Sony PS-X 9

Data

General

• Manufacturer: Sony
• Model: PS-X 9
• Type: Record player
• Years of manufacture: 1977 - 1984
• Made in: Japan
• Color: Black, drive black, tone arm matt nickel-plated
• Power consumption: 50 watts
• Dimensions: 540 x 220 x 450 mm (WxHxD)
• Weight: 35 kg
• Original price approx.: 4'448 DM incl. XL-55 Pro

Connections

• Inputs:
  • Preamplifier (HA):
    • Sensitivity: 10 mV at 100 ohms
    • Gain: 36 dB (1 kHz)
    • Frequency response: 10 Hz - 500 kHz, +0/-1 dB

Equalizer amplifier (EQ):

• • • Sensitivity: 240 mV
      • Impedance: 25 kOhm, 50 kOhm or 100 kOhm (selectable)
      • Capacitive load: 100 pF, 200 pF or 400 pF (selectable)
    • Signal-to-noise ratio: 87 dB (IHF-A)
    • THD: 0.005% (1 V, 20 - 20,000 Hz)
• Output:
  • LINE OUT: 150 mV (max. 14 V) at 600 ohms
  • Gain: 63 dB (1 kHz, HA+EQ)

Signal-to-noise ratio: 80 dB (IHF-A, HA+EQ)

Technical Data

• Operating mode: Direct drive
• Drive: Crystal controlled
• Motor: Linear BSL (brushless and slotless) DC servo motor
• Speed: 33 1/3 and 45 RPM/min, crystal controlled
• Acceleration time: < 300 ms (1/8 revolution at 33 1/3 RPM)
• Synchronous speed variation: ± <0.03 % (DIN), ± 0.02 % (rated)
• Speed fine adjustment: ± 6
• Rumble noise margin: 75 dB (DIN-B), 80 dB (IHF-A)
• Turntable: sheet steel
  • Diameter: 380 mm
  • Weight:
• Operating mode: Manual
• Tonearm: S-shaped tubular tonearm, statically balanced

Type: PUA-9

• • Effective length: 12"

Special Features

• Sturdy die-cast aluminium chassis
• Large 15" platter and correspondingly long 12" tonearm.
• Tonearm: <b>PUA-9</b>, statically balanced J tonearm, tonearm tube made of hard aluminium alloy with inner coating of carbon fibre, very low-resonance (non-vibration design), individually guided signal lines at defined distance, frictionless magnetic skating compensation, oil-damped tonearm lowering, tonearm height easily adjustable by adjusting ring (→ VTA), effective length: 264 mm, total length: 356 mm, overhang: 14 mm
• Pickup: <b>XL-55 PRO</b> standard, hand-selected moving coil system in magnesium head, with ironless coil in a crossed 8-shape, needle carrier made of beryllium and aluminum coated with carbon
• Operating modes: manual start (no automatic start), fader start with attached pickup for e.g. broadcast operation, autom. tonearm return, lift
• Quick stop by counter poling of the motor and a relay controlled mechanical brake
• Wired 2-button remote control RM-90 (Start/Stop and Reject) as standard equipment
• Integrated preamplifier plus equalizer amplifier (EQ - Bypass - HA+EQ)
• Hum-free electronics due to pulse-regulated switching power supply (PPS)
• Fully enclosed chassis
• With tinted plastic hood as standard

Remarks

The PS-X9 is - in the linguistic usage of the company EMT - a "record playback machine". It impresses by its size (only the older EMT 927 with its 16" turntable surpassed it), its mass (comparable to the AEG TRS 9000) and its deliberately technical and professional appearance. It has a high value and feel. Its technical data confirmed this impression. The measured values of the heavy quartz-stabilized drive with direct drive were very good and at the limit of what is possible. Although it was in the professional range, it was also offered as a high-end turntable as part of the ESPRIT series (1980-1984).

• In 1977 it was designed as a studio turntable, it was distributed by "Sony Professional". It was not Sony's answer to the direct-drive EMT 950, but a prestige product of its own, intended to show Sony's state of development in professional direct drives. The EMT 950 had only been on the market for one year, the EMT models 948 and 938 had not been developed yet. The rotor of the motor and the platter together have a mass of 5.8 kg. This shows that Sony does not follow the philosophy of EMT with the "inverted mass arrangement" either.

