Is Optonica good equipment??
- Thread starter slow_jazz
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@jobrewer1983
I know John has a few of their pieces and absolutely loves them.
I've never owned any optonica, but ever since John grabbed some I always keep an eye out for them.
Hopefully he can tell you what he thinks.
I know John has a few of their pieces and absolutely loves them.
I've never owned any optonica, but ever since John grabbed some I always keep an eye out for them.
Hopefully he can tell you what he thinks.
mid fi made by sharp. i'm on the lookout for the right unit one day but i don't want anymore amps with stks and they really don't have the value to replace them with discrete kits.
Yes, made by Sharp and sold as a more up-market brand than Sharp.
Dorkelstein
Super Member
I've had two Optonica receivers and I thought that they were just ok... nothing stood out to me. Very attractive styling. I guess that's part of what drew me to them in the first place. Also they only tolerated 8 ohm loads.
What model? I may paper work on it, may be able to give you some specs.
Their Slim line amps are amazing, the 7305 and 4305 have amazing phono stages.
I’m a big fan of optonica so I may be a bit bias.
well being that they are 40-50 year old units and the STKs are still working it should tell you something.
most of there later stuff or low end stuff was STK but good ones, and there are actually good retrofit kits for the various STKs they used. Some of them like the one in the 7305 is a bit higher end so those would need to rebuilt to a dedicated circuit but it’s completely possible.
that said a lot of the early silver face stuff was all transistor based. Those units not only sound great but hold their value well.
you judge a company based on the use of an STK in a few various amps, Pioneer used STKs in there SX-80s amps, most of the large major players did. I’m a fan of STK chips tho, I know what they can and cant do, and some can sound really nice. But 99999.999% can be rebuilt using modern components. Just takes a little work. There’s a few techs on YT who have videos up on rebuilding the STKs for Optonica amps, specifically the 7100 and the 7305
you took what i was saying way out of context cuz. i said nothing bad about stks, i just don't want anymore. i have 2 amps with stks.a little mcs integrated and a big fisher. i like them. i've rebuilt 3 units with discrete kits, it adds to the cost and if you intend to resell, it adds to the amount you have to ask. that's all.well being that they are 40-50 year old units and the STKs are still working it should tell you something.
most of there later stuff or low end stuff was STK but good ones, and there are actually good retrofit kits for the various STKs they used. Some of them like the one in the 7305 is a bit higher end so those would need to rebuilt to a dedicated circuit but it’s completely possible.
that said a lot of the early silver face stuff was all transistor based. Those units not only sound great but hold their value well.
you judge a company based on the use of an STK in a few various amps, Pioneer used STKs in there SX-80s amps, most of the large major players did. I’m a fan of STK chips tho, I know what they can and cant do, and some can sound really nice. But 99999.999% can be rebuilt using modern components. Just takes a little work. There’s a few techs on YT who have videos up on rebuilding the STKs for Optonica amps, specifically the 7100 and the 7305
i guess i'll have to pull the units out and show them in use in the music thread. i'll tag you
twiiii
Lunatic Member
If all you are looking for is good then Optonica is a place to start or is in that category. I prefer Pioneer Elite or Sony SS, but thats a step up. Integra would would be about the same as would better Sony and older Yamaha which can be hard to separate the goof from the fair. Aiwa was a fair category product by Sony a I remember. Could be wrong. Yamaha has two or three different grades now days, with the middle grade being about the same also. Its all supposition now days with out reputable brick and mortar stories to help us choose now days. I don't trust reviewers that much. Michael Fremer being the exception.
Bone Yard
Super Member
I'm not buying a member for over 17 years and 14,000 posts has not heard of Optonica, where's my water board?
Optonica is very good looking equipment with some extra build processing to give it a shiny sparkle. I have a tape deck and maybe a turntable but it's difficult equipment to find if you want a matching stack. The tape decks were heavily advertised, usually with very advanced features including "the first that can find selections automatically." Their 70's boombox line was also famous with it's "The Searcher" tape function maybe the first equipment to have this on tape decks.
My tape deck is stuffed full of electronics and took a long time to take apart, much more complicated than contemporary mid-line decks of the late 70's.
twiii, I don't think Sony took full ownership of AIWA until the early 90's, from all the reading I've done, even with part Sony Ownership, AIWA was operated independently. Up until the mid-80's AIWA was putting out very nice equipment while Sony had a ton of entry-level equipment. Once Sony took over they flipped and made AIWA the entry-level brand.
Optonica is very good looking equipment with some extra build processing to give it a shiny sparkle. I have a tape deck and maybe a turntable but it's difficult equipment to find if you want a matching stack. The tape decks were heavily advertised, usually with very advanced features including "the first that can find selections automatically." Their 70's boombox line was also famous with it's "The Searcher" tape function maybe the first equipment to have this on tape decks.
My tape deck is stuffed full of electronics and took a long time to take apart, much more complicated than contemporary mid-line decks of the late 70's.
twiii, I don't think Sony took full ownership of AIWA until the early 90's, from all the reading I've done, even with part Sony Ownership, AIWA was operated independently. Up until the mid-80's AIWA was putting out very nice equipment while Sony had a ton of entry-level equipment. Once Sony took over they flipped and made AIWA the entry-level brand.
you took what i was saying way out of context cuz. i said nothing bad about stks, i just don't want anymore. i have 2 amps with stks.a little mcs integrated and a big fisher. i like them. i've rebuilt 3 units with discrete kits, it adds to the cost and if you intend to resell, it adds to the amount you have to ask. that's all.
i guess i'll have to pull the units out and show them in use in the music thread. i'll tag you
huh?
