My vintage Sony is to stay

[darkstar078]

My Sony PS 5520 turntable, of course very vintage looking and with a majestic sound to boot, kinda makes me a rich man.
The headshell is not original though so I use this one temporary 'till I find the one that really suites the Sony. I am looking for something different, a more wooden-like headshell. I just don't know where to start to look.
So anyone with a cool suggestion feel free to respond.


http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac157/darkstar078/my%20daily%20spinner/SonyPS55209.jpg

http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac157/darkstar078/my%20daily%20spinner/SonyPS552010-1.jpg

[Marco]

Hi DS (what's your proper first name?) :)

Nice looking turntable - it appeals to my vintage sensibilities! Is it a belt-drive or direct-drive model? It looks like early 70s...

I also love the tonearm; it's a real classic and ticks all the right boxes for me. Personally, I think that the headshell looks great and matches the tonearm perfectly :cool:

Enjoy!

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

That's a very cool, retro table it's sitting on too. Very fitting!

[DSJR]

Good God, I sold that one as well, back in 1973 when I worked at Hasberry's in Aylesbury as a Saturday boy........

I remember it being very well built, the headshell was a thin casting as I remember and the only thing against it back then was the high lateral friction and similar auto-trip, meaning that you couldn't use 1 gramme trackers. NOT a problem today, of course :)

I suspect that any of the more durable cartridges under a ton should be fine - Pickering XV15-625 (from this era IIRC), AT95e (Sony used loads of AT based cartridges back then) and possibly the Goldring 1006 should all work ok in this should you ever wish to experiment.

Good old deck that one - fond memories.....:)


P.S. Headshells - anything black and preferably rectangular rather than rounded as yours is. AT and Sumiko shells look good and are not too silly priced...

You might even ask Sony. You never know what might be kicking around in a spare parts bin somewhere - unlikely but possible...

[DSJR]

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w178/whobody/IMG_6216.jpg

[Marco]

Nice one, Dave. That's the headshell Sacha's looking for, then...

The deck's a belt-drive, I presume? :)

Marco.

[DSJR]

Yes indeedy. I don't think Sony had cottoned on to direct drive at this point (early seventies).. Trio did some battleship decks in this vein as well and I mustn't forget the Pioneer PL12AC, the better built version before the ubiquitous PL12D.

I must confess that I never had anything to do with the Sony TTS-3000, one of the best decks from the late sixties in terms of mechanical performance. I reckon it could sound pretty mean given a decent plinth and it certainly didn't rumble and whirr like the TD124, G99 and 301/401 can..

[Rare Bird]

Yes indeedy. I don't think Sony had cottoned on to direct drive at this point (early seventies)..

Yes they did ;)

[Rare Bird]

Here dave this for one. These were approx 1970

http://audioklassiks.de/wordpress/?p=1020

[DSJR]

Well, it would cost a mint to get it over here, but amongst the desirable blingy stuff like I used to sell in the mid seventies (I didn't regard this gear as expensive then, but it must have been I suppose), I found a Sony PS-8750 - a stunningly good sounding direct drive with a very interesting tonearm (vertical bearing on two points). I loved that turntable but like the others we had (DQX1000 etc) the all conquering LP12/Grace 707/Supex 900E seemed to take it all over and we ended up selling a dozen a fortnight. Studio 99 was selling at least 15 per week by 1983, plus a couple of pairs of 'briks per week at least and gawd knows how many kans and Saras, but I digress..

[DSJR]

Here dave this for one. These were approx 1970

http://audioklassiks.de/wordpress/?p=1020


Oooohhhhh lovely :eek:

[Rare Bird]

http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyvault/TTS4000/TTS4000.html

[Kris]

Beautiful looking turntable Sasha. Good luck finding a Sony Headshell.

[Marco]

http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyvault/TTS4000/TTS4000.html

I believe that was Sony's equivalent of the SP10 :)

Marco.

[DSJR]

The 4000 became the 8000 I believe, but I don't think any were imported into the UK, although of course I could be wrong, the 8750 was as far as we ever got...