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Sony mid 70's top of the line vintage gear

We had sort of a similar kind of institute in Finland as well in the old days. I think that this institute (or whatever it could be called) was working under the Radio broadcasting union. They had some stereo manuals published from the early 70's to somewhere around 83-84. The measurements in the books weren't as extensive for amps and other hifi equipment, more like gathered information about available stereo equipment. Loudspeakers were measured though anechoic and also with power response.

Later on these annual publications were published by the Finnish hifi magazine and the measurements were dropped for some reason. The old stereo manuals are pretty hard to find nowadays anywhere.


Btw..this is on it's way home now:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3269834176&category=

:cool:
 
ALL RIGHT!!!! I have just gotten a cherry Sony TA-8650 V-FET Integrated amplifier with absolutely no cosmetic defects on the outside and completely dust free inside. It even has that new smell when you open up a new stereo box. I got this from the one from on e-bay that I missed. Contacted the buyer and he let me have it for $400 plus shipping. That was about $125 for shipping. Can't figure out why the original seller let it go early and for so cheap (closed auction price was only $75), I know this thing is rare (normal low end V-FET amps only show up once every couple months and this is the first one I have seen in the past couple years of the 8650) and V-FET amps are going for a lot of dough.

Another odd thing, there does not appear to be a muting circuit, as soon as I power it on, i get a thump from the speakers. I actually think I remember that my original one did the same thing.

:D

I am so happy!!!
 
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and finally... Also note only one large cap in the power supply. I usually see two in amps. My unit also has heat shields around the heat sinks to protect the surrounding circuit boards. Some early units did not have them and they were prone to failure because of the heat. The unit gets so hot, you cannot touch the top of the case for extended periods. Never noticed that the 8650 has a gold tone front panel, the other Sony V-FET units were just brushed aluminum faceplates. (BTW, did I mention that I am very happy?)
 
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Hey, Jon,
How about a picture of the speaker connectors, maybe I can think of a substitute.
 
out.jpg



Figured it out. The leads must be stripped at least 1.25" and inserted all the way in to catch. Bummer thing is that the opening for the leads is very narrow and can only take 16 gauge wires or smaller. Can't seem to use any decent cables in it. Pins aren't long enuff.
 
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Jon,
All you have to do is, take your Monster cable or whatever, strip it to the correct length, then separate the strands and use just enough of them to make the desired thickness, and cut off the rest. twist the strands together and insert. You can solder the strands to make it a bit better.
I used to have a TA-5650. They sure do sound nice.
 
The back shot is taken from another site. It saved me time from trying to take a closeup with my camera since I only took shots of the front. The unit sure sounds sweet. Dang thump on power on is annoying tho. Still, I am VERY happy I got the unit. Been looking for one for several years.

:yippy:
 
boards.jpg


Interesting to note that the above TA-8650 has no aluminum heat shields that mine does... also find it odd that there is only one large capacitor, usually i see two in amps.
 
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Jon,
If you are experiencing a turn on thump with the 8650, I would bet that your (muting) relay may not be working any longer.

Scott
 
Jon: Congratulations, what a beauty you found! The amp looks to be in great condition. :) . I think the price you paid is not bad at all, the amp being a TOTL.

I was having the same trouble as well with the speaker connectors as you, the strips need to be waaay long. Now it's not really a problem because I don't use that thick speaker cable.

I thought all the 8000-series VFETs should have the extended cooling blocks, for some reason that amp doesn't have them. Looks sort of naked. Sony actually call those extensions chimneys:D
 
samppo,
does your amp have a muting circuit which prevents thumps when you turn on the amps? the 8650 i have thumps on power on, and i vaguely remember my original 8650 did that also but i am not sure.

another question, did youhave any reviews on the 8650 also?

thanks,

jon
 
Jon,
I can't really say if it has a muting circuit or not. I will try to look in the service manual and see if i can find something out.

My power amp sometimes thumps when powering on, when that happens it's usually more of a sharp transient sound.
I think that it may have something to do with the power switch sometimes not working properly (releasing immediately when pushing). When shutting off the amp it barely thumps very silently, but then again i usually turn down volume first.

Samuel
 
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Would anyone happen to have an official price list for the TAE-8450 and TAN-8550? Wondering, because today I received an official German brochure of the Sony line-up in 1976 with hand written prices. The TAE was supposedly 3000 DM (roughly 1800 USD) and the TAN-8550 7000 DM (~5000 USD). Price for the TA-8650 was 3500 DM.
Considering the price for the integrated, prices for the pre- and power amp can't hold true, can they?!
 
BTW Samppo,

Can you post a picture of your ST-5950? I have been looking for one for a while and would like to know what it looks like.... Thanks,
Jon
 
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