Hi! I started to 'index' the Sony catalogs I could find, with the focus on portables. The result to date is attached as PDF, below a sneak peek: Pivot tables per category, to query "Walkmans in 1985 catalog", etc. I would like to add later. I'm looking for more catalogs and volunteers to update the overview! Do you have Sony catalogs from 1980-2005, or links to them? Please share! The catalogs I have downloaded / received from various sources are the following: Still to be processed / mapped: @Mister X : I was referring to this overview in my DD Genealogy post!
Make sure you search this site, ".pdf site: stereo2go.com" on the google, you'll find lots of catalogs posted over the years. It looks like you've seen Alex Chernyak's Stuff, he also has the website hifi-archive, here's the sony page, he's been on the internet forever posting great catalog collections, talk about a labor of love doing all of that scanning. https://www.hifi-archiv.info/sony.html John Edwards posted some cool brochures found on the forum reader, there's one huge book, I can't remember the subject exactly but maybe how to sell the TPS-L2? He might have posted jpegs of the photos and it's really long. Edit, here's the thread, the Tinypic's are gone! I think there's an browser add-on that will restore the photos, I don't have it though, did anybody download this rare piece of history? https://www.stereo2go.com/topic/ind...3392314111894628&board_oid=522740502721869426
Here's some more goodies! https://www.stereo2go.com/topic/ind...9157408310323863&board_oid=522740502721869426
Thanks for sharing @Mister X . I’ll download and store as many catalogs are possible, little time capsules . The relevant Sony ones I’ll add to the catalogs to process list.
Go through my "Another cool Japanese Website" Thread as well, there's dozens on there but they are disappearing fast. They used to have several free platforms with all kinds of cool stuff but they shut them down and the sites never got reposted. Some you can bring back with archive.org but I noticed the google won't let me translate them anymore from archive.org. Click all of the links, it's like the old days with the web rings.
I don't see this one on the list, I'm not sure what catalog it is, it came out in 1981, I love the photo of the parts page! This is over on the officeW site.
There's a few more that aren't on the above list in this old post in the Forum Reader. https://www.stereo2go.com/topic/ind...9157408310323863&board_oid=522740502721869426 The pages are listed at the top, there's three in total!
Only parts of this are found on the google image search, some more brochures might be on this site. http://audioidiots.com/index.php
Here's one from AO, the 1982 Sony Portable Catalog in English. https://www.stereo2go.com/topic/ind...92314111653369&content_oid=262498619200350659
Thanks for sharing the link @Mister X . I don't believe the catalog was released in 1982. The Sony WM-DC2 and Sony WM-DC6 were not released in 1982. See the DD Genealogy overview by following the link in my signature; operating + service manuals and other catalogs were used as base input. Additionally, the (now) iconic Sony WM-30 was only released in 1984: - Sony WM-30 Walkman Casssette Player Manual | HiFi Engine - 1984 - SONY WM- Walkman Archive (walkman-archive.com) - 1985 - Sony WM-30 ▶ Walkman.land - 1984. Can we agree to date it to 1984? It would help to have the last page of the catalog, which appears to be missing.
According to my mapping, it appeared in 1984 in a Japanese catalog (1984-11 - Sony portable audio catalog Japan.pdf). I think we can conclude that the English catalog is not from ‘82, more likely ‘84 or ‘85.