Sony did not offer a built-in plinth or a spring-loaded sub-chassis for the PS-X9 (at EMT, however, turntable and sub-chassis always formed a coordinated unit at that time). One reason for this could have been the very high torque of the motor of about 0.7 Nm on the PS-X9. A sub-chassis has to absorb these torsional forces. The PS-X9 is therefore not insulated against the effects of structure-borne noise. It requires at least a very massive mounting bracket.

• As a studio turntable, it necessarily had a quick start and stop that could also be controlled remotely, as well as integrated audio electronics (without plug-in cards). But a balanced line amplifier with studio level, as usual in Europe, was missing. This could easily be made up for today with a balancing amplifier (e.g. SAM-1B from Funk-Tonstudiotechnik). The sampling system, a hand-picked version of the Sony XL-55 in a headshell, was made by Sony's subsidiary SoundTec. This system had excellent linearity due to the ironless needle carrier, the lower induction voltage had to be compensated by the special coil shape and the preamplifier.

• It has been said that the record player came too late to the market in the high-end sector and was too expensive to achieve a breakthrough. This was not true for the studio sector. EMT had only brought the rather comparable "record reproducing machines" EMT 948/938 on the market in 1979/82. Also the models of the Italian AEG subsidiary Robotecnica (TRS 9000/9100) and the models of the Hungarian company Mechlabor (TL 101/102), the latter were built for the socialist Eastern Bloc (RGW states), came later on the market. All of them had the features required by the broadcasting institutes, including balanced outputs with studio level.

In the high-end range with its completely different and partly very limited requirements Denon (e.g. DP-100/M), Technics (e.g. SP 10) and others were already represented with impressive Direct Drives. Due to its high price, the PS-X9 has remained very rare in Europe. Its current value in good condition is therefore above that of the comparable EMT models 948 and 938.

• In the broadcast and studio sector EMT dominated the world market with its highly sophisticated and robust models. EMT's demand was much greater than their manufacturing capacity. Sony could only partially benefit from this in the European market with the PS-X9. They did not have much success in the high-end segment. Therefore the PS-X9 remained a single construction. Model differences only exist with regard to the power supply: The Japanese model (J-model) is only designed for 100 volts 50 Hz, while the AEP/E models are designed for 110 and 220 volts with 50 and 60 Hz, respectively.

• Other models in the same series:
  • Sony PS-X 9
  • Sony PS-X 70

Pictures

• Image:Sony PS-X 9

• The model pictured here from a recent ebay listing does not have the XL-55 Pro sampling system or the original magnesium headshell.

• Very good picture material can be found under the last three links mentioned.

• Excerpt from brochure: Sony PS-X 9

Reports

• Test reports (as far as known):
• Magazine "Stereoplay" Issue 4/79, Page 48.
• Magazine "STEREO" issue 5/79, page 96
• Magazine "HÖRERLEBNIS" No. 60, page 103, title: "Die wahre Playstation"

  The author of the latter article does a lot of whitewashing: Regardless of the sampling system (outdated XL-55 PRO, ...) the listening experience is outstanding. Metaphysical properties are already attributed to the direct drive. Critical real statements are missing. No measured values are provided either. Incidentally, the author has missed the expectations of the article and also the topic with his extreme thematic straying into the music scene.

• Time Value Information:

• In addition to the purchase or offer prices mentioned in the following, the not inconsiderable transport costs between 50,- and 500,- EUR have to be considered for this heavy record player (see below). More serious, however, are the expenses for an often urgent maintenance (e.g. exchange of hardened oils or gummy greases in tonearm bearings, motor and lift mechanism, possible exchange of some electronic components (aged capacitors), new adjustment according to service manual, ...). Such a maintenance (at analog-forum.de one speaks already of restoration) belongs absolutely into expert hands, which are very very rare in this case. Under no circumstances should you change any capacitors yourself! And, almost always a new scanning system is due. It should absolutely be tuned to the tone arm! This includes (a) a working point at a higher tracking force of 20-30 mN, (b) a lower compliance of about 12-15 µm/mN for the heavier tone arm and (c) a permissible rotation of the record against the playing direction for finding a certain position (fader start). So a highly sensitive or cheaper scanning system is out of the question.

• Internet offers:

• With a defective EMT sound box (hardened needle suspension) a PS-X9 was offered in Oct. 2006 for 8,050 EUR on ebay for immediate sale. At first probably only a joke bidder had struck, because the same record player was offered and sold again inthe following month at a buy-it-now price of 3,100 EUR.

