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The Best Portables
of the World A Consumer Guide to the best
Orthophonic and Viva-Tonal portable phonographs |
PICTURES WILL TAKE A FEW SECONDS TO
LOAD!
Many of us
may have gotten started in the phonograph hobby by finding a small portable at a
flea market or antique store. I still remember how I my attention was captured
by a pristine HMV 102 portable on a Moscow flea market in the summer of 1990. I
was hooked on the old records and Victrolas ever since.
A quality
suitcase portable makes an ideal starter machine for a young person: Often they
still run fine, and they are designed for robustness and durability. A novice
collector may learn about records, needles and how to maintain and service this
mechanism.
And let us
not forget, a high quality Orthophonic portable will sound incredible, it is
truly a concert hall in a suitcase. There are very few full size Victrolas that
can rival the sound of one of the top portable phonographs. And as always – if
one sticks to the major brands, replacement parts, soundboxes and springs are
not difficult to find, even though in most cases they may never be needed.
By the fall
of 1929 a new crop of advanced portable phonographs were available on US and UK
markets. We have assembled the top models (including some slightly later
models) for a critical evaluation of both their construction and performance.
(Click on
photos below for more information on each model)
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“de
luxe” in UK The first
fully “orthophonic” portable on the market. Superb No. 15 Viva-Tonal
soundbox. The somewhat short horn and lack of auto brake seem old-fashioned
by 1929. The quiet OKeh Flyer motor is a little underpowered when playing
worn records. The sound is impressive, full and with good bass. A little
strident on some later records. Sound: Maintenance: Rubber parts in
the soundbox. No other issues. |
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The
ingenious horn, lifting tone arm and compact design make the 202 the finest
portable of the 1920s. The smooth No. 15 or No. 9 soundbox with a solid cast
tone duct provide full sound and great presence. Universal brake for all
records, quiet No. 50 motor with flip-over crank. Also sold as Model 112 and
112A. Sound: Maintenance: Rubber parts in soundbox. Cast tone
arm base may break when abused. Later versions have a brass inset in the tone
arm base which is easier to service. |
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Victor’s
first Orthophonic portable - a gaudy affair in gold painted hardware and gold
crinkle paint in a metal case. Long exponential horn made from heavy steel
plate produces full, bassy sound. First US model with an angled crank, strong
motor. Automatic ratchet brake a little awkward to use. Sound: Maintenance: Soundbox - ball bearings often need
rebuilding, pot metal is usually good. Pot metal tone arm bracket easily
breaks, but can be restored. |
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Edison’s
2-55 knock-off was assembled from ill-fitting parts by Prime Manufacturing.
The long horn made from stiffened cloth is awkwardly routed and not
exponential. Low quality Prime soundbox. Hardware is lacquered brass/ gold
paint. Single spring OKeh Flyer motor has some flutter. A well sealed machine
actually sounds surprisingly decent. Fiddly manual set brake. Sound: Maintenance: Pot metal soundbox often cracked,
unprotected diaphragm may be punctured. Loose tone arm is difficult to seal. |
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Victor’s
last quality portable shows how great a well designed molded fabric horn
can sound. Compact case, low weight and real gold plating make this an
attractive machine. Strong motor with angled crank, novel automatic on/off
brake. Full, present sound; the spiderless Orthophonic soundbox adds
surprising treble detail. Sound: Maintenance: Same issues as 2-55. Riveted tone
arm and spring barrel make service difficult (same problem with late 2-55’s). |
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“The World’s Finest Portable” - HMV
advertisement Sound: Maintenance: No Issues at all. |
Selection Criteria for the Comparison:
We selected the fully
“orthophonic“ top models of major manufacturers. Earlier portables with mica
soundboxes were excluded.
In general, quality portables can be recognized by:
-
an “orthophonic”-style sound box with aluminum diaphragm.
- a large, air-tight and stiff horn, significantly longer than the case.
- a well designed air-tight tone arm with a ball bearing base and a separate
gooseneck.
In
practice this means we have excluded some great portables (like the HMV 101 or
the Victor 2-60) because of their Mica No 4 soundboxes.
Also
second-tier models (like the Columbia 201, the Victor 2-35 or the Edison P-2)
were excluded to limit the comparison to a manageable number.
We will post evaluations of some of these portables separately..
A short history of Portables
The suitcase
phonograph premiered in the trenches of World War I, where the compact British
made Decca portables provided entertainment for the troops. However, in the
early days, "portable" just meant stuffing a motor and a tone arm in a case,
little attention was paid to a proper horn shape or good sound quality.
The early
portables usually were either shrunk table tops, with a tiny horn opening under
the motorboard, or reflector designs, where the tone arm projected the sound
either into a bowl in the lid or into the cavity behind the turntable. Sound
quality was usually very limited.
It took until
1926 with the application of innovations by Western Electric for sound fidelity based on the
principle of matched impedances that better fidelity portables started to
emerge.
