1957 RCA VICTOR ORTHOPHONIC HIGH FIDELITY RECORD PLAYER

[stephlovesliz]

have one to sell

[stephlovesliz]

have one to sell

[calemstevens33]

I've got the same player and was wondering if you know of anywhere that sells replacement motor turrets or even replacement motors. Mine is really noisy, and it doesn't spin fast enough... Beautiful player and beautiful sound!

[frangiul13]

@calemstevens33 Hi there! You can try looking on eBay. I've seen a few turrets on there from time to time. You can also try RCA Victor Land on the Internet. Good Luck!

[cubachang]

good record!

[321record]

HI by the way another cool record player but I was wanting to know who sings that song no that 45 that song jams thank you again.

[frangiul13]

@321record Thanks for the comment! The song is Love Town by Booker T. Newbury

[MichaelJHuman]

Nice tonal balance, though it's hard to tell on my crappy laptop speakers. Sounds like a disco era classic.

[jaworskij]

@MichaelJHuman The singer's voice sounds a bit like Rick Astley.

[cubachang]

@jaworskij that was way before rick astley! LOL it does not sound like Rick at all!

[tammybeatty]

Hi There! I have a the orthophonic high fidelity record player. I found it free. Someone was giving it away. It has a problem- when I turn it on the record drops and the needle moves over but it picks the needle back up again and won't finish playing. Do you have a clue what might be wrong with mine? Any help would be greatly appreciated. the little round metal piece that goes down and up. Keeps the needle from staying. Located in the back to the left of the base of the needle arm. Thx.

[teendude16]

The retro stuff is nice, I like to look at them, but the thing is, generally they are off speed, and the tonearm weight is too heavy, also the needles they take are record wearing out kind. I was told that by an expert, I fooled around with some of these retro stuff too, and damaged records because I didn't know before, that they damage records. Thx.

I

[frangiul13]

All depends on what type of needle you are using. If you modify the needle/cartridge to a lightweight stereo cartridge there is very minimal wear. I've been playing the same lp's on this unit and my other vintage unts for years and years, and none of them are worn and/or distorted.

[wazooavenue]

I love all this old stuff and what led me here is the record player and record collection I just acquired. I LOVE THIS STUFF and want to learn something about it but can't come up with anything on the web. It's a Capitol Tri Speakers model 932, that's all I know.

Ooh...

I'll send a video response. COLLECTORS PLEASE HELP.

Thanks all.

[stebearleeds]

Hey i'm in the UK and i have one of these RCA record player and i love it i play all my records 45's from USA and Europe on it as can stack them god knows wot i will do went need new needle

one thing i have play a few 78's 1st to bring the 45 speed up to speed if play 45's 1st it runs at 44 or 43 why ?????

[peppoj]

You sound like Johnny...

[frangiul13]

Too bad I didn't show off my axe.....

[drh4683]

Nice unit! Back in its day, that thing probably played alot of Perry Como albums...

[frangiul13]

Thanks! It proudly sits in my nostalgia room and now it plays mostly Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, and the Who....

[nakamichiguy]

Awesome unit! I love these old HiFi machines and I'm so happy to see others love them as well. Too many have been thrown out or trashed or parted out on eBay. Oy! Nice work!

[LtColumboLAPD]

Please let us know the model number. There are so many Orthophonic High Fidelty models - it gets confusing. Oh, one more thing...you mean to tell me you have an Astatic 89T Cartridge in there, the same type used in those old classroom record players? Holy Mackerel!

[frangiul13]

This is Model SHF-8 and yes, it has the plug-in type powerpoint cartridge. The sound is terrific, mainly due to such a nice heavy duty amp.

[destinjohnny]

I just bought on for 25 bucks. Does anyone know what they are worth???

[73ccougar]

You are correct, only two wires. I just spent an hour and half taking the cartridge out, reshaping the metal clip back in, put he cartridge back in, played one Sam Cook song, then I tried flipping the needle, it all fell out!!!! Rats, I think I will search for a new cartridge and needle, thanks again for all your help!

[73ccougar]

Pulled the cartridge out, it states sonotone on one side-7240 on the other. Do the sonotones play stereo sound??

[frangiul13]

If there are 4 wires/leads coming from the cartridge, then yes. But with your unit, I don't think so, although they will track a stereo record and will have "stereo" sound if an extension speaker is hooked up to the AUX jack located on the unit.

