Sony STR-V7 worth collecting?

[Sir.Byrd]

If you are looking for 100% cosmetic quality it sounds like you won't find it with this amp.

This is a really nice receiver from a quality of build and quality of design standpoint. It's 200wpc into 8 ohms with very low distortion and 100dB S/N ratio. Very impressive for a receiver. It's definitely worth $150. As far as the costmetic stuff goes, the faceplate's the biggest problem. You can't polish it or you lose all the lettering. You can wash it so that there's no dirt in the gouges to make them stand out and it will look significantly better. The top cover can be sanded and painted. The knobs can also be sanded and painted although it's a tedious job... many light coats, sanded between to get that shiny look.

The pop at turnoff might be as simple as adjusting the DC offset or replacing an output coupling cap or two. It's certainly fixable, and if you do buy the amp realize that as it's 30 years old there WILL be some maintenance to get it back to top shape, especially given the apparent lack of care it's had previously. Signal path electrolytics should be replaced at the very least which would include the output caps (if this amp has them).

I guess it comes down to do you want or need a 200wpc amp? If the answer is yes and you value performance over cosmetics then the price is very reasonable. The going rate for a comparable power amp (a VERY select few integrateds or receivers come NEAR the power rating of this beast, like you could count them on one hand) would be in the $200-$350 range just for the power amp.

Its actually 150 WPC

 

[ARRAY]

...................

 

[MavC]

thanks for everyone's kind input and suggestions.

got to seriously consider cos if i put the scarface sony beside MAX's....it's gonna look like the Cinderella(Max's sony) vs EVIL sister or worse the witch

 

[MavC]

Update - pictures soon

seller agrees to clean up the faceplate and fix the POP + lowering the price.
will be getting it by this week

anyone knows whether I can use this to power subwoofers?

 

[MAXZ28]

You really need Sony speakers for that setup! Maybe SS-m7s? I've heard they compare favorably to the NS-1000s.

Yeah, it would be nice to find some SS-M7's or SS-G7's but they're pretty rare and cost some considerable coin. For now, I'll keep the Yammie's where they're at but I'd love to round out the rig exclusively Sony some day.

MavC - you'd be surprised how much one can do to enhance a cosmetically challenged unit. Keep the faith - it might not be as bad as you mention once you have an opportunity to clean off the crud and polish the faceplate. There's lots of threads on cleaning faceplates and lots of different routes to take. Just remember that you'll be listening to the music more than looking at the receiver [ at least you should be ]. Get it as nice as your can with a thorough cleaning / detailing and spray the case with some fresh paint, it should look just fine. I know everyone likes to find units cosmetically pristine but they always command a higher price and are certainly harder to come by - especially with the less popular "Big Heavyz" like the Sony V series tend to be.

Takes some pics of it before you start. You'll probably surprise yourself with the end results. Good luck and keep us posted. You'll love the V7. :yes:

 

[Sansui Louie]

That's a GREAT receiver. I had it's little brother the V3. Great tuner, warrrrrm sound. I'm not a big Sony fan, but I really love the way these look and feel.

I gave mine away with a pair of Ohm speakers and an Optonica turntable to my friend's brother after his home was destroyed in a tornado. We managed to salvage his records, as I rescued them the night of the storm, took them home and dried them all off / cleaned on the RCM and hung all the jackets to dry, but his cassettes were toast and most of the CD's were as well.

So there's another notch in the vinyl column -- they're tornado-proof! LOL

 

[MAXZ28]

So there's another notch in the vinyl column -- they're tornado-proof! LOL

That must have been a sight to see....hundreds of LPs flying in formation like mini black UFOs.

 

[Sansui Louie]

Many of the albums stayed put in the bookshelf where he stored them. The cassettes were all over, as were the CD's. Jewel boxes from both were mostly broken, CD's had flown out and were scattered...some salvageable, some not. The albums that had flown out mostly stayed in their jackets. A few were in inner sleeves. Only two were loose, and only one of those was damaged. The other was laying on a couch. All had water damage but it was minimized by getting them to my place and drying things out right away, and cleaning the records. He only had about 75 or so records so it wasn't that large of a task.

Or maybe he had 500 and the rest ended up in the next county, I don't know.

But back on topic, yes, great receiver, definately worth having.