I didn’t say you said anting bad? When I said “you judge” I was implying “one” not you personally
but I can see how that reads, my mistake I didn’t mean to imply you said anything negative, you didn’t I was speaking on my experience is all sorry about that didn’t mean to sound condescending!
I have two Optonica integrated amps, both of which I extensively restored/rebuilt; the SM-4545 and SM-4646. The 4646 is a dual mono amp with separate transformer for the preamp section, and both have very well done phono sections. Features include switchable contours on tone controls, tone section bypass, reverse/L/R/mono output selection, adjustable phono impedance and gain, and machined knobs/levers.
I would say that the products from Optonica's first couple of years - like these two - lived up to Sharp's intentions of building a higher end product line and are a step above the more popular mainstream stuff of the era, but after that they dropped their focus on being a premium brand and started cheapening their products (like all the other mainstream, "mid-fi" manufacturers).
The 4646 is in one of our secondary systems, and the 4545 mostly sits on a shelf as a "back-up" unit.
Here is a Vintageknob link regarding the SM-4646:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/optonica-SM-4646.html
And some pics from the rebuild a few years back:
I would say that the products from Optonica's first couple of years - like these two - lived up to Sharp's intentions of building a higher end product line and are a step above the more popular mainstream stuff of the era, but after that they dropped their focus on being a premium brand and started cheapening their products (like all the other mainstream, "mid-fi" manufacturers).
The 4646 is in one of our secondary systems, and the 4545 mostly sits on a shelf as a "back-up" unit.
Here is a Vintageknob link regarding the SM-4646:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/optonica-SM-4646.html
And some pics from the rebuild a few years back:
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doctor fuse
Super Member
I pestered my dad as a young teen to upgrade the family stereo, so he got some Optonica gear from a friend who was a Sharp employee.
The SA-5201 receiver was quite good. 45wpc, nice flywheel tuning. I just sold it last summer, helping my elderly mother clean her house out. It had one bad channel but someone still paid good money for it so it looks like it has its fans.
The RP-4705 direct drive full auto turntable looked cool (to 15 year old me) and had the somewhat rare repeat feature, but it’s performance was only so-so. The heavy glass platter was very attractive (not sure how it affected resonances though). Earlier Optonica tables look much better (especially the arms) - this example was just before the CD and black plastic crap turntable revolution. I gave it to a friend and they are enjoying it now.
I would rate the gear as similar to their more famous Japanese contemporaries, like Pioneer, Technics and Sony, just after the Golden Age (1976-1982?).
The SA-5201 receiver was quite good. 45wpc, nice flywheel tuning. I just sold it last summer, helping my elderly mother clean her house out. It had one bad channel but someone still paid good money for it so it looks like it has its fans.
The RP-4705 direct drive full auto turntable looked cool (to 15 year old me) and had the somewhat rare repeat feature, but it’s performance was only so-so. The heavy glass platter was very attractive (not sure how it affected resonances though). Earlier Optonica tables look much better (especially the arms) - this example was just before the CD and black plastic crap turntable revolution. I gave it to a friend and they are enjoying it now.
I would rate the gear as similar to their more famous Japanese contemporaries, like Pioneer, Technics and Sony, just after the Golden Age (1976-1982?).
I don’t find it hard to believe as a lot of folks don’t know about the brand. I started collecting optonica gear a number of years ago, landed an amp a few years prior to covid, have been hooked on it, have 5 amps now and a few cassette decks. What I can about the brand is the build quality is nice, it’s on par with the likes of all the big brands, and even better in some cases. I’ve recommended the brand to a few folks on the site who have also found it to be good gear. For me the 4305 and 7305 units are pretty much some of my favorite SS integrated amps, both units blow my Mcintohs 6100 out of the water, so much so I was rid of the 6100. Lately I’ve been running more tube amps but my optonica amps are keepers and I buy them whenever I find them. Well worth the $.
if any one needs specs I have managed to collect some older optonica spec manuals, have from like 71-79 sone 80s stuff too, most of the receivers I do have specs on so if the OP gets the model number posted I should be able to share some proper specs. My help to make a decision if it’s something he wants.
Where's @slow_jazz
Curious what exactly he was looking at.
Curious what exactly he was looking at.
I had a late 70's/ early 80's Optonica integrated that was liquid cooled. Looked amazing with black aluminum faceplate with gold accents. I thought it was pretty advanced -but perhaps that was commonplace for the era? I bought it as a parts unit with intent to restore, but sadly never got around to fixing it and sold it off before I heard what it was capable of
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Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Since Optonica is just another manufacturer like most of the receiver makers back then, I'm guessing your opening comment lumps all those guys in that group which is fine. I always thought of the different brands as a large house of GM, some chevies, some buicks, a pontiac or two and some cadillacs. All kinda the same thing but didn't really think of them as mid-fi, just Harry Homeowner, previously Larry the Lawnguy, making money in the summer to buy a rig for school
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Wiki says Sony completed the purchase in 2003. Aiwa made some great cassette decks in the late 70s. We sold a number of them.
