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By: M. Shaffer
17th Feb 2017
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"Bought it new in 82"
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I love my beat-up old '22!!! I have used it religiously, since I bought it, paired with Bose 301s that I still rock out to :-) I replaced a Dual DD unit with it, and ran it through the matched receiver/amp, til that died. I just purchased a new TT. I took my old Sony, some Go To Glue, patched up a foot, and a lid hinge, and my son will be enjoying it for years. I love the sound it made through my current Kenwood amp, and I will miss it. I get stylus replacements at any of a half dozen record shops in my area, so they are easily nobtaiable, and durable. If you have one, level it, balance your tonearm, set the tracking force at about 1.5 to 2g, the anti-skate to the same, and it should play flawlessly and sound great forever.
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49 people liked this review.
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By: Thomas Vee
26th Apr 2011
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"Sony PS-LX22 and his friends..."
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This Sony turntable came to me in fleamarket December 2010. I paid 20 €uros for it and it came with the same series or something amplifier, tuner and a cassette deck. All of their model number where something with '22', amplifier worked and it had the basic early 80's cheaper Japan sound with some problem with the input switches. The tuner was very, should I say too sensitive but it had a good and dynamic sound. Almost every southern Finland's FM broadcasts where found with a basic antenna. The deck was broken, and very shitty too, but enough about PS-LX 22's companions... The turntable was functioning, well, almost. I had to find a new headshell it was pretty hard until eBay helped to buy one with the price of 19 GP pounds. Since Sony made this model with it's on connection to the tonearm I had to find the original one. Antiskating worked just fine and after little adjusting with the weight I was ready to play records. I don't know if it's my sympathy for these type of Hi-Fi components or just the thing I'm over 30 and I grew up with things like these, the sound was good. Nothing very amazing or world turning but comparing to one of my favorites (Dual cs505-3) , I enjoyed the records I played. Though the turntable is a cheaper model, I must accompany with the other review that they made better stuff those days. The players sound I very humble, open and a little bit on the more middle range side. Records with higher production levels sound good, but some harder material like some late 70's and early 80's NWOBM or metal records give the turntable harder time, I think it's the stylus that gives it away... I give this turntable 3.4 points out of 5 and recommend this turntable if you find one with a working headshell.
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59 people liked this review.
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By: Sven
21st Aug 2010
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"Sony PS-LX22 Direct-Drive Turntable"
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The best DD turntables were made in the 70's. VERY expensive. In the 80's, with the systems well-tested, the Japs made more affordable consumer models. Cheap, yes, but still quiet good quality. The real drop in standards was that they were generally no longer true hifi units. DD needs very good vibration damping, the motor IS the turntable, no rubber belt to absorb any rumble, the top 70's units often weighed 30kgs. The LX22 weighs-in around 4 kgs. The arm is an inch too short, too, so if you have one of the rare adjustable headshells with separate cartridge, setup is critical. With the cheap standard headshell with integral cartridge there is no adjustment, so don't worry about it. Sony use their own variant of the DIN headshell socket, it's much smaller and none other but a Sony headshell will fit. But it has to be said the XL150 cartridge and stylus are good enough for most listeners, who have probably never heard a semi-decent hifi setup, and don't have any really top recordings anyway. The LX22 IS, after all, a consumer model. A Google-search says the stylus is still readily avalaible for about 20 bucks. It might be all plastic but it is still a very well-made product and quiet solid as such. Plastic does absorb some vibrations, too. There is no fine-adjustment for the speed, but tests have shown it to hold perfect timing anyway. Sold around '83-'85 it was a heck of a good buy and many who bought it certainly enjoyed it.
I have a small collection of belt-drive TT's, nothing special, but good hifi-units, and bought all of my 3 DD's from a local church charity-shop, as spares, for less than ten bucks apiece. All flawless, all with useable cartridges, all plug-in playable. My best is an Akai AP 006 (yes, 10 bucks and FLAWLESS) running a light aftermarket headshell and a Stanton 681EEE, I'm playing it all the time now, as my number one unit.
But the Sony PS-LX22 isn't a slouch, either. Only let down by the cheap cartridge (only detectable as my setup is moderately good, good enough to reveal the flaws: Marantz 7001, Mirage Omni-60 speakers, Supra cables) the LX is a very good DD-unit, and a worthy spare I will use occasionally.
Beware: Unlike belt-drives DD's CANNOT be repaired. The Japs have thrown-out all tooling and electronic charts etc. The main problem seems to be the speed-processor chip. Nobody knows just why, chips are usually the most reliable part in electronic circuits. The processors are unique to DD's and nobody knows how they are programmed, not even the factories who designed and made them. Having said that, it does seem most units that broke-down were in hot, muggy, countries. But what the heck, just play it and enjoy the music, most units will probably last forever!
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74 people liked this review.
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![[Thumbnail]](https://www.hifidatabase.com/static/gallery/7/10917-Sony_PS-LX22_wm.jpg)
