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Sony mid 70's top of the line vintage gear

Samppo

Samppo

Member
Hello everyone

I've recently acquired a vintage set of Sony TAE-8450 pre-amp and the matching power-amp TAN-8550, but i´m still missing a tuner and record player of the same model series. So now I'm left wondering what the matching tuner could have been.

Searching the net ended up with not much at all. The only thing I found was references to models ST-2950, ST-3950, ST-4950 and ST-5950. I would assume the top model tuner was named ST-8950, as all sony equipment in those times followed the consistent parallell 2xxx, 3xxxx, 4xxx, 5xxx, 8xxx series.

Also the line-up of Sony turntables of those times is a mystery for me and maybe also other Sony enthusiasts. The top model was apparently the PS 8750.

Still, it seems like not that many collect vintage Sony's, at least there's not much talk about them compared to eg. Marantz, Kenwood or Pioneer. So let's hear it from the rest of you Sony freaks, what kind of treasures do you own? :)

Btw. just wondering if anyone happens to have an extra Sony brochure, or copy/digital copy up for sale with the before mentioned equipment from the mid 70's ?

Cheers
Samuel
 
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jaa-a

Kyllä taitaa olla sama kuin sukkaan puhaltaisi jos täältä infoa löytyy. Ei muuta kuin Springairilta tilaus päälle :)
 
Re: jaa-a

Originally posted by kildorf
Kyllä taitaa olla sama kuin sukkaan puhaltaisi jos täältä infoa löytyy. Ei muuta kuin Springairilta tilaus päälle :)
Click to expand...



We need that in laymans terms!
 
From an eBay ad for mid 70's vintage Sony components:

Brochure #1: Catalog DSP-106A

RECEIVERS: STR-6800SD; STR-5800SD; STR-4800SD; STR-3800; STR-2800; STR-1800
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS: TA-8650; TA-5650; TA-4650; TA-3650; TA-2650
TUNERS: ST-5950SD; ST-4950; ST-3950SD; ST-2950SD
POWER AMPLIFIERS: TAN-8550; TAN-5550
PREAMPLIFIERS: TAE-8450; TAE-5450
SPEAKER SYSTEMS: SSU-1800; SSU-2000; SSU-1250; SSU-1050
HEADPHONES: ECR-500 Electret type with power supply
TURNTABLES: PS-8750; PS-4750; PS-4300; PS-3750; PS-3300; PS-2700; PS-1700
SYSTEM SELECTOR: SB-5335

Brochure #2: Catalog C-7021

RECEIVERS: STR-7800SD; STR-6800SD; STR-5800SD; STR-4800SD; STR-3800; STR-2800; STR-1800
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS: TA-8650; TA-5650; TA-4650; TA-3650; TA-2650
TUNERS: ST-5950SD; ST-4950; ST-3950SD; ST-2950SD
POWER AMPLIFIERS: TAN-8550; TAN-5550
PREAMPLIFIERS: TAE-8450; TAE-5450
SPEAKER SYSTEMS: SSU-4000; SSU-3000; SSU-2000; SSU-1250; SSU-1050
HEADPHONES: ECR-500 Electret type with power supply
TURNTABLES: PS-X7; PS-X6; PS-X5; PS-T3; PS-T2; PS-1100
 
Thanks guys for some great information. Apparently I've got to be on the look out for a ST-5950 :)

kildorf: already been in contact with the guys at Springair:cool:
 
I own a Sony STR-7800SD, and it is a HEAVY, HUGE beast! Haven't ever fired it up, though. It seems to be in good shape, "preserved" by a thick layer of tar & niccotine. Yep, whoever owned this before was a real chain-smoker. I wish there was some way to dip the whole thing in a vat of solvent. The smoke got way inside.

fini
 
Fini: that must be one beast!
How much does it weigh? I've only come across the STR-5800, which is already an impressive receiver
Would you have some pictures to share?

Sam
 
Sam,
It's fairly deep in storage, but I will make an effort to dig it out to weigh and photograph it in the next few days. I probably ought to give it a bit of an audition, while I'm at it. It really does need the audio gear equivallent of a power wash. It looks nice under the crud...

fini
 
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One thing that I've found to be very effective at removing cigarette tar, is Windex with rubbing alcohol mixed together, applied with an old toothbrush. Cuts thru and takes most all cigarette yellow stuff off of metal, plastic and glass. I'd be hesitant to use it on un-varnished (not shiny finish) wood... but as long as you're sparing, it probably won't hurt. Just be sure to follow with a good dose of lemon oil or tung oil, to "re-nourish" the wood afterwards.

