records 

You will not get CD quality sound from your 78's, but the sound obtained should be perfectly acceptable without distortion or sounding tinny. In the background you usually experience record surface noise.

Some explanations for poor quality sound:-

The main culprit is - Has the needle been changed in living memory? Ideally the Needle should be changed after playing each record side (see the topic on this webpage "When should I change my Gramophone Needle").

The Soundbox is the part that holds the needle. This contains a diaphragm made of mica (clear plastic appearance) or metal tinfoil usually protected by a metal cover. The diaphragm is usually held in place by rubber gaskets. Over the years the gaskets harden or the diaphragm can get damaged this can be the causes of raucous or a tinny sound especially with metal diaphragms. In many cases Soundboxes can be rebuilt with new parts, if you email I will put you in contact with a couple of competent Gramophone Engineers. Some Soundboxes especially on cheaper gramophones are of one piece construction and cannot be repaired others have a pot-metal back which goes brittle and disintegrates upon undoing screws. If the Soundbox cannot be serviced, consider a replacement, they start at about £20.

It can be said the greater the unobstructed distance from the diaphragm to the mouth of the horn; the better the sound quality. Some cheap portables have no internal horn and the sound comes from the Soundbox straight out of the back of the gramophone, do not expect glorious bass tones from these. Having said this, only a short distance from the diaphragm to the mouth of the horn is enough to drastically improve sound quality. After all, if you cup your hands around your mouth your voice is clearer at a greater distance. My wife does not need to cup her hands!

If volume is a problem see the topic on this webpage "Gramophone Volume to Loud / Soft - what can be done?"

The use of soft needles tend to improve sound quality, but at the expense of volume.

Finally the obvious reason - 78's do wear out; in many cases caused by not changing gramophone needles regularly. Wear is sometimes evidenced by a slight grey appearance to the grooves"

Good luck and please keep us informed of progress of your restoration and when we can hear Raymond and his  Band in all their glory  :-)

Comment by Anthony Derycke on October 17, 2015 at 17:38

my dog listen an HMV :)

Comment by thereallyniceman on October 18, 2015 at 16:55

Animal cruelty!

Poor dog...

I assume that it was a banjo tune.

;-))

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