Just bought a Sony ST-S7
- Thread starter Whitehall
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Whitehall
Super Member
Here's Axel's writeup on the system:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyvault/SCENARIOS7/SCENARIOS7.html
And TIC's:
http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/reviewsO-Z.html
Ran it last night off the twinlead dipole and picked up over thirty stations in stereo. Sensitivity seems better than quoted at 2.5 microvolts mono. Even got to listen to KPIG, my gold standard for reception. Usually I have trouble recieving this station even off my roof-top antenna with rotator but the atmospherics seem exceptionally good here. Sound quality was pretty good too but I reserve a final opinion on that.
http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyvault/SCENARIOS7/SCENARIOS7.html
And TIC's:
http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/reviewsO-Z.html
Ran it last night off the twinlead dipole and picked up over thirty stations in stereo. Sensitivity seems better than quoted at 2.5 microvolts mono. Even got to listen to KPIG, my gold standard for reception. Usually I have trouble recieving this station even off my roof-top antenna with rotator but the atmospherics seem exceptionally good here. Sound quality was pretty good too but I reserve a final opinion on that.
redcoates7
still learning...
Did you buy thta over at the Sound Well in Berkeley? They had the matching integrated too...no remote though.
Cool looking machine. I had the drawer-load cassette deck from the system and it was very cool...great design and very good sound
Cool looking machine. I had the drawer-load cassette deck from the system and it was very cool...great design and very good sound
Whitehall
Super Member
Got it at Soundwell. Didn't need the integrated amp. They had it set up to demo the tuner off the amp but they couldn't get the amp to work so pulled it off the floor to investigate.
It is a nice, clean look but I was disappointed at how light it was constructed. It sure LOOKS more solid.
The owner's manual claims that any Sony remote with a little symbol like an "R" will work.
It is a nice, clean look but I was disappointed at how light it was constructed. It sure LOOKS more solid.
The owner's manual claims that any Sony remote with a little symbol like an "R" will work.
Vinyl Rules!
Well-Known Member
You probably bought it for much less than the guy that's been trying to sell one on eBay for over a month. I believe he started the price at $229 and now it's down to a $159 opening bid and he's never had a bidder. Maybe because his first few listings stated it was part of a state-of-the-art high-end Sony separates system that sold for over $1,600 and the tuner sold for over $600.Whitehall said:
Given it's a relatively newer design, I was actually not surprised by your comment about the weight: Sony's VCR product line is a perfect example - Their first VCR's weighed over 50 lbs and the last one they made was only about 6 or 7 lbs.
People piss and moan about the decline of many of the major brands like Sony, but in many companies the engineers have been moved to the basement whilst the beancounters and talking heads got moved upstairs to the corner offices.
And people wonder why the interest in vintage keeps growing: I'm sure your tuner was more than competitive with the designs it competed with in the early 1990's, but I'll also wager any mid to high price Sony tuner from the 1970's through the 1980's will out-perform your new ST-S7 and sound better. YMMV, of course.
Whitehall
Super Member
I just posted a longish review of the ST-S7 on the Yahoo FMTuner Group. Maybe TIC will pick it up but they no longer offer an email for contributions. Posted a couple of photos too. Although light, the construction quality is more than adequate and a cut above Sony's JX series, et al. For example, the top and bottom covers had vibration attenuating materials on them.
I did a comparison of the Sony vs. my Philips 673. The Philips definitely had superior sound but with the Sony (and great atmospherics tonight) I was able to listen to KBOQ for the first time, the classical station in Carmel, 50 miles away on the other side of Loma Prieta. With the Philips, I couldn't reject the adjacent cowboy station at 95.3. The cowboy station's broadcast antenna is on Loma Prieta on the line of sight with Carmel. I had to use narrow bandwidth, no muting, and pre-set the frequency then twist the antenna until I heard the Brandenburg Concertos rise above the twanging.
The McIntosh MX113 also sounded better even needing an alignment and recap. However, the Sony didn't sound bad at all. I'd rate it in sound quality above the Sanyo Plus T35 and the Denon TU660 I had and sold.
The guy on eBay is ambitious. There has been NO information on this tuner that I could find. Sony ST-5000FW have been selling not much above that price and is a well known and understood device. If sound quality is most important, I'd get a ST-5000FW first even for more bucks. The S7 is very convenient and has good adjacent and alternate channel performance. Its cute too.
Now that I've done the homework for us all, people can reasonably pay more than I did for the S7 since the risk is much less assuming you trust my report). I'd like to read a comparison of the S7 and other Sony digitals like the 730ES or 707.
All in all, a decent tunerwith nice style, pleasant if not exemplary sound quality, and lots of convenience. Glad I spent my $55 for it - that's a bargain.
I did a comparison of the Sony vs. my Philips 673. The Philips definitely had superior sound but with the Sony (and great atmospherics tonight) I was able to listen to KBOQ for the first time, the classical station in Carmel, 50 miles away on the other side of Loma Prieta. With the Philips, I couldn't reject the adjacent cowboy station at 95.3. The cowboy station's broadcast antenna is on Loma Prieta on the line of sight with Carmel. I had to use narrow bandwidth, no muting, and pre-set the frequency then twist the antenna until I heard the Brandenburg Concertos rise above the twanging.
The McIntosh MX113 also sounded better even needing an alignment and recap. However, the Sony didn't sound bad at all. I'd rate it in sound quality above the Sanyo Plus T35 and the Denon TU660 I had and sold.
The guy on eBay is ambitious. There has been NO information on this tuner that I could find. Sony ST-5000FW have been selling not much above that price and is a well known and understood device. If sound quality is most important, I'd get a ST-5000FW first even for more bucks. The S7 is very convenient and has good adjacent and alternate channel performance. Its cute too.
Now that I've done the homework for us all, people can reasonably pay more than I did for the S7 since the risk is much less assuming you trust my report). I'd like to read a comparison of the S7 and other Sony digitals like the 730ES or 707.
All in all, a decent tunerwith nice style, pleasant if not exemplary sound quality, and lots of convenience. Glad I spent my $55 for it - that's a bargain.
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axel
Super Member
Vinyl Rules!
Well-Known Member
Would love to know more history about this unit.axel said:
The well-written report(s) both here and in the TIC Yahoo Group indicate it is a very sensitive and selective unit, though perhaps not one of Sony's best-sounding tuners.
Sony (along with Pioneer and Denon and Marantz) made special units for the UK market, but I don't recall ever seeing any ads for this equipment line in any of the UK publications.
The styling of these units is unique and one would either hate it or love it. Makes one wonder just what markets and/or countries they were built for?
Anyone know?
Whitehall
Super Member
I'll try and scan the owners manual for the S7 and send to Axel and whomever else wants a copy. Got a higher resolution nudie too.
Axel's ES nudie is much more complicated than the S7. Oddly, Sony's specs for the S7 are not all that great. My DX report might just be an artifact of the marine layer channeling the RF over the hills from Carmel. The TIC guys are much more broadly experienced than I. Still, my experience of the S7 beating the Philips is a valid data point for what it's worth.
Axel's ES nudie is much more complicated than the S7. Oddly, Sony's specs for the S7 are not all that great. My DX report might just be an artifact of the marine layer channeling the RF over the hills from Carmel. The TIC guys are much more broadly experienced than I. Still, my experience of the S7 beating the Philips is a valid data point for what it's worth.
