Hey! Who took the Sony? 1958 rare vintage transistor radio
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- You have heard of this outfit. Founded May 7, 1946 in Tokyo in postwar Japan, they went on to very big things. Who.. am I talking about?
Well, you don't know them by this name. You know them by the name they coined in 1955 to put on their first transistor radio. This name. And this Sony logo appeared on their products until 1958 when it was replaced with this logo. Look familiar? Well, sure. Sony's TR-63 from 1957, was their last shirt-pocket radio to use this logo. What was their first shirt-pocket transistor radio to appear without it?
The Sony TR-65. This was the first Sony product to drop the old logo and use instead the simple four-letter logo that Sony has used now for sixty years and counting. As you can see, the TR-65 was something of an update of the TR-63, which addressed an issue with that earlier model's tuning knob. What was the issue? Well, they broke! The rather thin, plastic, external tuning knob wasn't very well suited for going in and out of a pocket. They could, and did, catch on those pockets with torn shirts and broken knobs as the tragic result. And so on the TR-65 we see a knob this is both thicker, and is also recessed into the cabinet.
The whole cabinet of the TR-65 seems thicker to me than the TR-63 and of a different plastic formulation. Sony would reverse course on their next pocket model and make it of thinner plastic than any of their previous shirt-pockets. That model was already in the works when the TR-65 came out and would be released later that same year, 1958. And that's why this TR-65 model is so rare these days. It was a kind of interim radio, made for just a few months, between Sony's first full-featured shirt-pocket radio and the radio that would follow, Sony's first massively popular product, in any category, the TR-610.
We cover that TR-610 in another video on this channel so let's get back to our TR-65. Taking a closer look at the knob, we see that... hey... that's not the Sony. Who took the Sony? What we have here is an Orion. A knockoff of the Sony. Can you believe that one company would rip off another? Is there no honor among corporations? I'm shocked. But this wouldn't be the only time this happened to Sony. That next shirt-pocket model I mentioned, the TR-610 that replaced the TR-65, was copied mercilessly. That model spawned more copycats and look-alikes than any other transistor radio of any brand, ever.
And who was Orion?, he said, wandering off point yet again. THIS was Orion. One of the many smaller players in the transistor radio game in Japan. Orion seems to have been incapable of stopping themselves from ripping off Sony. Even their owner's manual graphic "borrows" the "girl holding a radio with two hands" thing from this earlier Sony graphic. These sorts of things amuse me, as regular viewers of this channel know. And while they're amusing, it's fair to note that a company willing to steal from another company.. is willing to steal from you. And, you know, ultimately, where did it get them?
While somewhat subdued in appearance compared to the TR-63, the TR-65 is a thing of beauty in its own way. Sony obviously had the leadership and talent in place by early 1958, to consistently make great things. Within a year, by the end of 1958, the whole world would know it.
The Sony TR-sixty... hey.
The Sony TR-65.
I love your videos, and I'm always looking forward to the next one.
They're always informative and most with a comedic twist. Thank you
The TR 65 looks contemporary even today with it's matt grey and red highlight, they do say if you wait long enough fashion comes back around.
Another great video! I can only imagine the size of your collection! It seems like every vid you make has something new in it! Thanks again for a great video!
And Collectornet's acquisition of related literature impresses me as well.
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Great radio and video! Thanks!
Well done. Thank You
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NGL, I usually like the design of the imitations more. (Looking at you Zephyr)
Sony build quality and their unwavering commitment to innovation are undoubtable, (even if occasionally foolhardy) but the Sony aesthetic has (almost) always been boring to me.
Though they have a rare great looking gem like the Bean walkman thrown in there now and then, (even that was their bare bones model, anything really good was just a grey rectangle)
I want that Sony sound quality, but that Toshiba look.