 

[bikehorn]

The STR-V series is probably the best sounding line of vintage Sony receivers and I'd think some of the better overall of that era. I used to have an STR-V2, it was damn heavy for a 25 wpc receiver...also the sound was very crisp and clear. once head a V4, and it was again great sounding. Leaps and bounds better than a Pioneer SX-680 I had at the time(The Pioneer was still nice). I can only imagine how the bigger models like the V7 sound. Congratulations on the score, that is a lot of power.

 

[FDWheelMan]

I just got word about my V5 in the shop...

They said it is DONE! Come get it! However, they said it was $165.00 to repair. They cleaned the pots, tuned, aligned, calibrated stuff, at least that's what the lady on the phone said. Already paid $45 up front too. Will have a better handle on what's been done on Friday.

To keep this on topic.

They are an audio/video repair shop. Highly respected in the area. The lady on the phone said they were truly impressed with my V5, once finished, it is one of the best sounding to leave the shop. She said the tech was very happy with it's sound. :thmbsp:

I have a friend who's into wood working making me new wood sides for to replace the stockers that someone painted black. The new ones will be dyed greyish black and laquered. The top will get a new coat of paint when it gets home...

Unfortunately, they don't have the knob I am looking for... So the search continues...

Next up... Kenwood KR-7600.

 

[PacificStereo]

This is an edit, as I thought this was a VX series. What I said doesn't apply. Doh!

 

[MavC]

here's the update

I nearly DIED while bringing it home....this anvil is at least 40-50lbs

 

[Arkay]

Yeah, they are HEAVY suckers to haul any distance! MavC, those pics look great. Congratulations on getting such a nice receiver! With the usual TLC, you'll have it glowing and singing with great aplomb, for may years to come!

 

[PacificStereo]

My other post references the VX series (my error) so it's gone. Oh, yeah, this should clean up nicely. Well done!

I like to use a solution of about 50% ammonia and 50% water with a couple of drops of detergent (or, just use blue Windex) and a toothbrush to scrub and clean knobs like that.

I also use it on the panel, with a cut-off cheap glue chip brush (cut down to about 1/2") as the scrubber. The bristles are just stiff enough to get into the grain, yet won't scratch. Then rinse with clean water. Some folks don't like using ammonia, but I have never had any trouble.

 

[MAXZ28]

Holy crap! Definitely not as horrible as I expected. It just looks a little grimey with that minty green corrosion stuff. With a little [ maybe more like 'alot' of ] elbow grease, you'll have the V7 looking very nice.

Here's what I used on mine:

1. Warm water with a drop of mild soap for cleaning & soft brissle toothbrush
2. Blue Magic metal polish to luster up the aluminum using a clean cotton T for a
buffing rag

I hope you're busy cleaning already, MavC! Looking forward to the after pictures.

 

[slowpat]

MavC - at least in your pictures, it looks better than you described. I picked up a V5 a couple of months ago, and I love it even though it's only rated at 85wpc - but the old school watts. It's very powerful and it drove my Bose 901 Series II really well - great bass. For those knobs and faceplate, I would rather use toothpaste for polish after you wash with warm soapy water. The metal polish may be too harsh for that fine finish. Toothpaste also works well for the glass. What speakers are you going to hook up the V7 to?

 

[MavC]

-a big thanks to all you guys who have been giving suggestions and guidance all these while.

Updates
Manage to remove the 6 small knobs, 1 big knob(volume) and 1 big knob(tuner). Cleaned them with a kitchen cleaner(windex) but still not satisfied with the results so I have them soaked overnight.

First cleaning pics

Soaked overnight

Now I have a problem - the plate(washer?) that holds the knobs are made of PLASTIC and seriously need something to be done about them because now the KNOBs are too CLEAN!!!:scratch2:

Luckily my buddy has hook me up with a CNC machinist who can fabricate the "plates"(knob holder, washer?) in aluminium - will be handing over the plastic parts next week. Now my last but not least remaining problem is the volume dial holder with all the numberings on it - the numbers were imprint on a circular piece of aluminium and pasted onto the plastic. any suggestion how i could remove it?

 

[MavC]

pickup a Sansui Tu517 today from a very nice gentleman....dont ask me why I got so many radios/tuners.

 

[MavC]

What speakers are you going to hook up the V7 to?

Yet to decide but last night I hook a pair of JBL tlx70 and it really pound them hard will try it on the rest of my speakers when i have time

 

[MavC]

I hope you're busy cleaning already, MavC! Looking forward to the after pictures.

oh ya - still busy cleaning or should i say never stop cleaning.:lmao:

Will ask the machinist next week whether he could do the smaller knobs - cos some of them were rather "rough"