A406 north circ's AV separates...like.no.other®

[Van Dam]

I moved my main stereo separates to integrate with my AV separates last year. This is how it looks at the moment, from the bottom:

VA8ES 5.1 channel AV amplifer, DVP-S9000ES SACD/ DVD player (NTSC model), EP9ES Dolby Digital preamplifier

NS900V SACD/ DVD player and N55ES stereo power amplifer

N55ES stereo power amplifer and FA3ES integrated stereo amplifier

JA3ES MD recorder and SA3ES FM-AM tuner

 

[Badger0-0]

Looking good mate

Ever considered getting a couple of all-in-one remote jobbies?

 

[Van Dam]

^^ I'm not that really fussed to be honest

 

[isayisay]

Nice stack.those speakers look powerful.

 

[Mac User]

Just great, Well done.. Love the stacks

 

[Hawklord]

You don't like Sony then

Nice snake pit BTW mine pales into insignificance against that

 

[Van Dam]

You don't like Sony then

Nice snake pit BTW mine pales into insignificance against that

LoL so that's what snake pit looks like.

 

[craigizmo2k2]

Absolutely quality mate - Think I may have to take these into work tomorrow - 4 of us are complete Sony freaks

 

[craigizmo2k2]

Nice stack.those speakers look powerful.

Accurate Pistonic Motion.

Assistant manager has a pair of these in his stereo setup - amazing speakers, sad that Sony don't make stuff like this anymore really.

 

[Baron Von Doom]

looking good

 

[Van Dam]

Absolutely quality mate - Think I may have to take these into work tomorrow - 4 of us are complete Sony freaks

Thanks for the kind words. Kudos to your work mates.

Accurate Pistonic Motion.

Assistant manager has a pair of these in his stereo setup - amazing speakers, sad that Sony don't make stuff like this anymore really.

You do know your Sony stuff. Yup, these speakers are a joy to listen to. And these APM ones in particular were made on these shores, so are British designed and built. They're by far my favourite Sony pieces. Indeed it's a pity Sony don't make quality like these anymore, not just with their speakers but with the rest of their audio range.

 

[Badger0-0]

Yeah, whatever happened to Sony audio?
I used to really rate it, but nowadays, it's tripe, IMO

 

[Smurfin]

Do you really need so many separates

 

[Van Dam]

Do you really need so many separates

Yes. Because I'm a compete Sony nut.

 

[Van Dam]

Yeah, whatever happened to Sony audio?
I used to really rate it, but nowadays, it's tripe, IMO

They used to have fine audio but it went downhill a few years back when they stopped making high end stereo amps and concentrated on just AV receivers. Same thing happened with many other manufacturers I guess, not just Sony.

 

[Badger0-0]

They used to have fine audio but it went downhill a few years back when they stopped making high end stereo amps and concentrated on just AV receivers. Same thing happened with many other manufacturers I guess, not just Sony.

That always struck me as a strange marketing move. In the 80's, when just as you'd guess, I never had a pot to pee in, I craved Sony, as did everyone I knew then.
Now, the top of the range tellies apart, I wouldn't touch the make with a bargepole.

I always did and still do like MD though, I don't know why, I just do

 

[Van Dam]

That always struck me as a strange marketing move. In the 80's, when just as you'd guess, I never had a pot to pee in, I craved Sony, as did everyone I knew then.
Now, the top of the range tellies apart, I wouldn't touch the make with a bargepole.

I always did and still do like MD though, I don't know why, I just do

Well the past couple of years they have invested a lot more money into their TV business and therefore they'd have less money for development and research for many of their other product lines. Even with MD, which they still support, they usually bring out at least one new model every year but have not updated the line for two years now.

 

[nak]

Nice seperates, mate.

Makes me wish I had my old technics stack again.

 

[craigizmo2k2]

Sony have discontinued QS stuff as well now which is what my system was going to be built around, didn't realise it was going to be stopped till I bought my receiver, blast!

The old QS stuff is actually better than the ES stuff available now, I still like the ES stuff as the E line sony stuff really doesn't cut the mustard, but the gear from the era you bought your seperates from is still the daddy I think.

Keep seeing that processor and 5.1 amplifier pop up on eBay, so tempted to invest in the combo as it would definitely be better than my current amp, as good as it is!

Do like my DB780, tried to replace it a few times but it seems to pair so well with the speakers i'm running that I haven't made the plunge yet.

