Sony TA-A1ES integrated amplifier
Comments
-
Hahah, I never replied to all the relay clicking stuff. I honestly don't know and don't care. All I know is I bought it brand new and it arrived in factory packaging and appeared to have never been touched since it left the factory.
Anyway, I've been trying out the Sony with my PMC twenty.22 speakers (finally!) and I'm thrilled with the synergy. As I mentioned with the Sony and KLH pairing, the Sony's highs seem slightly laid back or "less forward" than other amplifiers. This sound quality proved to be a perfect match for the PMC's inherently detailed, forward, and assertive tweeter. The result is a high end that retains all of the detail present in the music, but without any aggressive or overly bright characteristics. It's possible to listen for hours and hours without any treble fatigue at all.
On the low end, the Sony's bass seems full and possibly slightly boosted or bolstered beyond what I've heard from other amplifiers. This again paired up well with the ruler flat and borderline "lean" bass response of the PMC speakers.
Mids were well textured and sounded natural, pleasant, and rewarding.
However, the soundstage width and wrap around your head imaging effects were simply not there. The sound is more or less localized to the speakers themselves. This isn't a huge tragedy and it's still very possible to get "lost in the sound", but overall the sound just isn't as enveloping and three dimensional as I've heard with other amplifiers.
Overall, an unexpected synergy with a very enjoyable result. I could see many people being happy with this Sony TA-A1ES and PMC twenty.22 pairing.
