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Without
a doubt, Toshiba's System 15 is the
best "micro-system" produced during the last remaining
moments of high-fidelity's best years. It also is the prettiest
and most coherent design of all mid-size components. Although the
amplifier and preamplifier did deserve just as much, only the black
version of the ST-F15 (ST-F15K) was to win a 1978
japanese Good Design Award.
I
believe the accompanying PC-D15 recorder
and AD-15 dynamics processor to not
have been actually produced beyond a few pre-production samples.
Besides
excellency in design, there is full hi-fi inside these components:
all-DC, toroidal transformers, 1-piece diecast aluminium chassis
for the power amplifier (!), 3-piece extruded aluminium for the
others, dual-FETs and more - click the buttons below for the respective
details, specs and block-diagrams.
Unlike
Aiwa's slightly later "22 Series"
which was sold under many different brand names, Toshiba's System
15 never saw any OEM version - by 1979, this probably was
already too expensive to build. The Technics
C-01 must've suffered the same fate.
The
future was to Sony's
FH-7 quality system, and then to... less quality.
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