In the mid-1960s, the V-M Corporation designed a Pro Series changer to compete with the ones Zenith and RCA had released at that time. Not to be outdone, VM spared no expense to bring technology to the record player that was far ahead of its time.

This series of players all have a specially designed vertical tone arm pivot to minimize wow, and a photo electric light beam trip system to eliminate trip friction. Turntable stops platter when a record is being lowered. It is driven by a synchronous 24 pole motor. But it’s enduring value among collectors lies in its ability to change any size record at all.

First came the prototype, designed by Gerry Freier. It was finalized/photographed in May 1965 by VM, and they made a run of them in December to send to the major console makers. Around 1966, Westinghouse was the first company to return their prototype to VM with an order. It has been seen in at least three different consoles by them with Westinghouse Solid State Series 300, Models V-254#, with the changer Model number 670V044D01.

Later in 1966, VM decided to make more for themselves to sell. They were not branded Voice of Music, simply “Professional” and was then offered as VM Model 1701 with modest design improvements through independent distributors. Years later, they earned the right to brand them, and then offered a faceplate with VM Professional Series branding.

Philco-Ford took the bait shortly after. Rebranded as the Philco Professional C-1001, they fitted them in the three most premium new consoles that they released for the 1968 model year. This was the first year for Philco where they applied integrated circuitry, they debuted IC in over 85% of their consumer line. They were included in models Q-1793WA-126; Q-1795PC; and Q-1799PC (the latter being the star of the video). Nine different models altogether used this same chassis from the photo fact, but only 3 featured this special professional changer. The special 3 all have 18 inch Philco drivers to deliver you 300+ watts of pure power. The original list price for Model Q 1799 was over $800, but after Christmas in January 1969, this beauty had slashed to just $550 (!) in an ad for Vegas Village department store in southern Nevada.

Later in 1968, Philco’s debut line for ‘69 featured a dozen premium console offerings with only a third of the peak watt power. Philco used all cheap plastic and BSR changers after 1970.

Gary at VM also lists on his website an Esquire AND a Hallicrafters model of this changer too. While at least one Hallicrafters Pro console can be accounted for in America, no one has seen the Esquire, which brought confusion. “Esquire” was the name of a popular radio brand in 1950s-60s America; it also appears to have been used as a marque for Canadian “Electrohome” consoles around 1966-7, sitting neatly inside the production dates.

Finally, for the Christmas season in 1970, the Sherwood company came to VM with a custom order for components. The SEL-100 looks snazzier than any other version that preceded it, with removable head shell and lightning fast motor by comparison. VM would bank again on these improvements in 1970 as a 1971 model: The Model 1555 is featured elsewhere here on YouTube. Then finally it was offered in ‘72 available with single play function, Model 1579 CB. Vinyl record sales would continue to climb in the 1970s, but the market for premium console stereos practically went out the window with ever inflating cost. V-M, by 1973 quit manufacture of this turntable and spent the next three years catering to the needs of other companies and their units- until the business stalled.

Any Version of this record player is undeniably rare and sought after. Most units had been trashed, as the proprietary servicers for this equipment started to disappear from the fabric of America. Besides the fact that they were miserably difficult to service, they often had bugs when they were fixed by lesser technicians. A complete tear down of this unit suggested that the last Philco repair man in 1985 left out an important washer for the arm mechanism, which got replaced.

If you have miraculously discovered one of these changers as a component or inside of an old console, you can be assured that it is likely not completely functional, as-is. The most common problems when we find these are broken and bent spindles, rotten brake pads for TT and the belt is usually trash, if it hasn’t already slipped off or snapped. The tone arm assembly is the most delicate part, and calibration can be easily lost. Also, the 1970s versions of this changer have faster motors which tended to burn out quicker. If you can even find one that would need attention, shipping to a servicer would not be an option as they are more delicate than most jukeboxes and can be permanently disabled with the slightest packing jolt. But once you have everything going, you get the quietest platter and highest Fidelity the Summer of Love had to offer!

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