Sony SRA-3
A self-contained stereo tape preamplifier that let a bare transport become a complete tape recorder, for under fifty pounds.
Overview
The SRA-3 made the two-box tape rig make sense. Instead of buying a complete stereo recorder, a recordist could pair a transport with this outboard recording amplifier and have a working tape unit. Sony pitched it exactly that way. Reporting from the Audio Fair, Studio Sound (May 1965, p.44) noted that the SRA-3 stereo tape preamplifier could be connected to almost any deck, "making a complete tape unit possible for under £50," with the preamp itself selling fully assembled for £33 12s. The matching ½-track transport, the TD 263D, added £39 18s to the bill.
The SRA-3 was not a toy preamp. Studio Sound (May 1965, p.44) specifically notes it incorporates twin VU meters, which is handy on a component of this class, since you get metering at the amplifier rather than depending on the deck. It functions as a stereo recording preamplifier, and the contemporary record shows it being used that way in serious installations. In HiFi-Stereo Review's "Installation of the Month" (November 1965, p.70), an engineer with twenty-five years at Columbia Records mounted a Sony 263E deck vertically with transistor playback preps, and set the matching SRA-3 recording amplifier immediately above the deck.
The SRA-3 was built to serve more than one transport. A reader's contribution to Audio's "Tape Guide" column (February 1968, p.56) spells it out: the SRA-3 recording amplifier can be used with either the 263D or the 262D tape transport, because it can be adjusted to suit either one. The same correspondence notes the 263D's low-impedance record/playback head and advises that both transports should see an impedance of 100K to 250K ohms in playback mode.
The classifieds in Audio (July 1965, p.48) carried a factory-fresh Sony 263-D three-head stereo tape deck paired with the SRA-3 stereo recording preamp, both in original cartons and perfect condition, offered at $165 for the pair. Eight years later, the "Equipment Wanted" columns in Audio (August 1973, p.120) still had a reader hunting a Sony SRA-3 recording amplifier by name.
For the collector, the SRA-3 is an accessory rather than a headline piece. You buy it because you already have the transport and want the correct period electronics above it. Its value is tied to the decks it serves: an SRA-3 with a matching 263D or 262D is a complete, coherent rig.
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