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“Much as shibusa informs the eye of the cutler or potter or flower arranger, it must have informed the eyes of the designers of the Flamingo. This record player plays the disc as it stands upright, and thus becomes a source not only of sound but also of sculptural beauty.” Time Magazine, August 1983

This site is dedicated to the Sony PS-F5 portable record player, also known as the Flamingo in Japan. I decided to set this up as I own a PS-F5 and discovered there was very little information available online about this great turntable or its lesser seen brother, the PS-F9.

This site will be a place where I collect any relevant information and images that I find, as well as a place for owners or other interested people out there to ask questions or add info.

Shapes, as well as colors, are changing. Sony’s Flamingo record turntable is the best example. It is a white 10″ tower which plays records vertically with a linear-tracking tone arm. “Japan and technology: a nation looks to the future”. Creative Computing, August 1984

Until I find something better, here’s a video of the PS-F5 in action:

(shame about the speed glitch in the audio- that’s not something that I’ve experienced with my PS-F5 except when the record is pressed slightly over diameter/ off centre, or there is a small piece of badly trimmed vinyl on the edge of the record which catches on the bottom of the player’s slot, which it sounds like might be the problem here.)

Please check back and it would be great to hear from anyone out there interested in this great piece of musical history, especially if you have any info, images or stories you’d like to share through this site.

Marcus Hill
July 2009