At One Time Sony Made Audiophile Grade Speakers

I know you're going to scoff, but I took a pair of these home and for what I paid for them (60,000JPY or about US$500) they sound absolutely fantastic. I never knew Sony ever made anything like this.

Here's how it happened: my wife and I recently moved and I got to celebrate by replacing my little AR-18s (which were fine in our tiny Japanese living room in our previous house) with something that could fill up our new, decent Western-sized living room. I decided on a budget (about $450 to $800), went to my local stereo shop and started looking at what they had (all used, 'vintage') in that price range. I auditioned some ARs (late Teledyne, '88-'92), an ElectroVoice pair from Switzerland, a couple others I don't remember, then I saw the Sonys. The grills were off, so I didn't see the maker, but was interested in what looked like some pretty high build quality. Before the owner got there (he was out to lunch), I was talking to his wife about the various speakers and I asked "what are these?" she said "Sony" and I sort of dismissed them, but she said that they were very "kikiyasui" which is in English "listen easy"--which is how they say "non-fatiguing." Well, when auditioning, I didn't really feel very impressed by any of the speakers I heard and finally said how about hooking up the Sonys. I knew immediately I wanted them.

I mentioned to the shop owner that Sony wasn't really an audiophile name and that company certainly wasn't known for audiophile grade stuff. He said, "yes, but the truth is, these are good speakers." Bear in mind his store is filled with tube gear and stereo equipment that is way out of my range.
A few days after taking them home, I did a little net search and found this on them:

http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyvault/SSA5/SSA5.html

And here's the insides (with accompanying Japanese text):

http://www.kameson.com/audio/SS-A5.htm

I've got to say these are one of the best audio bargains I've ever come across. These are very natural sounding speakers. They do wonderful things to voices, horns -- the soundstage is deep, the highs are crisp, and the overall sound is so non-fatiguing they're making me like a number of CDs again I haven't listened to in years (and I've been 90 percent vinyl and analog for a long time now). The frequency range looks a little narrow at first glance, but you'd never know it to listen to them. The bass is nice, full and deep, especially after my little AR-18s. And totally unlike the 18s, these Sonys tend to disappear during listening. I'm really kind of humbled by this. Like you, I would have been pretty dismissive if I heard someone say "These Sonys sound great." It goes to show you really have to listen before you judge. Lesson learned.

If you come across these for what I paid or less, I unconditionally recommend you check them out. For the audiophile on a budget they would be very hard, maybe impossible to beat for the price. I don't know if they were imported into the US or not, but if so I'd have a look. Being 'vintage' (1989) they should go for pretty cheap, especially considering that probably no one would guess they sound like they do.

Back to the sound-- just about anything Steve has remastered is going to sound good on any system, but the DCC Roy Orbison (and off a cassette I dubbed no less) was just a complete knockout -- the voices just slay. Ditto the DCC Impressions of a Black Orpheus (also on a cassette--my vinyl of these titles remains in storage in the US) ... everything is sounding so damn good all I want to do is sit around and listen to music.

A colleague came by after work today to listen. He's no old fart like me -- I guess he's probably 32 to 34. He admitted when I told him I got a pair of Sony speakers he thought to himself "oh geez what's he done now."

His comments while listening: "These sound fantastic." "The horns sound like they're right here." "The highs are so crisp--you can hear each pluck and strum."

We listened to the quite a bit of the two DCCs I mentioned above as well as:

Cat Stevens Greatest Hits -- stock US A&M vinyl
Spirit "Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus" MFSL CD
a needledrop of The Rolling Stones "Aftermath" UK mono
a needledrop of Paul Revere and The Raiders "Midnight Ride" US mono
some of Steve's DCC "Beach Classics" CD
The Sweet "Little Willy" (Razor & Tie) CD
Melanesian Choirs "The Blessed Islands--Chants From The Thin Red Line" CD

The style of music didn't matter at all. It all sounded sweet.

I sure would like to call in sick tomorrow.
I have several hundred LPs that sure are in need of some love right about now.

Dale

 

They are really beautiful Dale! Thanks for sharing this! After this little story of yours, you'll get a bunch of people looking for these on e-bay...

I'm glad you found those speakers and that they really please you. It's the whole point isn't it? To enjoy the music that we love and listen to with gear that maked us want to play it again and again.

I'm sure those tapes sound great on your Nakamichi. I have one like yours and I have always been impressed by the quality of reproduction and playback.

I too am a huge fan of Steve's DCC "Beach Classics" CD. I play it at least once a week.

It must be quite an experience hunting for vinyl and equipment over there. I admit being slightly envious...

 

Hi Dale - look great, and I'm glad they SOUND great! Nice find for you.

 

Sony has made a number of audiophile speakers. I have a pair of SS-M3ES speakers from the 90's that sound very sweet.

 

I believe they are good!

They had Sony SS-M9 a few years back.

nin has them in his system.

 

I think Sony used the SS-M9 speakers at HE 2004 for the SACD demo.

