Any thoughts on the Classic Sony ES amplifier line?

rpen · « **on:** 15 Apr 2020, 05:13 pm »

I have always liked the Sony ES amplifiers and players. What is your view on this gear?

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Apr 2020, 05:33 pm »

Hi, Starting Block is really for people to introduce themselves. This question/thread is best posted in Solid State Circle, so I'll move it there for you now.

Please introduce yourself to the community by starting a thread here. If you are new to the site, threads posted here will be approved more quickly than anywhere else. Please DO NOT start more than one thread.

Mag · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Apr 2020, 07:43 pm »

I have the Sony NS9100 ES which I recall cost $1700 CDN. The reviews were not top notch but IMO this product was underated. I have two Sony sacd players a cheaper model and this one. This one in comparison has what I would describe as a Warm sound. With sacd the playback was superb, unfortunately player is no longer in system because HDMI is not compatible with current TV and my pre-amp does not have HDMI input. Also currently using Yamaha BD-A1060 for blu ray video and Bryston BCD-3 for CD.

What makes the 9100 shine is that you can turn the video section on/off. You may not realize the noise video has, but I assure you when you turn this off music background becomes dead quiet and you can hear detail.

For video it upscaled to 1080p with topnotch quality.

timind · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Apr 2020, 08:26 pm »

I owned a TA-F707es probably 15 years ago. It was a beautiful, beast of an amp and worked flawlessly. I don't know if it was pure class A, but it ran pretty hot.

One of those pieces I wish I could've kept forever.

Freo-1 · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Apr 2020, 09:32 pm »

I've always liked the legacy Sony ES gear, especially their amplifiers. Definitely worth looking into.

rpen · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 Apr 2020, 04:20 pm »

The amps were built like a tank, I wonder how much would they cost today if Sony were to decide to relaunch them. I like the aesthetic of the latest series TA-FA5Es, TA-FA7Es, TA-FA50ES and Ta-FA777ES.

Doublej · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Apr 2020, 02:07 pm »

The new? Sony ES amplifier.

https://www.sony.com/electronics/audio-components/ta-a1es

twitch54 · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Apr 2020, 04:28 pm »

Quote from: Doublej on 28 Apr 2020, 02:07 pm

The new? Sony ES amplifier.

https://www.sony.com/electronics/audio-components/ta-a1es

took a look at the spec sheet, unless I'm missing something they're not telling much.......

as for 'legacy' ES gear , good. Non ES Sony gear, junk IMO.