CAVEAT!!! Make sure, that you test the Windex/alcohol mixture on a tiny corner of the lettering somewhere... I've never had it remove lettering, but there's always a chance of a first, I guess. I've had stuff like "Purple Stuff" flat-out remove the "Technics" logo from a receiver before, so I've learned to be a bit cautious...

As for the inside- I'd really just remove the dust bunnies, and dust off everything with a paintbrush and vacuum cleaner. The tar really doesn't seem to hurt much, on a circuit board, IME. If you're really worried, that "Blue Shower" kinda electronic parts cleaner, may do some good at getting the stuff off boards and components inside.

That, and some DeOxit R5 sprayed into the controls, excercising the controls thru their ranges, and it oughtta be up-and-running in no time!

Regards,
Gordon.
 
I use straight alcohol with a lot of success on tar and grunge. It seems very safe but may take a few more applications that the Windex/alcohol mixture.

Paul
 
Great Sony Stuff!

Just Picked up a mint Sony PS-X6 Turntable with a busted Stanton 681EEE Cart for $10 at the local Thrift today.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3056920911&category=48649

This is a very well built, quality piece, and heavy.

Replaced the headshell with a Pickering XV15-1200E Cart, and its spinning The Doobie Brothers "Minute By Minute" right now.

Don't know why Sony is not on the Top Ten list of vintage stuff, but, I for one, am glad!

That just leaves more stuf for me. :D
 
I wish there would come a time I'd find a str-7800 at a thrift store :eek:

How widely and for how long did Sony use the VFets in their line-up? Did they improve the design in some way through the years?

How about the TAN-8250 power amp? Some say it has normal power transistors. I've only seen a pic of it in the tae-8450 owners manual.

Help me out guys, I wasn't even born back in those times so I can't possibly know :D

Samuel
 
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Sony V-FET integrated and power amps were made from ~1975 - 1980.
These are the V-FET items from my first post:

INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS: TA-8650; TA-5650; TA-4650
POWER AMPLIFIERS: TAN-8550; TAN-5550

I own the TA-4650 (since new) and a TAN-5550 (since last year). The TAN-5550 was just restored by EchoWars and the TA-4650 will go to him next year for restoration.

I believe you are correct about the TAN-8250 power amp not being a V-FET item.
 
TA-1140 integrated amplifier

I found a TA-1140 for next to nothing at a market once. I used it for a while before I got a H/K receiver. I think I remember there was some slight problem: When the amp had been running for about 5-30 minutes there was some noise (can't remember if it was from the pre amp or power amp), rather quiet but quite audible; it sounded a little like the noise between stations on a FM radio, combined with a more bubbling sound. If I left the amp on for a few hours the noise usually disappeared, probably because the faulty component worked better when warm enough. Is it worth fixing?

I'm not sure how good the amp actually is. I suspect that this model probably was sold under a different model number in some countries, because I get rather few hits on Google.

My Swedish 1973 HiFi market overview gives the following data (translated by me):

Max power at 4 ohm: 2x50 W
Max power at 8 ohm: 2x40 W
Distorsion at max power: 0,1 %
Distorsion at 6W/channel: 0,05 %
Intermodulation: 0,1 %
Frequency response: 15-80 000 Hz
Efficiency bandwidth: 6-35 000 Hz

Anyone with experience from this model?
 
I had one of those. It was marketed as the TA-1150 in the U.S.. Rated at 30wpc@8 ohms. In fact it was my first stereo gear along with a Garrard Z100 turntable with a V15 Type II cartridge and a pair of AR6 speakers. The TA-1150 was quad ready, you could use it as a 4 channel controller for those early SQ quad matrix recordings.
 
Just have to chime in for some updates on my system since last time as the thread seem to be coming up again :)

I finally convinced the previous owner of my Sony amps to sell the original matching st-5950 and ps-8750 record player,as he's been unsure whether to part with them or not. Not real cheap though, but especially the turntable is hard to find anywhere!
As soon as I find time to drive down south or get a friend to pick them up (won't risk shipping them), the set of Sony TOTL will be finished for my part! :)
Sure, there would still be the TC-880 reel-to-reel or the TOTL cassette deck, but I think it'll be good for a while ;)

Meanwhile I'll be looking around for some spare VFets just in case something would happen.

Cheers
Samuel

tae8450_tan8550.jpg
 
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