 

[craigizmo2k2]

Have you got a shot of the profeels mate? Weren't they the speakers destined to be with a high end TV setup Sony produced years ago which used seperate tuners/teletext decoders on an industrial-esque looking stand??

 

[Van Dam]

Sony have discontinued QS stuff as well now which is what my system was going to be built around, didn't realise it was going to be stopped till I bought my receiver, blast!

The old QS stuff is actually better than the ES stuff available now, I still like the ES stuff as the E line sony stuff really doesn't cut the mustard, but the gear from the era you bought your seperates from is still the daddy I think.

Keep seeing that processor and 5.1 amplifier pop up on eBay, so tempted to invest in the combo as it would definitely be better than my current amp, as good as it is!

Do like my DB780, tried to replace it a few times but it seems to pair so well with the speakers i'm running that I haven't made the plunge yet.

That's absolutely true what you say about their older QS separates being better than the new ES separates. Even my NS900V DVD player is actually over engineered, it should really have passed as an ES component, the player itself was actually the true successor to the S9000 ES, not the NS999ES which was basically a suped up NS900V. And the 5.1 amplifer and processor combo you mentioned is simply unmatched by today's offering, even with the latest fancy HD sound formats. I must say I'm not really a movie fan which is another reason why I haven't jumped ship.

It's just a shame really that their lastest range over the past few years have been pretty dire. If you can get hold of the older QS stuff it would certainly hold its own compared to whatever ES stuff that's been available recently.

Have you got a shot of the profeels mate? Weren't they the speakers destined to be with a high end TV setup Sony produced years ago which used seperate tuners/teletext decoders on an industrial-esque looking stand??

Yes, you got that right too. The rear speakers are from the excellent Profeel Trinitrons of the mid-eighties, real speakers mind you, although they're quite small in size they do weigh a bit and have outperformed many larger sized models and of course were Made in Japan. I have silver and black pairs for my rears connected to the front AB outputs on my AV amp.

And the centre speaker is an APM model originally from a PVM monitor which was a broadcast version of the profeel TV. Also Made in Japan.

 

[craigizmo2k2]

That is quality

Your combo good with music too? I know you have a seperate stereo amplifier (have a couple of those on my eBay watch list in fact, ended now though!) - I don't really have the room for another amplifier, the 780 is good with music IMO, really pleased with it.

I'm not a huge movie fan myself TBH, I love the sound and picture of Bluray from the PS3 though, it downscales the HD formats to a high bit rate AC3 feed, can't hear the difference between DD and DTS myself either, hence why i'm fairly tempted to get the same combo as yourself.

 

[Van Dam]

That is quality

Your combo good with music too? I know you have a seperate stereo amplifier (have a couple of those on my eBay watch list in fact, ended now though!) - I don't really have the room for another amplifier, the 780 is good with music IMO, really pleased with it.

I'm not a huge movie fan myself TBH, I love the sound and picture of Bluray from the PS3 though, it downscales the HD formats to a high bit rate AC3 feed, can't hear the difference between DD and DTS myself either, hence why i'm fairly tempted to get the same combo as yourself.

Thanks mate. I would say the amp and processor combo does handle music very well, the EP9ES is very capable of excellent stereo but it wouldn't be an audiophile's first choice (the DAC inside my JA3ES minidisc blows it clean out of the water). I would say the amp and processor is certainly more suited to DD sources.

How are you listening to your music at the moment? If you don't want to compromise on your movies and games and want to improve your music then I would suggest finding a good external DAC, this would probably be a better investment. I think if you are happy with your current amp you should stick with it.

 

[alchemistkevin]

I like your set up and sooooooo many seperates makes it look good

must sound good when wound up loud

 

[elootos]

Loving the gear, growing up in an all Sony household a massive stack like that was all I ever wanted. I'd be worrried about it all toppling over!

Agreeing about Sony stumbling in recent years; in about 2000 a Sony AV receiver won the What Hi-Fi award for best amp and I saved up and almost missed an A level exam driving to Richer Sounds to pick one up. Within 3 days of using it though it was boxed back up and taken back for a refund; the most dissapointing piece of equipment I have ever heard, took me an hour to bin all the old copies of What Hi-Fi I had Although I'll still only ever have a Sony walkman though, way better sounding than an Ipod.

I even remember spending £400 on a recordable Sony MD the day before I went to University, the look on my dads face when I told him...