SONY

[stereoman]

Guys I need to write this. In this thread I will put my audiophile interests a bit aside only to state how great Sony company is. Sony should be proud of themselves. Sony is hardly an audiophile hifi company (although it also produces some of hi end stuff) but the effort it puts into every device is second to none for the price-quality or price-sound ratio. For decades this company has been providing us with very well thought out designs and sound. They never tried to mimick or fake quality sound like for example Bose does. It is "The Enterprise" into which potential buyers can definitely put their trust. Again, there is not better price-quality ratio company on as such a huge scale as Sony. I think so. Personally. They deserve a huge thank you from all of us.

 

[Paul.]

Can't really comment on the audio side of things but I am a card carrying fanboy when it comes to their cameras. They have been a positive disruptive influence on the market and forced canon to start making decent sensors again

 

[Infiniteloop]

Back in the 1970's and 80's Sony were Apple. They made beautiful, innovative products that were high quality and aspirational. Their TV's were cutting edge and they innovated with devices like the Walkman.

Then it went bad. Quality went backwards and they just became boring. - perhaps they diversified too much? - Or was it because they just became far too fond of cheap plastic?

Unfortunately, I've seen nothing from them recently apart from their TV's which are still great, to make me consider anything they make as part of my HiFi purchases.

 

[lindsayt]

I wouldn't call the TA-N1 from 1999 plasticky or boring:

Nor the SS-R10 from 1996:

 

[Al ears]

I wouldn't call the TA-N1 from 1999 plasticky or boring:

Nor the SS-R10 from 1996:

Those were the days eh?

Good job my Professional Walkman still works,makes it all worthwhile. However their attempts at portable media players these days leaves a lot to be desired pricewise.

 

[Gray]

In the days of CRT, I bought 11 Sony TVs for myself and family - Unbeatable pictures and not sure any of them ever went wrong.

During a City and Guilds TV course back in the 1980's, a technical college lecturer suggested that I was a brand snob because I said I wouldn't buy anything other than Sony CRT. Funny enough he went on to explain why the Trinitron system gave the purest, most accurate colour performance possible. (At the time, Trinitron was exclusive to Sony)

 

[Infiniteloop]

In the days of CRT, I bought 11 Sony TVs for myself and family - Unbeatable pictures and not sure any of them ever went wrong.

During a City and Guilds TV course back in the 1980's, a technical college lecturer suggested that I was a brand snob because I said I wouldn't buy anything other than Sony CRT. Funny enough he went on to explain why the Trinitron system gave the purest, most accurate colour performance possible. (At the time, Trinitron was exclusive to Sony)

Trinitron TV's were brilliant technology. I had a few over the years and I have only ever bought Sony TV's to this day.

 

[Infiniteloop]

I wouldn't call the TA-N1 from 1999 plasticky or boring:

Nor the SS-R10 from 1996:

Aw, C'mon. Seriously, these things are hideous.

 

[lindsayt]

They may be hideous to you, but the quality is at least as good as anything they made in the 1970's to 1980's.

 

[MajorFubar]

They certainly had what it takes. Their pro-grade personal walkman was legendary. They made the first widely available open reel video recorders and their Trinitron TVs and computer monitors were superb. The CD format they co-invented with Philips remains a strong format. Betamax was always better than VHS but JVC had the upper hand in marketing, and the Sony PCM3324S was one of the first recorders to bring digital multitrack recording to studios. But equally their name has been seen too often attached to Argos-grade low-performance equipment and to a certain extent IMO it has been 'soiled' by such association.

 

[stereoman]

...and do not forget the sony vaio laptops. Especially the ones from the higher models like Z , SZ or Pro series. Until infamous Sony-Vaio split there had not been better laptops on the market in terms of performance or innovation , weight and design. Shame they do not produce them anymore. Only tablets.

 

[Gray]

Much forgotten of course and not bit perfect but, their JB-930 full-width Minidisc deck, 'Tuned for UK sound' sounded pretty good to me.

Coaxial and optical digital ins and outs as well as analogue as an early way to digitise vinyl (albeit imperfectly). And as for editing, so much more versatile than any subsequent CDRW recorders.

As other posters have pointed out, Sony certainly have done a lot right.

 

[Infiniteloop]

They certainly had what it takes. Their pro-grade personal walkman was legendary. They made the first widely available open reel video recorders and their Trinitron TVs and computer monitors were superb. The CD format they co-invented with Philips remains a strong format. Betamax was always better than VHS but JVC had the upper hand in marketing, and the Sony PCM3324S was one of the first recorders to bring digital multitrack recording to studios. But equally their name has been seen too often attached to Argos-grade low-performance equipment and to a certain extent IMO it has been 'soiled' by such association.

