Sony STR. Which one to get?

kerouacknew

kerouacknew

Active Member
I'm firmly on the Sony train.
Planning to put a small system together for a small den/office.
I've read as much as I can and the consences I gather is that 6060, 6120 and the 6200 seem to gather the most attention. Just trying to decide if they are worth the premium price compared to a 6065 etc.
I've found a few available. A 6060f for $350 Canadiani a wood case. 6065/7065 for around the same and a 6120 and 6200 in England for a lot more $850 Canadian.
Just wondering if the people in the know believe that the 6120/6200 are worth the extra coin?
Opinions and feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
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Just consider that you'll want to budget some non-trivial $ for restoration, unless you're able to do it yourself. And even after restoration, it will still be a vintage unit and design with some original parts (transistors, switches, pots, etc) that are still subject to age/fail at some point. Given that, and since it's targeted as a secondary system for a small den/office, I'd stay away from spending huge $. I don't think the $500 delta between a 6060 and 6120/6200 can be justified, IMO. Or if the cost or effort of restoring is a turn-off and your approach is to just buy a functioning original unit and use it until it dies, then that's another reason not to spend a lot of $ given that it's running on borrowed time and likely isn't sounding as good as it could given component value drift, etc.

Based on your choices, I'd go for the 6060F. I think it's better/more solidly built than the 6065/7065 and people seem to rave more about them sound-wise, though I do think all of them from that era sound pretty good.
 
Small den/ office. You will use ten watts no need for the bigguns. Get one you like at a fair price in great shape with the wood and have it refreshed. Put it with some sweet speakers and party while you den or work
 
I think my 50 watt from 1970 to 1974 STR 6065 is plenty good. The only other Sony I had was the 6050. Big difference in capabilities, and speaker choices as a result. So ultimately the sound can be very different because of that. I don't recommend less than the 6065.
I do recommend the 6065 for performance, price, availability, appearance, reliability, and lack of hostage factor from buy in cost.
Yes, it sounds good.
 
The mighty 6060 gets a lot of love on this site, and from my experience with this model it's deserved. Added advantage #1: some (me) love the uncluttered styling of the 6060 (others not so much). Added advantage #2: the 6060 really has a very impressive build quality--you'll read here about how Sony seems to have gone all in at what constituted the high end in 1969 with this model and it shows.
 
jwhvt said:
If you mean a physically small system, you probably don't want the 6120/6200 as they are pretty large. A restored 6060 would work well although I am very fond of my un-restored 6065 which can probably be found for much less.

View attachment 1605473 View attachment 1605474 View attachment 1605475
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You have all three?
Is the 6120(thats the one i would prefer) that much better than the other 2.

The space is actually quite big and my rack would have no problem with the 6120.
 
kerouacknew said:
You have all three?
Is the 6120(thats the one i would prefer) that much better than the other 2.

The space is actually quite big and my rack would have no problem with the 6120.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have all three. The 6120 and 6060 have been completely restored but the 6065 is original. I slightly prefer the 6120 to the 6060 but would not consider it head and shoulders above it. Condition of the particular unit is probably the more important factor.
 
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All are very nice and under priced compared to other name brands. I’d bet that difference tightens up over the coming years, but we’re not talking big numbers except for the very top models, including Sony. i.e. STR V7 & STR 7800.

The smaller V series and x800’s are great too. I gave away a STR V2 I found at a garage sale for a song, and after a good contact cleaner bath it kicked butt.

I’ve had a 7065 and it was sweet. Buddy of mine just picked up an unrestored excellent condition STR 6055 for a couple C notes in Edmonton, and I thought that was an excellent deal. I also have had an unrestored STR 6046A which sounded a tad warmer than my 7065, and certainly didn’t have the muscle either, but for a smaller room quite nice. Good looking too.

As for the premium paid for the two you mentioned, I’d balk. The 6045/55/65 or 7065 will serve you just as well unless you have your heart set on them for reasons other than sound.

My 2 cents. :beatnik:
 
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