Picked up a Sony TA-3200F power amp

[Dan56]

I was at a garage sale and picked a Sony TA-3200F power amp. I took it home and hooked it up to a pair of Bose 901s. I was shocked, it sounds great. I did a little research and it looks like it put out about 140 WPC. Does anyone know anything about a TA3200F. Is early 70s Sony gear any good?

Thanks - Dan

 

[thefragger]

It's pieces like this that make me sad when I see what Sony's become.

:tears:

Early 70s Sony gear rocks out, hard!



According to TVK this sucker is can do 5Hz to200kHz at +0 / -2dB at 100WPC into 8ohms. Sweet :drool:

 

[jhoyt]

Great find! I had a Sony integrated from the same era, and it was a wonderful little amp. I would absolutely love to have the TA-2000E / TA-3200F combo!

 

[kyrie48]

Yeah those are awesome... I've had one for some time, but it needs re-capping. Gotta get around to doing so, it likely sounds real nice.
Got one hellava transformer!!
Would you say it sounds kinda like "tube sound"??
:thmbsp:

 

[Robie]

Very, very nice find.

I've got the matching TA-2000F preamp.

These Sony's sound very good, are packed with features and are extremely well made.

Great score!

 

[Lastplace]

My brother had a TA-1150, awesome little set up

http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyvault/TA1150/TA1150.html

 

[dshoaf]

I'm not clear that 140wpc is for each channel driven at the same time. Remember that this amp came out before the FTC pre-conditioning rules hit the streets. This means that all sorts of unpublished assumptions went into specsmanship.

IIRC, the amps in the TA-3200F were the same as the STR-7065 receiver. I'd estimate about 60-70wpc in reality.

BTW, I remember some bar owners who attempted to use this amp for disco installations of the mid-70s and failed miserably. I know since I was the guy who had to rebuild them after meltdowns. These were designed for home use primarily, IMHO.

Don't let that deter you, however, as the Sony gear of the 70s was, indeed, some of the best out there both sonically and in build-quality. I rarely saw a warranty return of any sort for Sony gear from a customer once it came out of the box at home.

Dan56, I installed many Sony amps and receivers with 901s for well-heeled customers back then. I'm sure it will sound great!

Cheers,

David

 

[Brian]

Do a search on the site and you'll come up with a number of posts about the amp. Universally, it is well liked and from the period when Sony was looking to establish itself as the Japanese company for high end audio. Nice find.

 

[analog addict]

Ditto...

I'm also casually hunting for a mate for my TA-2000. However, the 2000 has the smooth knobs, and not the "bumpy" ones....

 

[Dan56]

Sound Quality

Well my first test was the 3200F playing Dark Side of the Moon -"Time" on the 901s. I was so impressed I played the same song on my main system, a Maggie running El84s with a pair of Belle speakers. My Bells did a better job on the highs but the 901s have never sounded that good before. After playing the song my wife asked if we were selling the Bells ))) ya right. When I get time I will try the 3200F on a pair of Cornwalls, more of a rock speaker and see what happens.

I attached a copy of the specs maybe some can interpret them for me, on the power output.

Thanks - Dan

 

[dshoaf]

The closest spec for WPC on that sheet is the Continuous, Both Channels Driven, 20-20K Hz spec, which Sony calls for 100wpc. If the voltage rails are still up to it, it might make that but, given the age, it may need some basic remedial recapping to achieve those specs today.

Monitor the heatsinks for overheating if you're going to use in its present condition.

Cheers,

David

 

[absolon]

Per the owners manual the power output is 100wpc RMS from 20 -20kHz at 0.1% THD from 250mW to 100W output, both channels driven. Output is 140wpc at 1 kHz.

Having run this amp in original condition for nearly 5 years without rebuild I can tell you that it is not prone to overheating nor any other problems. It is a well designed and well built piece of equipment with a very sweet sound. Acquisition of the matching 2000F preamp and 5000FW tuner will give you a system that is tough to beat with any mass market components of any brand.

 

[Dan56]

Thank You for all the good information

Dan

 

[reggaenaut]

Is early 70s Sony gear any good?

Thanks - Dan

Well built great sounding equipment which will not take away your arm and leg. The integrated amp TA 1120 of the same period is a joy.

 

[JohnVF]

I'm also casually hunting for a mate for my TA-2000. However, the 2000 has the smooth knobs, and not the "bumpy" ones....

I have a TA-3200f mated to a 2000a preamp...they still look good together. In fact, I had the 2000f as well, but liked the way the 2000a looked a bit better, and kept that one. Sonically they were very similar (the preamps), but after several back and forth comparisons, I finally chose the 2000s...though having matched bumpy knobs was seriously part of my decision process! I like the 3200 a lot. It doesn't have the smoothness of my tube amps, but it has a low end punch and authority, clarity, and supurb build quality. I'm a big fan of vintage Sony (and even some newer Sony, given my signature0.

 

[fsclaol]

OK, I know this is an old thread, however, if you do come across one in good shape, jump on it.

Maybe not 140WPC but a solid 100.

Sounded beautiful mated to a Mac C-26. Both now lost / stolen during shipment TX--->CA LONG ago. Wonder where they ended up.:scratch2:

Fred

 

[Lavane]

I just finished rebuilding one I have. Its a nice amp. Maybe over engineered but nice.

 

[FauxHall]

If you look closely at the schematic, you'll see one of the reasons Sonys of this generation sounded so good - lots and lots of capacitors.

Each gain stage (amplifying transistor) had its own smallish cap between it and the power rail.

While that makes for good sound, it can make for a labor-intensive re-capping.

 

[Lavane]

If you look closely at the schematic, you'll see one of the reasons Sonys of this generation sounded so good - lots and lots of capacitors.

Each gain stage (amplifying transistor) had its own smallish cap between it and the power rail.

While that makes for good sound, it can make for a labor-intensive re-capping.

Getting to everything is easy though, I liked that. I had more of a problem with burnt resistors. I had to replace about a dozen of them. The strange thing is it was still working!

 

[tromba]

I just finished rebuilding one I have. Its a nice amp. Maybe over engineered but nice.

I probably need to do this also. Bought mine (and the 2000 pre) around 1972. They've not been hooked up in a while...

How much of a job was rebuilding?