The secret is: Being there at the right moment.
I think this is a BIG score! I love these decks!
@Blaze: Thanks for the compliments!
You're welcome man!
These decks represent the pinnacle of Sony engineering.
If you think about it, that transport just continued to evolve from about 1988 to what you have there; not in huge steps but rather prudent, deliberate, robustness enhancing steps.
And more importantly, no drastic re-design.
Sure the last range of Sony & Sony ES gear started to suffer from cost-cutting, but IMHO these "cuts" were from the edges, taking away ADDED (and quite possibly superfluous) features no longer
demanded by the marketplace;
for instance
CD Direct
Side panels
Compartmentalized sections
Copper chassis treatments
to name just a few.