 

Some of the most impressive speakers I ever heard were made by Sony. These were honeycomb speakers. I really didn't get to hear much music on them, but what I did hear blew me away. This was at an AES show in ther early days of digital and they were demonstrating a digital recording of a shotgun with these. It sounded extremely realistic, though I've never been that close to a shotgun firing. I can't say if they sounded musical or not, but they sure could handle dyamic range. Oh, these things were about 5 or 6 feet tall and thin.

OTOH these speakers were tens of thousands each.

 

Nice looking setup!

I love that table! I have its slightly smaller brother, the Micro Seiki BL-51 with an SME III arm on it. The Seiki's are really nice looking and sounding tables!

 

Do you mean the Sony APM series?

Many of the Japanese manufacturers keep their most high-end stuff in their home market, especially their speakers. thevintageknob.com site shows many such designs. Occasionally, some of these speakers do get distribution in the US, but almost all are dismissed before auditioned and ended up being in the clearance pile. Sad but true.

I am waiting for the current Pioneer Elite speakers (TAD designed) to be on clearance. Wishful thinking, I know.

 

Possibly,

These speakers were large, perhaps 5' x 2.5' x 6". I did a search for APM and the speaker that came up seemed to be a conventional box, but the drivers looked very similar to what I saw and heard. IIRC it was the very early 80's and before CD's.

 

Well, part of my reason for posting is that I like it when people give us a heads-up on bargains. It's an expensive hobby...

The right type IIs and IVs can sound fantastic on my, and I would guess any Nak. It blows the minds of people who assume cassette has to sound bad--it doesn't. It doesn't match rtr, but I find that when I dub some vinyl to both CDR and cassette, I often find I prefer the tape.

I regret terribly (like most people around here) not buying each and every DCC title Steve mastered while they were in the stores. I remember seeing them, even here in Japan. I just didn't know.

It is quite an experience. I am convinced you can find any piece of vinyl in Japan and you might even be able to buy it with enough cash. Ditto audiophile equipment. The downside I've found is that generally speaking people here are so knowledgeable that finding a bargain is very, very rare...9 times out of 10 sellers here know exactly what the market value of a particular item is.

Dale

 

Analog to Analog, Baby! It's that simple!

 

Dale, how about a photo of your new speakers without the grilles.

 

Was it the rare Sony SS-R10 electrostatic ?

That was about the size you describe.

 

My first pair of speakers was a hand down pair of Sony SS G3's, those were pretty decent (excellent bass, just a little lacking in midrange), only 65w but they were amazing for what they were

 

I think one of those links I posted in my first post has them shown without grills, but here are mine...

Dale

 

Dale - Love the look of the speakers w/ the matching wood stands

 

Well, I have to admit something kind of, well, not very audiophile: the stands and the wood finish played a part in my choice. Just thought they'd look good with the flooring...
Wait--stands are expensive and pretty necessary. That was an audiophile consideration after all. Even the cheapest speaker stands run around US$150 to $200 around here, so having them come with the package was definitely a plus.

Still, it's the sound that made me say "I'll take 'em." They almost have me as excited as I was when I got my first set of 'real' speakers when I was 17: a new pair of AR-14s way back in 1977. Come to think of it those were two-ways also.

Dale

 

They were about that size, but I could have sworn that they were honeycomb. It's been a long while, so maybe there were electrostatics and I saw the honeycombs somewhere else. I may even have some literature somewhere. I used to collect that stuff from the shows. OTOH, if I do it may take a while to find.

 

Sony is capable of making very fine speakers. And has done a few.

When Sony corp. decides to make a high-end speaker with cost almost no object, they can produce some fine world-class designs. They have a wide range of price points to aim for. The cheapo stuff is just that. But when they try a even little bit, you can bet they have the engineering horsepower to make an impressive speaker. And when they try hard, get out of the way, some good stuff is comming down the line. I own a set of Sony APM-33 "Flat Diaphram" honeycomb aluminum speakers. This is not the best by far, that they have made. Only low-medium grade, in my opinion. I have been at the NAB conventions in many of the past 25 years, and Sony showed some expensive and amazing speaker technology for broadcast and pro-studio use.. Which they seem to have taken right back to Japan... Hardly any of it sees any play in this country, that's a shame. I think some of those products could compete with any of the highest-end speakers sold now.

 

Their SS-K series at Circuit City(!) - clearanced back in 2005 they're long gone now. Though a bit on the soft side for me I definitely still liked the sound of them. Very attractive styling too, even the little 5.25" woofer bookshelf model. They also sold a matching SS-K center channel.

Their unique SA-WX700 sub still gets many good reviews from even spoiled videophiles, and I was very close to buying one. Not super loud but bass was rich, non-boomy and went quite low. Exposed bottom woofer had chromed frame, a nice touch.

 

The SS-K10 have been re-released, but only in Japan (natch). The cabinets now have a piano black finish that looks to be of higher quality than the old Circuit City versions. They are marketed along with a nice SACD player and integrated amp, both of which are also only sold in Japan. why why why....

 

well there's this little white box with a hard drive and..........

 

Sony also made a tall, "floor-standing" speaker with a transmission line designed enclosure in the late 80's. I believe they were in the 500-600 dollar a pair price range.

 

I remember those. There were several models and they were carried by retailers like Crutchfield.