Sony TC-WA9ES
- Thread starter 70salesguy
- Start date
70salesguy
Only 99 easy payments!
Yes, I am!
It gets pretty light use, as I am primarily a RTR guy, but I am very impressed with it. It mostly does duty to playback commercially recorded tapes.
Post here with pictures of yours when it arrives and let us know how you like it.
mhedges
Super Member
I received my WA9ES the other day. It is a nice deck! It has much less mechanical (solenoid-like) noise than my WR87ES and quick-reverses much faster. I will try to post some pics tonight.
Have you used the auto bias feature? I didn't realize this deck did this until I started looking closer at the manual.
Mark
Have you used the auto bias feature? I didn't realize this deck did this until I started looking closer at the manual.
Mark
mhedges
Super Member
Here are some pics. Mine is in good but not mint cosmetic condition, with some scratches on the top and a couple of nicks on the front top edge.
The decoration is a little different from 70salesguy's - there is no "ES" badge on the front panel. From the pictures I have seen, it seems like most units did not get the "ES" badge mark. 70salesguy - can you tell me what your serial number is?
Here are some pictures of the front, as well as a gut shot and gut shots of my WR97ES and WR87ES. It is quite similar to the WR97ES. The WR87ES looks practically empty in comparison!
My only complaint is that the indicator dot on the recording level knob is not lit (unlike the WR97ES). Silly I know but I like lights!
Mark
The decoration is a little different from 70salesguy's - there is no "ES" badge on the front panel. From the pictures I have seen, it seems like most units did not get the "ES" badge mark. 70salesguy - can you tell me what your serial number is?
Here are some pictures of the front, as well as a gut shot and gut shots of my WR97ES and WR87ES. It is quite similar to the WR97ES. The WR87ES looks practically empty in comparison!
My only complaint is that the indicator dot on the recording level knob is not lit (unlike the WR97ES). Silly I know but I like lights!
Mark
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70salesguy
Only 99 easy payments!
Name, rank and serial number
I hate to admit this, but I have yet to record a tape on it!
My unit may be a little newer than yours, I don't know.
I will check the s/n tomorrow and post it here.
I hate to admit this, but I have yet to record a tape on it!
My unit may be a little newer than yours, I don't know.
I will check the s/n tomorrow and post it here.
bastek
Well-Known Member
Many WA9ES were custom installed, and power was on 24/7, to gain access to remote functions of the deck with universal RF remotes. As a result the Fl display got dimmer after a few years, but the elements not displayed often are still bright (like Dolby C and S indicators). Not all Sony decks exhibited this dimming display problem.
BlazeES
Active Member
Historically there have been a number of pieces branded as "ES" that simply were not. It's more a of a marketing ploy to continue to use the "logo" than anything else. The ES line of products that were designed and built to the "elevated stardard" were really on the way out as early as 1998. Cost reduction was the name of the game, with chassis construction diminished, discrete component selection opened to wider toleranced parts, power transformers grandfathered in from the lower tiered products and many enhanced features removed. I've yet to find an ES Product Line brochure that contains the WA9ES model, which should have been roundabout 2002 - 2003.
mhedges
Super Member
BlazeES - I know what you mean. Many of the ES cassette decks are just rebadged non-es units. For example the KA1ESA is the same as the TC-KE500S. However the WA9ES (which dates from 1995 according to the manual) is a true ES piece. It is the last true TOTL dual deck they made, and the successor to the WR90ES/WR97ES/WR99ES/WR901ES units.
Mark
Mark
BlazeES
Active Member
If it is from 1995/96 I'm pretty sure it's not listed with the TC-KA1 thru 3's...I'll dig back through my catalogs and see what I can find.
Not picking on it btw, I'm sure it's a good deck - just not what most would call a "real" ES piece. Some would argue that anything after the (US) 1992-1994 ES catalog lineups is foogazzi...but I think it's more a question of what got cost reduced and what the net effect was to performance. The KA3 is a good example of that - it still has the base transport and heads but many peripheral considerations were cost reduced...from the power section, to the reduced mass and stiffness of the chassis all the way down to higher averaging VU's and removal of CD direct connections.
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70salesguy
Only 99 easy payments!
I seem to recall reading somewhere that the TC-WA9ES was the last ES series Cassette Deck that Sony built.
BTW, the s/n of my unit is 7A 801509
BTW, the s/n of my unit is 7A 801509
mhedges
Super Member
It is certainly the last TOTL dual deck they made. They came out with the WA7ESA and WA8ESA decks after the WA9 but those can hardly be considered true ES pieces. They are basically re badged non-ES gear, and weigh about half of what the WA9ES weighs.
Mark
70salesguy
Only 99 easy payments!
So who appointed you "ES Sheriff of the House"?
Lighten up, it's not like I glued an ES emblem on it or anything!
stereofanboy
Addicted Member
Where does the TC-WR9ES fall in all this? I've kept an eye out for information on it ever since getting one awhile back, but never see or hear anything about it.
4343
Super Member
All the Sony engineers that I knew held dim views of this practice, and feared the day when their project would get the dreaded "cost-a-down" treatment. "Why did you put shields on the audio board, but not on the servo board, can't we just leave them all off?" "Why did you use this expensive DAC, when this 15 cent part will work?"
mhedges
Super Member
Couldn't say for sure but since it has a 9 in the model name then it is probably a top of the line unit. The only info I could find was that it appeared to date from 1988 or so.
Does it have a three motor transport or motorized well doors? Do you know the weight spec? Most of the TOTL dual decks weighed in at 16lb 9oz including the wood sides.
Mark
