The Victor-Victrola Page   

VV 7-11 / VE 7-11 X

RARITY: ¤¤   VALUE:  ¤ 

The VV 7-11 was a moderately-priced "home entertainment center" pairing a Victor Orthophonic (acoustic) phonograph with a RCA Radiola 18. The phonograph featured a two-spring motor and a small "quasi-exponential" horn. The Radiola 18 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.  Interestingly, the relatively-new paper-cone speaker, which provided better sound than did acoustic horns, was used for the radio only; the phonograph was still acoustic (non-electronic) and relied on a torturous sound path routed around the turntable such that the sound emanated from behind the turntable to the listener. This was obviously a highly-compromised exponential horn design, and the sound suffered accordingly when compared to other acoustic phonographs with a more direct sound path (such as the VV 8-35 and others). This also meant that the front doors had to be open to listen to records.
This Victrola could be ordered with either a spring powered phonograph (VV 7-11) or with an electric motor option (VE 7-11).  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 7-11 was introduced in the spring of 1928, and production likely ran for less than 6 months before it was discontinued.  The "tall-boy" cabinet was available with a choice of a walnut or mahogany veneer.  It sold new for $250.00, which equates to approximately $3,800.00 in today's money. The electric motor was a $35.00 option.
Approximately 12,000 VV 7-11 models were produced, and more than 14,000 electric-powered (VE 7-11) versions were made, all during 1928. It became a relatively popular seller when first introduced. But since radio and electronic technology was developing so rapidly in the mid-1920's, the 7-11 became obsolete very quickly; it is likely that many remained unsold in factory inventory, and were sold at discount in late 1928 and through 1929.
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 7-11 to be s/n 555 and the latest to be s/n 11418

The earliest existent VE 7-11 is s/n 573 and the latest is s/n 12522

Do you own a Victrola 7-11? Please take a moment and enter some basic information about your machine into the collector's database by clicking here. No personal information is required.