Sony 5000FW (c. 1968–1969)
The Sony 5000FW - listed in period material as the ST-5000FW - is an FM stereo tuner from the late 1960s. Almost everything known about it comes from Sony's own advertising. No independent test reports or service literature have surfaced in the Archive's records. The ads are still worth keeping, because they show where Sony was aiming this chassis.
A Sony spread in Audio (June 1968, p.37) said that practically every component in the ST-5000FW was Sony-engineered and Sony-made, including its field-effect transistors. The headline feature was a solid-state i.f. filter that never required realignment. That was a real selling point when FM front ends drifted with age. Selectivity was claimed at better than 90 dB, enough to pull a weak station out from directly beside a strong one, helped by a selective circuit in the multiplex section. A companion ad campaign in High Fidelity (January 1969, p.29) pushed the same message: the filter's stability meant the tuner would never need its alignment touched.
The 5000FW also figured in Sony's "2001: A Sony Sound Odyssey" system pitch. That pitch was built around the ST-5000 FET tuner, credited in Audio (June 1969, p.29) with the same never-needs-realigning filter, plus matching amplification and a TTS-series turntable. The complete system was priced at $2,000-plus. The surviving sources don't say whether the "ST-5000" named in that ad and the "ST-5000FW" are identical or close variants.
Known facts are thin:
- Type: FM stereo tuner
- Selectivity: better than 90 dB (claimed)
- Key feature: solid-state i.f. filter needing no alignment
- Construction: Sony-engineered / Sony-made parts, including FETs
- Period: advertised 1968–1969
No dimensions, output level, or standalone price have been confirmed. If you have a manual or service notes, the Archive would welcome them.
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