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Vintage Sony ES gear

I

ishmac

pfm Member
Anyone have experience or own any nice/serious Sony 'ES' amplifiers? Would love to hear your thoughts/comments/views on specific models etc...

I have a Sony JA50ES mini-disc recorder, flagship model, awesome build quality and weighs a ton.

Which 'ES' amplifiers are high-end and sound awesome without spending mega bucks?


Thanks!
 
norriemal said:
The problem is that the ES gear is in demand and the prices are very high compared to other good older amps. For example:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=300636928556
Click to expand...

You have managed to choose the one amplifier to command those sort of prices and the one dealer who is quite happy to price high and wait for the right buyer. Its condition leaves a little to be desired. Well built ES kit with decent performance can be had for quite a bit less. :)
 
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I started a thread on the Wam about this the other day, and didn't realise until that point there was such a loyal following for these old amps. I've just scored myself what looks like a rather sweet TA-F670ES amp, along with a matching 570ES tuner so am looking forward to hearing what it can do.

I notice there's another 670ES gone up on a certain auction site too.

Will be taking my 670 over to Scalford next w/e for the Show, and am looking forward to hearing what it does vs the Claymore.
 
Jimbo - I see there's a 3ES on the Bay of E at the moment. My interest in these amps was lit when a friend of mine mentioned he might be selling his 3ES the other day, although he too has been doing some reading around and decided to keep it, watching it go up in value. :D
 
I obviously got in at a good time before there is going to be a lot of competition for the nice ones that come up. Looks like the cat is out the bag!

I got a lovely TA 1000esd - digital pre (see other thread)

and a TA 450 ESD - a nice integrated amp with an inbuilt dac

The idea was to bring a couple of good old stable platter Pioneer CDP's back in to service. Really nice build on both but I've not had much time to play around and find the best combinations yet.

The TA 1000esd is pretty versatile.
 
norriemal said:
Here is a nice 650ESD which is the big brother of the 450 I have. It is an integrated with a built in dac. Be quick it finishes at 4.22 today.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=290675905650
Click to expand...

Looks like someone got a good buy with that - Leipzig were asking in excess of 200 Euros for the same amp a while ago.

My new beastie...

IMG_7334.jpg


The phonostage isn't anything to get excited about (the Claymore's gives it a right shoeing) but through the line inputs this amp is one seriously good bit of kit. To think I ignored this stuff for years. :rolleyes:
 
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Could you not run your TT into the Claymore's phono input then connect the tape out on the Claymore to the tape in on the Sony ? Effectively just using the Claymore as a phonostage... bit daft I know but it would offer the best of both worlds!

James. (fellow 670ES owner ;))
 
Oh, and for anyone interested here is the "timeline" for ES amplifiers :

Sequence:
TA-F xxx, xxx II, x00, x30, x50, x70, x90, x0x, TA-FA x, x0, xxx.

2 Series:
TA-F 222 ES

3 Series:
TA-FA 3 ES, TA-FA 30 ES.

4 Series:
TA-F 444 ES

5 Series:
TA-F 555 ES, TA-F 555 ES II, TA-F 500 ES, TA-F 530 ES, TA-F 550 ES, TA-F 570 ES, TA-F 590 ES, TA-F 505 ES, TA-FA 5 ES, TA-FA 50 ES.

6 Series:
TA-F 630 ESD, TA-F 650 ESD, TA-F 670 ES, TA-F 690 ES, TA-F 606

7 Series:
TA-F 700 ES, TA-F 730 ES, TA-F 770 ES, TA-F 707 ES, TA-FA 7 ES, TA-FA 70 ES, TA-FA 777 ES

8 Series:
TA-F 800 ES, TA-F 830 ES, TA-F 870 ES, TA-F 808 ES

Dates
TA-F xxx = circa 1983-1985
TA-F xxx II = circa 1986
TA-F x00 = circa 1988
TA-F x30 = circa 1990
TA-F x 50 = circa 1991
TA-F x70 = circa 1992
TA-F x90 = circa 1993
TA-F x0x = circa 1994
TA-FA x = circa 1995
TA-FA x0 = circa 1997
TA-FA xxx = circa 2000

I also have the 670ES service manual if anyone needs it ?
 
istari_knight said:
Could you not run your TT into the Claymore's phono input then connect the tape out on the Claymore to the tape in on the Sony ? Effectively just using the Claymore as a phonostage... bit daft I know but it would offer the best of both worlds!

James. (fellow 670ES owner ;))
Click to expand...

What a good suggestion .. wish I'd thought of it when I had a Claymore

This of course will give you the balance & tonal controls which may sort Gromit's problems. Certainly worth a crack.
 
A bit of thread-resurrection here - this was starting to become a Sony ES conversation in the system pics thread in 'Audio' so thought it best to continue here.

My babiES...

DSC01518.jpg


DSC01519.jpg


And the new kid on the block...they say if you really like something, even more of that something should be better...

DSC01516.jpg


It's awake...

DSC01529.jpg


DSC01527.jpg
 
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