Sony began in Tokyo in 1946, founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, and it helped bring the world the Walkman and the compact disc. We carry Sony stereo and AV receivers, CD players, cassette decks, amplifiers and speakers. We’ve had more than 220 Sony listings so far, covering more than 185 different models. Every used Sony here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don’t see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we’ll email you when one arrives.
Sony models we’ve sold more than once include the TC-K61 cassette deck, the CDP-CE305 and CDP-C335 CD players, the STR-DA5700ES AV receiver and the STR-4800SD stereo receiver.
The Sony story, 1946 to today
Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (“Totsuko”) in Tokyo in 1946, growing out of a radio repair business Ibuka had started the year before. The company was renamed Sony in 1958.
Tape and transistors. The G-model tape recorder of 1950 is described as Japan’s first, and the TR-55 transistor radio of 1955 was the first Sony-branded product.
ES. Sony describes the TA-1120 integrated amplifier of 1965 as the first all-silicon-transistor stereo amplifier and dates its ES (“Elevated Standard”) line from it.
Walkman and CD. The Walkman went on sale in Japan in July 1979. Sony worked with Philips on the compact disc, and Sony’s CDP-101 was among the first CD players on sale in Japan in October 1982. Sony still makes ES AV receivers.
Which Sony is which?
STR receivers: stereo receivers from the late 1960s on, such as the STR-6120, and later AV receivers, including ES models.
TA amplifiers and ES separates: from the TA-1120 to the TA-E86 preamplifier and TA-N86 power amplifier (1978).
CDP CD players: from the CDP-101 (1982) and CDP-701ES (1983) to changers such as the CDP-CE305 and CDP-C335 we sell often.
TC tape decks: reel-to-reel recorders until 1985, and cassette decks such as the TC-K61 and the three-head TC-K777ES.
SS speakers: such as the SS-G7 floorstanders of 1978.
Buying used Sony: what to check
CD players. Open and close the drawer several times; hesitation can be an early sign of trouble. Laser pickups wear, skipping is a symptom, and tray belts age.
Cassette decks. Belts dry out and cause slipping or uneven playback, and worn heads dull the sound. Run fast-forward and rewind, and check Dolby.
Amplifiers and receivers. Noisy switches and dirty relay contacts cause many faults, and bias settings drift with age. On tuners, look for blown bulbs and broken dial cords.
Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.
Showing 1–12 of 74 resultsSorted by price: high to low
Sony STR-V55 Vintage Stereo Receiver – 55 WPC, Cherry Upgrade
55 watts a channel at 0.02% distortion, out of Sony's Pulse Power Supply — a switching supply that replaced the usual heavy transformer, which is why this weighs under 17 pounds. MM and MC phono both, gold-plated, plus a preamp/power amp jumper on the back. Quartz PLL tuner with eight presets. Ottawa Valley cherry side panels fitted here; Level One serviced. AM auto-scan is not working; everything else is.
Sony SS-CS3 3-Way 4-Driver Floor Standing Tower Speakers Pair
Four drivers in a three-way tower — two 130 mm MRC cone woofers, a 25 mm soft dome tweeter, and a 19 mm super tweeter that carries response to 50 kHz, which is what earns the High-Resolution Audio certification. 45 Hz at the bottom, 88 dB, 6 ohms, 145 watts maximum. Voice-matched to the rest of Sony's CS series. Like new, sold as a pair.
Sony TAE-20FB Falcon Preamplifier — Bronze, MM/MC Phono, Japan
The control amplifier from Sony's short-lived Falcon range — made in Japan for barely two years and rarely seen on this side of the Pacific. Bronze-anodised aluminium case, a real moving-coil phono input alongside moving-magnet, and a signal path that has been freshly recapped. A couple of light marks on the casework, otherwise Very Good. Ships from Kanata, ON.
Sony STR-AV880 Vintage Stereo Receiver – 110 WPC, MM/MC Phono
110 watts a channel into 8 ohms at 0.006% distortion, with a phono stage that switches between moving magnet and moving coil from the front panel. Introduced around 1986 as an A/V control centre — toroidal transformer, FM/AM presets, speaker A and B, tape loops, 21.2 lbs. Made in Japan. Very good condition.
Sony ES STR-DA555ES 5.1 AVR 600W — Phono, Preouts
120 watts into each of five channels, 600 watts in total, from Sony's Elevated Standard line in 1999 — and 35 pounds of chassis to go with it. Two DSP engines, a 24-bit for Dolby Digital and DTS and a 32-bit for the soundfields, with an Analog Direct mode that bypasses both. MM phono, full 5.1 preouts and two subwoofer outputs. Level One serviced here; remote included.
Sony STR-VX5 Vintage Stereo Receiver – 55 WPC, Serviced
55 watts a channel from 20 Hz to 20 kHz at 0.007% distortion, out of Sony's Legato Linear circuit and a Pulse Power supply with a transformer a fiftieth the size of a conventional one. Gold-plated phono inputs take MM or MC, and the quartz tuner has eight presets with Memory Scan and Auto Sweep. Made in Japan, 1981-82. Freshly serviced and working perfectly.
Sony STR-DE975 550 Watt 5.1 AVR with Phono, Dual Zone
One hundred and ten watts to each of five channels at 0.09% distortion, decoded by a pair of 32-bit processors covering Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic II and Virtual Matrix 6.1. Three optical inputs and a coaxial, a discrete 5.1 analogue input for SACD or DVD-Audio, an MM phono stage, and a second zone that runs a different source. Pre-programmed universal remote included.
Sony SS-CSEM2 Dolby Atmos Upfiring Height Speakers Pair
A pair of Atmos height speakers that fire upward and use your ceiling as the reflector, so you get overhead channels without cutting into it. One 100mm reinforced cellular cone per cabinet, sealed wood enclosure, 70Hz to 32kHz to meet the Atmos specification, 86dB into 6 ohms. Sit them on your front speakers or wall-mount them. Like-new condition.
Sony ES 260 Watt 5.1 Receiver with Phono STR-GX700ES
Seventy watts a channel into 8 ohms from Sony’s Elevated Standard line, with an MM phono stage and switchable speaker impedance. Eight additional pairs of RCA inputs, four of them with output loops, and a full-range stereo pre-out that will feed a subwoofer with its own crossover. Third-party universal remote and PDF manual included.