Sansui SR-222MkIV versus Sony PS-T30 Comparison
First built
Sansui SR-222MkIV – around 1983 (from a Gramophone review - on vinylengine's forum section, under 'Interesting Stuff' when you log in)
Sony PS-T30 – around 1978 (from the service manual – available at
http://freeservicemanuals.info/en/servicemanuals/viewmanual/Sony/PST30/ )
Sansui – belt drive
Sony – direct drive
Comes down to which you prefer, although the Sansui will need slightly more maintenance (belt changes etc) to maintain its performance. On the other hand, the Sansui’s simpler if things go wrong, with less electronics.
Tonearm
Sansui 245mm straight (less tracking error due to extra length, but probably more weight, and headshells harder to get)
Sony 216.5mm s-shaped (uses universal headshells)
No clear winner, as they each have good and bad points, but the Sansui is probably slightly the better (due to the extra length), while the Sony is much easier to get extra headshells for if you want to have several cartridges.
Wow and flutter identical (according to manufacturers’ specs)
Rumble/signal to noise ratio – different methods of measurement used, so unable to say which is better, but they are probably quite similar for background noise, assuming good condition.
Stroboscope and user-adjustable speed – Sansui no, Sony yes (±4% speed range)
Base material – Sony SBMC (which is very non-resonant), Sansui wood. The Sony may be slightly better sonically due to the non-resonant base, while the Sansui may look slightly better.
Automatic functions – Sansui semi-automatic, Sony fully automatic. The Sony wins for convenience.
Weight Sansui 7.4kg, Sony 7kg – very little difference, so not significant
The Sony should be a competent turntable – Sony didn’t make too many bad ones back then, as you’d expect of Japan’s largest electronics manufacturer. They spent a lot on research into turntables, so many unique things (like the Sony Bulk Moulding Compound base material – a mixture of limestone, fibreglass and polyester) were on most of their later (mid-70’s to 80’s) models, and some of the things initially introduced on their (superb) top-end models filtered down to the others.
The Sony has some extra functions (fully automatic, user-adjustable speed and strobe), while the Sansui is slightly newer, but it’s not clear which is better. If I had to choose, I’d probably take the Sony due to the fully automatic operation.