To construct
a quality portable, a couple of problems had to be solved:
·
For a shallow motor, the spring barrel
needed to be horizontal. Not a big problem, since European designs (often
imported to the US by Otto Heinemann’s OkeH) had used the horizontal
plate-and-pillar motors for years.
·
The next problem was to fit a long and
stiff horn of exponential shape into a small case. Not a trivial task, since
the exponential horn, supported by the slanted lid, is vital for good bass
and high fidelity. HMV was leading the way with the 1926 HMV 101 portable, which
featured an exponential metal horn that wound its way around the motor and
emerged in the back of the case next to the tone arm.
·
But then the motor and its crank
become a pesky problem: The motor has to be compact enough to be wrapped by the
horn, and the crank, jutting out horizontally from the motor, may actually
block the horn. (a look at the short horn of the Columbia 161, and the
contorted duct of the Edison P-1 illustrate the problem.) Again, HMV led the
way with the angled crank, which was positioned above the horn. It also made
cranking convenient by providing ample clearance on flat ground. The Columbia 202 side-steps this problem
completely with a unique long reflecting horn.
·
Latest to arrive was a fully
“orthophonic” soundbox. While Columbia had their own Viva-Tonal No 15 soundbox
available since 1927, Victor and HMV were notably absent:
Only in 1928 did Victor introduce the fully orthophonic 2-55, and HMV did not
use the 5A soundbox until the 1931 HMV 102 model.
Why this delay? Production
costs may have played a role: The fine No 4 mica soundbox may have been good
enough for the small portables vs the expensive orthophonic soundbox. But one
wonders, what role royalty payments played. Patents for the Orthophonic
Soundbox were held by Wester Electric, and it is notable that HMV tried to get
around WE patents with their own patented horns and soundboxes until finally licensing from WE with the introduction of the
line of Re-Entrant Gramophones with the No. 5 soundbox late 1927.
Victor stopped producing
acoustic Victrolas in summer of 1928 – the same time that the 2-55 appeared. It
may be that WE at this point cut their royalties low enough to allow the use of
orthophonic soundboxes on portables. For HMV the No. 5A orthophonic soundbox
did not appear until the launch of the 102 portable in July 1931.
How do we evaluate a portable?
By design and purpose, a suitcase gramophone is a portable
device that is easy to transport and take around, while providing a great
listening experience.
So
our first look is at the overall bulk and weight of a portable. Everything
being equal, a small, light portable is preferable to a big, bulky one.
Durability
of the cover material is important too.
The
next point is the length and shape of the horn. It is of course easier to put a
long horn in a large case, than it is in a small one.
An easy way of comparison is the “packing efficiency”, which is simply the horn
length less tone arm (the “hidden” portion of the horn) divided by the longest
diagonal of the case. This number (expressed as a percentage) tells us how much
longer the horn is than the longest diagonal of the case.
Some
of the surprising results are that one of the biggest portables, the Columbia
161, has a short horn, totally incommensurate with the case. On the other hand,
the purpose-designed Columbia 202 and the HMV 102 have very long horn in a
compact case.
In
addition to the actual horn length, additional “wings” under the lid serve as effective
horn extensions, when the lid of the portable is slanted during playing, it
will further improve the sound quality.
Going
up from the horn, the tone arm tells us a lot about the portable: As a smooth
continuation of the exponential horn, it provides additional length to the
horn. A good tone arm will have a ball bearing at the base, and an airtight
seal to the horn. There should not be any gaps or play in the different joints
of the tone arm.
Last
but not least, it is the soundbox that converts the mechanical energy into
sound waves. The scientifically designed Columbia Viva-Tonal and HMV/Victor
Orthophonic soundboxes are the pinnacle of soundbox design, and will deliver a
full, even range of frequencies with great treble detail and full bass. A compliant
needle bar pivot, and a well designed aluminum diaphragm are essential for
this.
One
point to keep in mind is the “needle talk”: The face of the diaphragm will
radiate part of the mechanical energy, which may lend a scratchy quality to the
overall sound.
All
well serviced soundbox will exhibit little or no needle talk. In addition, some
designs have the soundbox facing towards the listener, which can exacerbate
needle talk. A soundbox that faces sideways or even backwards during play is
better. Many manufacturers prevent the problem of needle talk by putting a felt
or cloth cover on the soundbox headshell.
The
motor is another indicator of quality: A strong quiet motor will not slow down
when playing a 12” or worn record, playing for at least 5 minutes. While wow or
flutter will not be too bad when listening to pop music, any record with a
bell, piano or clarinet will sound bad when played with a fluttering motor.
The
crank position should not be neglected either, you will find out when you wind
the portable on flat ground:
The
common horizontal crank leaves very little clearance for winding, bruised
knuckles may ensue! Indeed, some portables have such a long crank, that they cannot be wound on flat ground,
only on the edge of a table. The unique Victor/HMV upwards pointing
angled crank leaves plenty of space for winding in any position. The
collapsible crank of Columbia portables needs to be mentioned: It is convenient
enough for winding, and its permanent attachment to the motor makes it
impossible to lose the crank.
