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Sony TA-F700ES Integrated Stereo Amplifier with Spontaneous Twin Drive.

3kitty

3kitty

Super Member
Can anyone tell me how good this unit is - or is not?
Have access to a 1 owner...near mint (box, manuals, etc)

Some info on the unit -

The 700 ES (1987) is a Sony statement piece featuring Spontaneous Twin Drive and the Gibraltar carbon composite chassis, great GOLD PLUGS Phono and CD section with variable cartridge loading, source direct and stepped tone controls with adjustable turn over. Extruded aluminum faceplate with diecast aluminum control knobs held on with set screws. Quality piece designed of Sony's ES series.

Power : 2x 125W (8 Ohm, 1Khz, DIN)

Thanks for any and all input!!!

Pic of actual unit -

 
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It's a fine integrated. I had a TA-F530ES and it was very good (headphone output was excellent). The 7 series is even better. The 700 has many options too, including MC phono. You may need to Deoxit the controls, but otherwise should be solid.
 
Grab it with both hands, especially if it's near mint condition - I've used a TA-F500ES as 'daily' amp since '87, and even bought a TA-F530ES to temporarily 'replace' it, while I did some work on it a while ago...

I admit I'm somewhat of a Sony ES fan, but the early(ish) ES series were, and are, excellent performers, and well built - the TA-F700ES is one of the top Sony models of that era, and it'll hold it's value.

The only work I'd be expecting is maybe deoxit the controls, and 'tweak' the bias back to spec. if it's drifted at all - mine had, but it dialled straight back in, using the original adjustment pots (still perfect after 28 years). I've had to recently replace an output relay as well, but otherwise it's had no work done on it all - not even (I'm ashamed to say) routine servicing / cleaning, until recently.

I run the TA-F500ES most of the time on a set of Dynaudio's - also from '87, but I suspect not massively different from your DM 2/7's.
 
Goldie99 said:
Grab it with both hands, especially if it's near mint condition - I've used a TA-F500ES as 'daily' amp since '87, and even bought a TA-F530ES to temporarily 'replace' it, while I did some work on it a while ago...

I admit I'm somewhat of a Sony ES fan, but the early(ish) ES series were, and are, excellent performers, and well built - the TA-F700ES is one of the top Sony models of that era, and it'll hold it's value.

The only work I'd be expecting is maybe deoxit the controls, and 'tweak' the bias back to spec. if it's drifted at all - mine had, but it dialled straight back in, using the original adjustment pots (still perfect after 28 years). I've had to recently replace an output relay as well, but otherwise it's had no work done on it all - not even (I'm ashamed to say) routine servicing / cleaning, until recently.

I run the TA-F500ES most of the time on a set of Dynaudio's - also from '87, but I suspect not massively different from your DM 2/7's.
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Thanks - yea this would do duty mostly in the "cave" where it would be powering a set of 1984 Infinity RS4's. But it may also drive the 2/7's once in awhile. Which would not be an issue at its power level?

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I read repeated about this amp and the ES series in general that it (they) are very detailed - which is just fine with me but I like my detail a little on the warmer side of the spectrum.

Could this amp be described as warm sounding verses bright?

Thanks!
 
Not sure I'm 'qualified' to give you an accurate opinion as to warm / bright on the 700ES, but I've always found the 500 & 530 models very 'neutral' for want of a better word - not particularly 'warm' or 'bright'.

If it helps at all - I bought the original 500ES model direct from a main Sony dealer (Zurich, CH), back in '87, together with a set of custom (in-house, dealer built) Dynaudio speakers - basically the Pentamyd-2 kit, when Dynaudio only really sold kits, but they were built into more standard shaped sealed cabinets. My request at the time was for a neutral sounding system, that would give the most natural sound, with predominantly Phono & CD inputs - the 500ES + Dynaudio's was their recommendation (+Sony ES Tuner) - which was/is indeed a very natural sound. The 700ES was also recommended, but too much of a stretch for the budget at the time....
 
Goldie99 said:
Not sure I'm 'qualified' to give you an accurate opinion as to warm / bright on the 700ES, but I've always found the 500 & 530 models very 'neutral' for want of a better word - not particularly 'warm' or 'bright'.