[73ccougar]

Looking for some help!! As you know I have this same unit. I have been rocking along on what appears to be the factory cartridge and needle. Both are dark brown, sytlus has no markings other than LP/LP. I was putting on Sam Cooke this morning and the needle fell out. I tried to put the needle back in and the metal clip holding in the stylus also fell off-old age has its issues! Guess I cannot fix this? Where do I order new cartridge and needle-what brand and # do you recommend, bummed out!

[frangiul13]

This is a Sonotone cartridge/needle combination. Not sure of the number, but go on to eBay and search for seller: Carolesneedles

Try to get the number off of the Sonotone cartridge and contact the seller. She is one of my primary sources for OEM needles and cartridges.

Good luck...

[86ahb]

My parents had the exact model that was delegated to the basement but in a blond finish. It always played great and a nicely designed amp in it too with those 6V6's in push-pull configuration! Enjoy!!

[73ccougar]

Just wanted you to know I cleaned all the parts like you suggested and she is humming baby!! Just played some Queen, Steely Dan, and Rare Earth. I am a happy man. Still got some more things to iron out, the unit makes a creak when the needle arm is returning at the end of the album. I thought I had oiled everything but more to do. I did locate a repair manual on line that will be here tomorrow. Hope to a video soon

[frangiul13]

Alright! Sounds like you are well on your way. I love it when one of these units are resurrected and we get to hear them sing again. Glad to assist! :)

[73ccougar]

Wanted you to know I am making steady progress. I found some groumets that almost worked, stacked the old grouments on top of the thinner new ones-fits nice and snug. Great sound, a steady buzz. it was suggested it could be a capacitor or bad ground. Speed is still moody, sometimes plays great, other times just a bit slow on 45/33. Keep the tips coming-I am the rookie!

[frangiul13]

Keep it up. These record changers are a bit tempermental, but good lubrication on the idler wheel shafts, combined with a thorough rubdown of rubber revitalizer on the drive wheels will improve the performance.

[73ccougar]

I just purchased this identical unit. It is in great shape, seller said it sounded great. I stressed to have it shipped in bubble wrap, dude sent it in pocorn packaging. I do not know anything about these things.The motor is laying loose in the bottom of the unit. When I turn it on it lights up low hum, but does not turn. Can you give me some idea where the motor is suppose to be mounted?? Help!!!

sammy j

[frangiul13]

Sorry to hear about your Orthophonic player. Some folks just have no common sense when it comes to packing fragile items.

The motor is mounted directly under the turntable, and there are 3 rubber motor mounts ( that areprobably deteriorated due to age) that take up the three holes on the motor bracket.

Good luck resurecting your player! Would love to see a video of it :)

[73ccougar]

Will you give me one last tip. I want to carefull remove the on-off switch so I can lift the turntable out of the cabinet to get a better look under neath. I will not bother you after that. She looks identical to yours-no back knicks, I will remove the finish and put a new on top of the factory stain.

Thanks

sammy j

[frangiul13]

The entire turntable unit should lift out. You need to disconnect the 3-prong plug that comes from the turntable and plugs into the amplifier.

[dewey70]

Wow, it looks and sounds excellent!!

[Anderskh]

I like to play the RCA racords from the same time period on mine.

Love to play Belefonte's Matilda from the live at carnegie hall 2 record set.

If i get a better webcam or a decent camcorder i'll put mine up.

[wilkes85]

Ah, good ol' RCA Victor!

[damusician]

question: what did you use to clean the record changer and make it look very nice.

[frangiul13]

Hey M! I use a commercial grade cleaner called 8 Ball. It removes years of grime and leaves a nice shiny finish.

[vinylman86]

where can i find those at?

[frangiul13]

Sorry, gave you the wrong name. It's Speedball Heavy Duty Cleaner by Butcher's I get this from work, but I just looked and it's available online from many sites. Google the name and a bunch of sites sell it. Buy the one in the spray bottle.

[MediaBoomtown]

Oh yes. You're right. I haven't used it for a while and forgot. It was my grandfather's, and I kept it to run the stereo RCA plug out to a CD burner to record 78's.

[MediaBoomtown]

I have this same machine. What a rich, deep sound...from ONE SPEAKER! Great, man. Great.

