Sony SS-G1

Part of the small ones - still the size of an AR-3a !

The original SS-G1 was made in Japan.
The smaller but heavier SS-G1mkII was assembled and tweaked in Germany by WEGA.
The SS-G1mkIII did see even better power handling and a filter repratee shifted up by 1Khz.

Typical Sony : all three only say "G1" on the their front and cover, whatever the actual version...

All three sported a 25cm Carbocon woofer, the "acoustically grooved" front baffle and a fair directivity plot (given the price-range).
THD specs show a predominance of 2nd harmonics (I can hear that :) and my ears tell me they can take a LOT of power without going haywire.

My own november 1980 mkII have an ogival damped sub-enclosure holding the mid driver and although the filter board is tagged "Sony, made in Japan", several components bear a WEGA sticker.
The inside shows many corner braces plus a large, 3cm thick, flower-like shape supplementary surface glued to the back to diminish standing resonances.
The 25cm tall WS-E70 feet are screwed to the underside with a huge and large (single) screw.

As a few lower to mid-end Sony speakers from 1977 onward, the G1mkII were part of those units "tuned in Europe" for the european market and for european "ears".
The low and high drivers in my mkII are SEAS OEMs with diecast aluminium structure, the mid as well probably but it is sealed so I can't be sure...
A 1980 Best Buy in the UK at any rate.

The enclosure's finish of the mkII looks like brown-ish whatever but isn't : it is a thick layer of plasticky paint put over a truly magnificent real warm wood veneer. If you're handy with your... hands, strip it off cleanly and you'll be able to show your friends your new 1200£ hip & ultra 'speakers.


Not a SS-GR1, not an SS-A5 either, this of course wasn't "high-end" or overpriced audiophile whatever : just excellent all-around loudspeakers, easy to drive and easy to listen to.

I have now given my pair of near new SS-G1mkII to a friend's son as I finally own the speakers I've been chasing for 25 years (APM-77W), but, paired with a TA-N86B in Class A, the SS-G1mkII is a little audio paradise for the price of ten bags of peanuts.