Sony TA-5650 Integrated Amplifier

Grabbed this Sony TA-5650 from the front lawn of a neighbor during a yard sale. Watch the video to hear what I paid for it. Great-sounding unit, especially for a 45 year old amp. 

Any experiences with this amplifier? Chime in with your stories in the comments. 

Receiver - Sony STR 6055

Took this Sony STR-6055 out of storage this past weekend and still need to do a faceplate cleaning. Can't get the left channel to work either, but I'll open it up on Sunday and poke around inside.

From what I remember, this little early 70s gem sounded really nice when it worked a couple years ago. I'll check it out and give you an update soon.

Have any stories about your Sony STR-6055 receiver? Leave a comment or shoot me an email. Thanks!

What's it worth? In this condition (without optional wood cabinet) and not working well: $25. In excellent condition with wood cabinet - $65 or whatever a collector is willing to pay.

Vintage Portables - The Walkman

Ran across THIS photo the other day, and it started me thinking of my own history with portable audio as well as what the "personal hi-fi movement" meant to the world of hi-fi in general. By the late 1970s transistor radios had been around for 25 years, so portable audio wasn't new to the scene. What was new was the notion of bringing stereo audio to people engaged in the wacky, new exercise craze called "jogging."

Sony, Akai, JVC, all jumped on the bandwagon, but the big one - the one that became the industry reference, was the Sony Walkman. Click HERE for the most popular of several Walkman museums on the Web. The Walkman brought quality stereo sound to the masses. They were relatively inexpensive and weighed 39 pounds less than a Marantz receiver! Was it just a coincidence that hi-fi gear, in general, took a sharp turn south in quality about the same time these portable units ramped up in popularity? People were introduced to this inexpensive alternative audio gear and flocked to it. The industry took notice, and started building more plastic into their units, bringing the price down to make them accessible to the everyone instead of the audio enthusiasts. See the trend here?

I'm interested in your take on this subject. Please leave a comment or send me an email.

Have any pics of your portable audio gear? Send 'em on in.

Tomorrow - Pics and sound check of my newly-acquired JBl L56 speakers. . .ohhhh. . .can't wait. :)

Want to hook up your iPod to your vintage stereo? Visit my Audio Accessory Store for some great values!

Speakers - Sony SSU-1070

I'll admit it - I don't own these speakers, nor were the photos sent in by a member of our HiFiCollector.com community. I saw these at a local thrift store and nearly bought them, but decided against it at the last minute as I remembered the look on my wife's face the last time I brought home a pair of large, wooden speakers. . .sadly, this was only last week. So, I snapped a couple of photos, plugged them into an Akai A/V receiver and tuned in our local college jazz station.

How did they sound? You've heard it before - different types of speakers sound better with different types of music. Well these two-way Sony's sounded great with George Benson, Affirmation. It's not just a myth - what they say about two-way speakers sounding great with a stand-up bass and cymbols. I flipped the dial (or pushed the button - damn digital tuning!) over to a classic rock station and U2 Sunday Bloody Sunday didn't have nearly the impact. I probably should have spent the $29.00 and kept them in my trunk until I could sneak them into the garage under the cloak of darkness. Then again, how often do I get the chance to just sit and listen to jazz?

One more thing. There's much to be said about the simplicity of the two-way loudspeaker. The Advent Loudspeaker is an excellent example of one manufacturer who got it right. The Harmon Kardon HK-20 was another. I'm sure you have many more two-way's to brag about. Contrast this pair of Sony's to the Sansui 4-way, 5 speaker, SP-3200. These were very well-made speakers, but do more drivers mean better sound? Just because you can add the sixth driver, should you? Check out my review of the Sansui SP-3200, then reflect on your own experience with multiple drivers in any cabinet design.

Have any photos or stories about your Sony SSU-1070 speakers? Please leave a comment or send me an email.

Want to hook up your iPod to your vintage stereo? Visit my Audio Accessory Store for some great values!

Monster Receivers - Sony STR-V7

Sony's "V" line were the last of Sony's knob, toggle-switched receivers for the consumer market. 150 watts per channel and built to last, this has a clean, uncolored sound and a great tuner to boot. The blue lights look especially cool in the dark. Have any more info, photos, video links, or stories on the Sony STR-V7? Please leave a comment or email me, and I'll add them to this post.