My collection of Aurex audio equipment

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“There is no such thing as Italian, German or Turkish music. There is only music”. [No existe música italiana, alemana o turca. Sólo existe la música].

Giuseppe Verdi
Italian opera composer (1813-1901).

Music is something constant in my life and a passion that embraces me since childhood, where I enjoy that sound that manages to sweeten my soul.

In the same way that the value of gold will be given by the percentage of purity it has; the sound to not bother our auditory system, must start from sources that achieve low distortion, good dynamic contrast, and adequate volume, so that we can appreciate it with quality and without negative consequences to our health.

For that reason, today I want to share my collection of Vintage High Fidelity Audio components from Toshiba/Aurex.

Toshiba is a respected Japanese company founded more than 80 years ago and dedicated to the manufacture of electronic and electrical devices. Among its wide range of products are audio equipment.
Aurex was the premium brand to compete in international markets.

The equipment that I will present to you, are isolated components that must be coupled through cables and connectors. They alone are not capable of allowing us to feel the music of our choice through the speakers.

Minimum elements of a home audio setup:

  • Playback and recording sources with their specific media:
  • Pre and Amplification equipment: either together or separate.
  • Equalization (Optional)
  • Cables and connectors
  • Speakers: bookshelf type, floorstanding type, etc.

The beauty of this hobby, is that knowing your tastes, you can configure your own system; with equipment of the same brand or not.

In the same way that empathy exists at a personal level, the same thing happens with audio components. It is necessary to couple them, and see if they harmonize electronically, so that they can give us a quality sound.

So after a few introductory words to help you understand me better, let's go to the pictures of these Aurex equipment:

Tuner model ST-320

ST 320 front.jpg

With this two band tuner, you can enjoy Frequency Modulation (FM) and Amplitude Modulation (AM) radio waves, on a Japanese scale ranging from 76 to 90 MHz for the former, and from 540 to 1600 kHz for the latter.

It has two VU meters below the scale, for tuning and signal level adjustment. Model that has a volume control on its audio output level.

ST 320 side.jpg

Amplifier model SB-320

SB 320.jpg

This integrated stereo amplifier offers sound power between 42 and 50 watts per channel, on 4 and 8 ohms impedance speakers.
It has two controls, for high and low frequencies, and 5 inputs for different sources.
It has headphone output and up to 4 speakers can be connected, although audiophiles will always listen to stereo on two channels.

On the back, you can see the different RCA type connectors, where you can connect the playback sources of your choice.
Below and in the center, there are the speaker outputs; and to the right and above, three 100 volt AC sockets.

SB 320 side.jpg

SB 320 back.jpg

Cassette deck model PC-4060

PC 4060 front.jpg

This cassette deck has an attractive design that stands out from the average. The recording and playback levels are indicated using VU meters, something that I personally love, and it feels more vintage.

Its keys are made of a strong plastic, and the cassette is placed in an oblique position, having a protective metal cover.

PC 4060 side.jpg

PC 4060 side..jpg

The 3 components coupled in one setup:

setup front.jpg

setup side.jpg

Another different setup:

Aurex SB 435 y ST 320.jpg

For this one, I used the SB-435 Amplifier model, which unlike the previous one, has VU meters to indicate its output power. It also provides an external microphone input with gain control.

The Tuner model ST-32O adds as features, a fixed sound tone, useful to adjust the recording and playback levels in a magnetic tape deck.

Although these units were built in the 70's, they still work perfectly, have a beautiful design and were made with quality materials to last over time.

The sound they provide is clean, detailed, and I can enjoy listening to all kinds of music genres with a very pleasant sound.

For these details, is that today, people are valuing everything related to vintage, and this includes audio equipment.

Thanks to those who read me. I wish you a nice start of the week.

Own photos. Camera: Panasonic Lumix model DMC-ZS100

Source of the Quote: Loff.it

Text divider. Free use from @eve66
Text by Andrés Brunet

@abrunet

Thank you for reading
Welcome your comments
Infinite greetings!



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2 comments

The quality of the audio equipment indeed affects a lot the feeling we get while listening to music. You have real treasures, your collections of so many different items, especially those that bring music to our hearings.

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As you say. Quality music touches our emotions and resonates in our essence. On the contrary, a sound with noise and distortion overwhelms.
The same happens in a piano, it is not the same an out-of-tune or low-end instrument, compared to a calibrated one and a brand with history. Greetings

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