Cool. Do you have other vintage amps to compare it to?I really like my TA-1120A. I replaced all electrolytics, most of the preamp transistors, and another in the protect circuit. Sounds great with most speakers I’ve tried it with. Im not exactly sure about sonic differences, but the original 1120, although very similar, has more than just some minor changes if you look at the layouts. Headphone socket is one thing the 1120A has that the 1120 doesn’t. My headphone socket works fine with my headphones, but it may not have enough output for some.
Did you change all the large caps on the chassis as well?Yeah, I have used a lot of amps on the same speakers as the Sony. A couple I’ve used recently:
Yamaha CA-810 - This is a pretty neutral amp, and the Sony is on the warmer side of neutral. The Yamaha has a little more power, and it’s more detailed, but there’s something about the fullness of the Sony. Especially on the right efficient speakers.
Scott 299b - the Sony sounds more like this el84 pp amp than the Yamaha. It’s a very early SS integrated design, so to me it seems voiced like a tube amp. It’s also a cap coupled amp, so that could have something to do with it.
I guess I can see how people might say the highs aren’t the most airy or detailed, but mine sounded congested at first too. After a little restoration work, it really opened up. Really well-built with high-quality parts throughout. I’m obviously biased towards this amp, but it’s a keeper for me.
I think the headphone problem could be resolved by rewiring the socket to output as it is in other amps.I can confirm that the headphone output on the TA-1120A is quite low. My tech, Casper at Stereo Rehab here in Chicago, says the TA-1120 is his favorite solid state integrated amp (he's primarily a tube guy) and he recapped/restored mine. It sounds fantastic with speakers, but I am not happy with the headphone performance and may end up selling it. Nice wood case too.
It is a warm sound rather than the brighter sound of more modern amps. I currently have my 1120A running a pair of Emotiva B1's with ribbon tweeters, and the treble sounds lovely to me.
...I think the headphone problem could be resolved by rewiring the socket to output as it is in other amps...
True, there is no output protection relay or speaker/phones selector switch on the amp, so there would be no way of controlling or muting the output to the headphones as the amp stabilizes.That could be done, but there are a few issues.
You'd want to plug the headphones in several seconds after power up to allow the speaker coupling capacitors to charge and settle at half rail. If you didn't, there'd be an almighty 'crack' through the attached headphones.
The pre/main switching in the headphone jack would also need to be bypassed.
Not a problem. You don't use this kind of amp as a headphone amplifier.Often, people plug their headphones in, put them on their head and then press the power button...
I wonder what capacity you used in place of 50uf/5uf. 47uf/4.7uf or 56uf/5.6uf?Yep, all of em.
IonI really like my TA-1120A. I replaced all electrolytics, most of the preamp transistors, and another in the protect circuit. Sounds great with most speakers I’ve tried it with. Im not exactly sure about sonic differences, but the original 1120, although very similar, has more than just some minor changes if you look at the layouts. Headphone socket is one thing the 1120A has that the 1120 doesn’t. My headphone socket works fine with my headphones, but it may not have enough output for some.
A bit afraid it's gonna be a soft sounding amp