• In Nov. 2008 again at ebay in the fourth attempt a PS-X9 with the sampling system XL-55 PRO was sold at a price of 2,777 EUR. Originally it was supposed to cost a minimum of 4,444 EUR or 4,999 EUR in a buy-it-now.

• Another PS-X9 with the XL-55 PRO system and newly manufactured plexiglass cover, offered at "hifi4me.de" and "www.audioanalog.at", did not find a buyer for 6,990 EUR in the period from March 2006 to July 2010. This way either too few interested parties were reached or again a critical price limit was exceeded. Since Feb. 2011, the offer no longer exists under the links provided. It is not known whether and at what price the record player was sold.

Completely exaggerated, however, was and is the asking price of the company RetroAudio Berlin. At a price of 25,000 EUR (!) they offered a PS-X9 via audio-markt.de (but not in their ebay shop) in the 1st quarter of 2011. The device was without remote control and was said to be in mint and technically perfect condition. A warranty of one year was granted. Further details (e.g. about maintenance) were not given. No buyer was found. - Addendum 1: RetroAudio offered this PS-X9 since June 2012, with the designation "mint!" again, this time on ebay. Its price was unchanged at 25,000 EUR. This time, however, there was no more talk of a warranty. Offered with the replacement VC 20 system and a hood that is hinged by four hinges (not original but well done). - Addendum 2: Although the turntable for 25,000 EUR found no buyer, the seller has increased the offer price again by 5,000 EUR: Since 24.09.2012, this model is offered unchanged at a buy-it-now price of no less than 29,999 EUR! In the meantime, it is February 2015!

• In the 1st half of 2011, four copies were offered on ebay:
• February, Hong Kong location: a PS-X9 complete with the XL-55 PRO sampling system, the RM-90 remote control and a remanufactured hood at a buy-it-now price of 6,399 EUR (plus 470 EUR transport costs for a buyer from Europe). This J-model (100 volts) was not sold even in the second attempt and then discontinued again only in November 2012. This time, however, the remote control was no longer included. Nevertheless, the offer price has increased by 500 EUR to 6,899 EUR. It is not known whether the copy was sold.
• February, location Strasbourg: Also in the 3rd attempt a J-model (see above) without sampling system at a buy-it-now price of 6,450 EUR found no buyer. This PS-X9 should even be picked up. It too has not been offered again so far.
• Location Solingen: This PS-X9 had already had two unsuccessful attempts when it was discovered on ebay. It was, because it fell into the wrong hands as an heirloom, in an extremely bad and defective condition (dirty and scratched surfaces with clear corrosion damage, damaged tone arm due to overload, broken tone arm stop, destroyed pickup system, ...). No doubt it had been improperly stored in the attic or basement in a lower layer. The seller did not explain this in his description of the item, but on closer inspection this could be seen from his many large-format pictures. The offer included neither the dust cover nor the remote control nor a working scanning system. Thus neither for 4000 nor for 3000 EUR a buyer was found. The asking price was clearly too high in this condition. ... Note: The seller took over in his description large parts of this hifi-wiki page without making this clear.
• April, location Düsseldorf: This PS-X9 went - starting at 1 EUR - into a real auction. Although no scanning system and no remote control were part of the offer, the bidding limit of 3000 EUR was already exceeded after four days. In the end 11 bidders placed 25 bids. For 3565,- EUR the PS-X9 changed its owner.

In Feb. 2011, two remote controls for the PS-X9 were sold on ebay for about 130 EUR each.

• For a longer period of time the rarity of the PS-X9 showed again: There were no offers on ebay and in August 2011 only one offer on the internet at all. The latter came from the Cologne area and showed a PS-X9 with dust cover and remote control. It was missing the original scanning head. Instead, an empty EMT sound box was included. Nothing was said about the pickup system shown in the pictures. * The turntable "worked" but was unmaintained. It showed obvious signs of wear, at least on the edges. The asking price of the seller was 3.300 EUR (VB).

• Other ebay offers:
• March 2013, location Bielefeld: A PS-X9 with original system XL-55 PRO and very likely also with original hood went into auction on ebay with a starting price of 1 EUR. Already after 2 days the bidding limit of 4000 EUR was exceeded. In the end, the specimen changed hands for 4,510 EUR (a new high limit). 13 bidders had placed 25 bids for this device.

Links

• Direct Drive Museum - Sony [1]
• Hifi Studio [2]
• A historically very informative source (engl.) with very good pictures is for ...
• the turntable PS-X 9: [3]
• the tonearm PUA-9: [4]
• the XL-55 PRO cartridge: [5]