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VV 7-25 / VE 7-25 X

RARITY: ¤¤¤   VALUE:  ¤ 

Like the other models in the Victrola "7 Series", the VV 7-25 was a "home entertainment center" priced in the upper-middle range, pairing a Victor Orthophonic (acoustic) phonograph with a RCA Radiola 17. The phonograph featured a two-spring motor and a "folded" (re-entrant) horn. The Radiola 17 was an advanced  'TRF' (Tuned Radio Frequency) set that required only a single knob for tuning, rather than the typical array of knobs that was previously required to select a radio station. In addition, it did not require the use of dry-cell batteries, which would require replacement after long periods of radio use.  A large mechanical-valve "switch" would change the routing from the radio's electromagnetic driver or from the phonograph's tonearm directly to the horn's "neck". Since the newly-developed paper-cone speaker, which provided better sound (and eliminated the large mechanical switching valve) had become popular by the end of 1927, the 7-25 was essentially obsolete when it was introduced.
This Victrola could be ordered with either a spring powered phonograph (VV 7-25) or with an electric motor option (VE 7-25).  To clarify this confusing terminology, the electric-motor designation refers to the phonograph motor only; in both models the radio was AC powered. VE versions simply eliminated the need to hand-wind the phonograph motor.
The 7-25 was introduced in the fall of 1927, and production ran for only a few months before it was discontinued.  The relatively plain "boxy" cabinet was finished in a two-tone mahogany veneer.  It sold new for $385.00, which equates to over $5,700.00 in today's money. The electric motor was a $35.00 option.
Approximately 4,000 VV 7-25 models were produced, and the same number of electric-powered (VE 7-25) versions were made, all during 1927. But since radio and electronic technology was developing so rapidly in the mid-1920's, the 7-25 became obsolete very quickly; it is likely that many remained unsold in factory inventory, and were sold at discount throughout 1928.
The high cost of restoration of these early electronic sets limits the interest of many collectors today.

The current survival database shows the earliest existent VV 7-25 to be s/n 605 and the latest to be s/n 3955

The earliest existent VE 7-11 is s/n 620 and the latest is s/n 3627

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