I think that's the problem. They pushed too far down the food chain and it poisoned their brand. Sony ES CD players for example, were superb, but there was an awful lot of multidisc players, nasty turntables and other plastic tat too.

Samsung are doing exactly the same thing with their phones.

 

[Infiniteloop]

...and do not forget the sony vaio laptops. Especially the ones from the higher models like Z , SZ or Pro series. Until infamous Sony-Vaio split there had not been better laptops on the market in terms of performance or innovation , weight and design. Shame they do not produce them anymore. Only tablets.

Apple's MacBook Pro's have always been better than Sony Vaio's

 

[stereoman]

...and do not forget the sony vaio laptops. Especially the ones from the higher models like Z , SZ or Pro series. Until infamous Sony-Vaio split there had not been better laptops on the market in terms of performance or innovation , weight and design. Shame they do not produce them anymore. Only tablets.

Apple's MacBook Pro's have always been better than Sony Vaio's

I meant proper "windows laptops". Sorry.

 

[Al ears]

...and do not forget the sony vaio laptops. Especially the ones from the higher models like Z , SZ or Pro series. Until infamous Sony-Vaio split there had not been better laptops on the market in terms of performance or innovation , weight and design. Shame they do not produce them anymore. Only tablets.

Apple's MacBook Pro's have always been better than Sony Vaio's

I meant proper "windows laptops". Sorry.

I fear there may be a cable-thread equivalent about to occur....

 

[pauln]

I too always bought Sony CRT TV's and Sony VCR's because they were premium products but that's no longer the case.

Then there was the "rootkit affair" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal - and I vowed to never again buy any of their products. The flagship Vaio laptops were OK from a design and build point of view, although full of cr@pware, however the bulk of the range was very ordinary I think.

 

[ellisdj]

I didn't know about that cheeky sods.
In a way forward thinking but cheeky none the less

 

[Electro]

I wouldn't call the TA-N1 from 1999 plasticky or boring:

Nor the SS-R10 from 1996:

Aw, C'mon. Seriously, these things are hideous.

Really!

I think they are lovely, real quality and innovation with timeless style, especially that beautiful beast of an amp.

It just shows how we all covet different things.*smile*

 

[Barbapapa]

I've got a Sony UDA-1 which I think looks lovely.

http://www.whathifi.com/sony/uda-1/review

The build quality to me as a simple user is good. The DAC sounds good to my ears; the amp is nice as well but relatively low-powered. To me it still seems as if Sony can make nice stuff (even if not high-end). However, I can understand the criticism. The UDA-1 used to be relatively pricey for what it offers, and Sony is not good at providing user-friendly software interfaces: the DAC doesn't allow DoP but requires for DSD on OSX using Sony's own, limited Hi-res player.

At present I only use the DAC and sent the output to another amp, which provides more power. Still I'm loath to sell it, as it looks really nice on my desk.

 

[jjbomber]

Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format.

Another technology breakthrough for Sony.

 

[MajorFubar]

I think that's the problem. They pushed too far down the food chain and it poisoned their brand. Sony ES CD players for example, were superb, but there was an awful lot of multidisc players, nasty turntables and other plastic tat too.

Quite. And sometimes they gave us a great product but completely misjudged market interest:

 

[chebby]

Can't really comment on the audio side of things but I am a card carrying fanboy when it comes to their cameras. They have been a positive disruptive influence on the market and forced canon to start making decent sensors again

My Sony DSC RX-100s (Mk1 & Mk3) are stupidly good.

I also remember a few years owning the WM-D6C Walkman Pro cassette player/recorder. It felt lovely to use and sounded excellent. I'd use it at home in the hi-fi and - when on night shifts - pair it with Wharfedale Active Diamonds (the originals) at work.

Ooh, just remembered another Sony classic ...

... my old ICF-SW7600 radio. Gorgeous!

 

[Al ears]

Can't really comment on the audio side of things but I am a card carrying fanboy when it comes to their cameras. They have been a positive disruptive influence on the market and forced canon to start making decent sensors again

My Sony DSC RX-100s (Mk1 & Mk3) are stupidly good.

I also remember a few years owning the WM-D6C Walkman Pro cassette player/recorder. It felt lovely to use and sounded excellent. I'd use it at home in the hi-fi and - when on night shifts - pair it with Wharfedale Active Diamonds (the originals) at work.

Ooh, just remembered another Sony classic ...

... my old ICF-SW7600 radio. Gorgeous!

Had one of them, and still got the WM-D6C.

 

[Paul.]

Tell a lie, I did have some Sony audio products. Forgot how much I relied on this gem in sixth form