Sony SS 3800 (Late 1960s)
A floorstanding, passive 3-way speaker system from Sony's ES series, with dual 38 cm woofers and a sealed enclosure.
Overview
The Sony SS-3800 is a large floorstanding loudspeaker made around the late 1960s. It was the top model in Sony's ES series, built for high-fidelity reproduction. It is a 3-way system with six drivers: two 38 cm cone woofers, two 12 cm cone midrange units, and two 5 cm horn-type tweeters. The enclosure is a sealed box made from 40 mm thick rigid homogen material, finished with a cheek oil stain. The speaker is passive and has an 8 Ω nominal impedance.
Specifications
| Model Rating Method | 3-Way, 6-Speaker, Sealed Type, Floor Type |
| Unit For low band | 38 cm cone x2 |
| Unit For Medium Range | 12 cm Cone Type x2 |
| Unit For high band | 2 x 5 cm horn type |
| Unit magnetic flux density Middle | 11,000 gauss |
| Unit magnetic flux density High | 14,700 gauss |
| Unit total flux Medium | 260,000 maxwell |
| Frequency characteristic | 25 Hz to 20 kHz |
| Output sound pressure level | 98dB/W |
| Impedance | 8 Ω |
| Crossover frequency | 400 Hz, 4 kHz 12dB/oct |
| Level control | 3-step switching of -3dB, flat, +3dB for both middle and high frequencies |
| External dimensions | Width 710x Height 1,080x Depth 530 mm |
| Weight | 107kg |
| Type | Passive |
| Positioning | Floorstanding |
| Enclosure | Sealed Box |
| Way system | 3 |
| Nominal Impedance | 8 Ohm |
Design
The two 38 cm cone woofers handle the low end. Each one uses a strong magnetic circuit with eight 30 φ x 30 magnets. The midrange uses two 12 cm cone speakers. The high-frequency section has two 5 cm horn-type tweeters with Permendur-based strong magnetic circuits. The enclosure is 40 mm thick rigid homogen material with a cheek oil stain finish. A network switching switch lets you set the system up for multi-amplifier use with external channel dividers.
Context
The Sony SS-3800 was the flagship of the ES series and Sony's highest-end audio offering when it came out in the late 1960s. It was priced at ¥315,000 per unit.
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