If it helps at all - I bought the original 500ES model direct from a main Sony dealer (Zurich, CH), back in '87, together with a set of custom (in-house, dealer built) Dynaudio speakers - basically the Pentamyd-2 kit, when Dynaudio only really sold kits, but they were built into more standard shaped sealed cabinets. My request at the time was for a neutral sounding system, that would give the most natural sound, with predominantly Phono & CD inputs - the 500ES + Dynaudio's was their recommendation (+Sony ES Tuner) - which was/is indeed a very natural sound. The 700ES was also recommended, but too much of a stretch for the budget at the time....
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Thank-you very much! Helpful for sure!!!
 
Nice.....Have my eye on this 1....

Recapping a TA-E77ESD at this time...To pair this with a Completely recapped TA-N80ES....:music:

Love my STR-GX10ES...
 
I have the two 333esrs, the 730es and the 444esx (same as the 700es), they are all excellent amplifiers. I will however say that the older 444esx doesn't sound as good as the other three. It is beautiful, but not as warm as the 333/730s.

The 700es is full of Nichicon Muse caps and has a high gain power amplifier with a passive front end. Internally, it is a joy to behold, built on the G-chassis and runs parallel Sanken TO3P very high ft transistors, huge PSU and a decent heatsink, although it can run very warm if pushed.

The TAF333esr is in my opinion, the nicest sounding big Sony I own. It has a warmth and detail that even my TAN77es amps and TAE77es preamps can't match.

Common issues across all those amps are speaker relays getting touchy and bowden cable linked input selector issues. The first thing you should do, is remove the front panel and tighten all the pot/switch nuts as they will be slightly loose. All ES Sony gear from that era gets slightly wiggly selector/tone/vol pots due to the nuts not having a compression washer under the nuts.

All my Sony TAE77es preamps (4), all my big integrateds, even my NIB ones, had tiny movement in pot shafts and selectors. The locating pin on the pots protruded sufficiently that the production line socket driver sat on an angle and they clearly backed off the torque to prevent damaging the nuts.
 
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Brilliant amplifier. Vastly under valued in the market right now. Grab them while they are still under the radar.
 
restorer-john said:
Common issues across all those amps are speaker relays getting touchy and bowden cable linked input selector issues. The first thing you should do, is remove the front panel and tighten all the pot/switch nuts as they will be slightly loose. All ES Sony gear from that era gets slightly wiggly selector/tone/vol pots due to the nuts not having a compression washer under the nuts.
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Couldn't agree more - the only work I've had to do on the 500ES, in 28 years, apart from tweak the bias a little, is change the speaker relay, and clean the cable linked selector switches a couple of times. For reference, the same is true of the slightly wiggly pots on the earlier 222ES model as well - same reason (no washers).

The 530ES is still completely original, and running faultlessly, but I don't think it's been used anywhere near as much.
 
In have a STR-GX6ESII,It was powering the home office very nicely,but got de-comishioned by an old KA-7100 in a Walnut case...I'm keeping it around as a spare,but it deserves better! It's great for demonstrating components to buyers.I can't bring myself to delegating to the garage/shop,just to humid!
 
Nice looking amplifier. An issue for me however is the level of spontaneity of the amplifier. If it isnt that spontaneous, ditch it.:no::yes:
 
The ES are a beautiful series, everything is quality in them. I find my 707es very neutral sounding and a pleasure to listen to, not fatiguing at all. highs and mids come out very clear and have a certain detail.

at first i thought it lacked bass, its no bass monster mind you, but the ensemble is very balanced. i remedied with a subwoofer to have that more filling bottom end.

A very fine amp, i hope you get it and enjoy it
 
Ta-f700es

The TA-F700ES is a big, heavy, quite handsome, and great sounding integrated amp. Mine is in my music room along with a bunch of other equally great Sony ES gear and is used to drive any one of four classic mid-70's Infinity speaker pairs. It is the only integrated among two preamp/amp pairs and a monster ES receiver that are also available but is usually the amp I go to for daily listening for no reasons other than it is just easy to use and sounds great.
 
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slimecity said:
Nice looking amplifier. An issue for me however is the level of spontaneity of the amplifier. If it isnt that spontaneous, ditch it.:no::yes:
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My apologies but I don't understand what is meant by this?
Can anyone shed some light?

Thanks
 
I have a Sony 500 ES Int Amp, that I have owned for nearly 30 years & it is still running in my workshop rig. An excellent piece of equipment & if given the chance to buy a similar piece I would without hesitation. Good luck & keep us posted if you acquire this ES Amp.
 
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