[frangiul13]

Thanks for the comment! These units actually have three speakers, so you may want to take a look inside of yours and you will be pleasantly surprised to find woofers AND tweeters!

[cracks21229]

What a sound. Man, you can't beat that with any digital crap.

[frangiul13]

Yes, RCA Orthophonics sound the BEST!

[coondogtheman1234]

this thing sounds awesome and looks great, is there any way to connect an aux device up to this unit maybe an ipod or a cd player? sorry cracks21229 lol

[Trance88]

Nothing can be hooked up to these old units. Just flop a record on and let it play.

[coondogtheman1234]

im sure there is a way, you just need to get between the preamp and main amp and tie in there, thats what i like about these old units you can rig them, unlike modern rubbish which has parts the size of grains of sand and rigging isnt possible

[rodmauldin]

you can't beat this player!

[frangiul13]

Thanks! Take a look at the video of my PORTABLE Orthophonic that is in MINT condition!

[bURRkEEF]

Awesome! How wobbly are the legs that go with it? I know mine doesn't wobble unless you touch it. :)

[frangiul13]

Not too wobbly. The legs are screwed in nice and tight. Note the rare white stablizer pads on the bottom of each leg. These usually got lost and are VERY rarely seen.

BTW: The sound on this wood model blows away the portable Orthophonic (beleive it or not!) although BOTH have extremely deep, rich tone. This is why these units are VERY collectible!! Enjoy...

[Anderskh]

I have one with its original sonotone cartridge and I replaced the needle and really does sound great for what it is.

I replaced those little belts for the turrents and the speed is stable.

[frangiul13]

Yes, the turret drive system is a cantancterous little bugger to work on!

[evster59]

That sound's and looks great. I have the orthophonic magic eye you commented on, and yes it has a phono and aux input. It still has the original tubes. Thanks for sharing your great hobby.

[frangiul13]

Quite welcome!! Looking forward to sharing some more videos these great old machines.

[mikni101]

Hehe, sounds more like "Booker Newberry III - Love Town", 1983 ! ! ;-)

[frangiul13]

You know your 80's music. Absolutely correct, and the song is on the Boardwalk Records label... ;)

[BrooklynMouse]

Yep! That's the song "Lovetown" by Booker Newberry III, if you want to hear the whole song, go to VinylMorpher's vids.

[VSFY]

How much would one of these cost?

[maynardcat]

I have very fond memories of this RCA record player. It was my first introduction to high fidelity. On the way home from school we would stop at an RCA dealership and play it until the salesman ran us off. It sounded great then and still does today.

[frangiul13]

Thanks for the nice comment! Yes, this is a great sounding unit and I was really amazed at how nicely it cleaned up.

[vinylman86]

most ppl would consider hifi 'big stereo sound' not those smaller sets from the 50's and 60's. even those school record players are hifi as well.

[southjk]

great sounding unit....I've got two of those changers and have had trouble getting the right speed....with that goofy multi turet speed assembly...good to here one thats working properly...that must also have the beefier 6V6 tube amp...some of those had fairly puny amps. thanks for posting

[frangiul13]

Thanks southjk! The changer works perfectly and the idlers have excellent grip. Yes, this one does have the beefy amp and three good sized speakers. I love how the two side speakers are angled outward, which provides that strong, room-filling sound that the RCA Orthophonics are known for.

[frangiul13]

I knew you would be on top of this! I just got it today from a really nice guy. I totally wasn't expecting such a nice unit! Doesn't she look and sound beautiful! No legs, but I have it propped up and aimed into the room. Yes, my 1956 RCA 9-ES-6H has the same cartridge and sounds terrific as heard in the video.

[vinylman86]

btw, this is damusician himself. this account is for record vids only.

[frangiul13]

I know, I was expecting you any minute!! :) How's that for an awesome 80's song!!

[damusician]

anything sounds good on it. thanx 4 mentioning me!

[frangiul13]

Quite welcome, my friend. I know you would appreciate nice stuff!

[frangiul13]

Listen to how the bass and tone changes once I close the lid. The sound improves immensely!!

[vinylman86]

omg, i want that! do you have the 4 leg for it? the 89t cartridge is the one in my califone record player. 89t is the ones found in those school record players. is that the same cartridge in your other rca player?

[frangiul13]

My friend that I got this from found the legs!! I'm picking them up tomorrow morning. Will post another YouTube video with the legs installed.