After
all these essentials to good phonograph design, let’s have a look at the
“nice-to-have” features: A good size record storage inside the case is
convenient, and the album in the lid of Columbia portables is probably the best
way to safely transport records.
Automatic
brakes are very convenient: A portable with only a manual set brake is outmoded
by 1929. Victor always had their ratchet brake, which only works on Victor/HMV
records. British Columbia deserves credit with their 1929 invention of the
Universal Brake, that is, a brake that will stop records with either a
Victor/HMV elliptical run-off groove, or the spiral groove of other
manufacturers. HMV combined this universal brake with an auto-on feature on
their 1931 HMV 102, which is the ultimate in convenience and utility.
As
a final observation, it is interesting to compare the design philosophies of US
makes versus the British Models:
US
models in general are big and gaudy affairs: Big and heavy cases clad in fancy
alligator or shark skin imitations contradict the idea of easy transport. The
interior is all gilt splendor (often gold paint or lacquered brass), with
little regard to utility or helpful features. But they sound good.
British
models impress by their almost ugly demureness: Small and compact, with a Bauhaus-like efficiency, they combine best possible sound with a small
footprint. Unpretentious, but sturdy Leatherette cover, and simple nickel or
chrome plated hardware convey a no-nonsense utiliy. And for those who are
willing to spend the additional £3 there may be a real leather, gold plated de luxe
version available ….
Maintenance and Problem Areas
The
great thing about portables is that they will play right away, and usually need
little attention. This makes them perfect as a starter machine for a phonograph
novice.
The
worst thing you can do to a portable is to slam the lid while the tone arm is
in the “up” position. You will gouge the lid with the needle, but worse, you
can damage the diaphragm, or even break the tone arm support.
Let’s
go through the critical points from the inside out:
HMV
soundboxes usually have no problems at all, Victor soundboxes have some of the
best pot metal after 1928, they are easily serviced. On Victor/RCA models the ball
bearing needs to be rebuilt, as they were fixed in place with now hardened
rubber cement.
The
Viva-Tonal sound boxes will usually sound fine. However, the soundbox will
benefit from replacement and sealing of the rubber insulator at
the flange. The diaphragm is held by rubber tubing, which can be replaced,
though the originals may be still in decent shape.
A
word of warning: Viva-Tonal diaphragms are very thin, and not clamped like
Victor diaphragms. On all soundboxes with aluminum diaphragms, DO NOT BLOW into the soundbox –
you may pull out and permanently distort the diaphragm.
The
tone arm bracket of Victors is made from stable pot metal, but very thin
dimensions. One dropped lid will break the bracket. It is not too difficult to
strengthen and fix the arm bracket. The ball bearing race needs to be filled
with heavy grease. However, late 2-55s and the 2-65s have a riveted tone arm,
which makes work difficult. The UK
Columbia portables have a cast tone arm base with little problems, however it
can shatter when abused, though that’s rare. The cast bearing race of the earlier
models may be difficult to seal and service, later models (112, 109) have a
brass bearing race on top of the cast base which is easily to open and to service.
Motors
are usually fine, and rarely need to have the spring grease repacked. However,
disassembly and cleaning will make the motor run better. Late Victor 2-55s and
all 2-65s have spring barrels that are riveted shut.
The
cases and cover materials have their own set of problems: British machines usually
have a hard leatherette cover that is resistant to scratches and damage.
However the material may have bubbled from humid storage. This is easy to fix
with some glue injections.
US
Fabrikoid covers are a mixed bag: They are somewhat more susceptible to damage,
and the dried out fabric may flake.
While
Edison and Columbia Fabrikoid covers are usually fine, the Victor and RCA
covers often have big shrinkage gaps at the corners and loose flaps. Filling
the gaps and matching texture and color is not a trivial task, but can be done.
Many thanks
to all the people who helped me on this, Chuck Azzalina for hosting this page,
Robert Baumbach, René Rondeau and James Tennyson for their help and critical
advice, as well as for providing some of the phonographs.
I always
welcome your comments and thoughts:
sgimips1
“at” yahoo “dot” com
Further Reading and Sources
Robert W
Baumbach: Look for the Dog. Illustrated Guide to Victor Talking Machines, Los
Angeles, Calif., 2005
Robert W Baumbach: Columbia Phonograph Companion, Woodland Hills, Calif., 1996
Dave Cooper: His Master's Voice: The Perfect Portable Gramophone, London, 2003
George L Frow: The Edison Disc Phonographs and the Diamond Discs, Los Angeles,
Calif., 2001
US Patents: 1,713,022; 1,685,872; 1,862,700; 1,956,708
UK Patents: 268,257; 315,027; 332,024; 286,755;