can someone tell me about sony es line??

[tp]

Hi all,
have a friend of mine who was considering the Sony Es line,and i don't have any info or feedback on this line up. im a fan of denon and was also wondering how this sony compares to to the denon. the sony he was considering was es 3000 or 5000.
thanks all
Tim

[Woochifer]

The Sony ES line is different from their mass market components in that they are only sold through select specialty audio/video stores and the components carry a five-year warranty. Sony's newest ES receivers have gone to digital amplification, and the verdict is still out on whether or not they represent an improvement in sound quality over the older models. Some digital amps I've heard in the past have an audibly harsh quality to them, and while they have become very commonplace with subwoofers, digital amps are not as common with driving main and surround speakers. But, they are very powerful, run cool, and don't weigh a lot.

[eqm]

Hi all,
have a friend of mine who was considering the Sony Es line,and i don't have any info or feedback on this line up. im a fan of denon and was also wondering how this sony compares to to the denon. the sony he was considering was es 3000 or 5000.
thanks all
Tim

I'm not 100% sure, but I think all the current ES lineup went through a factory recall except for their entry level one. Like all ES receivers I've had experience with, these seemed not very user-friendly compared to Denons or Yamahas. Sound wise, the ones I have listened to were excellent...very warm and open sounding compared to many in their price range. Another good consideration would be what kind of speakers, application, room, etc all this gear is going in before I would feel confident making any kind of definite recommendation.

[Woochifer]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think all the current ES lineup went through a factory recall except for their entry level one. Like all ES receivers I've had experience with, these seemed not very user-friendly compared to Denons or Yamahas. Sound wise, the ones I have listened to were excellent...very warm and open sounding compared to many in their price range. Another good consideration would be what kind of speakers, application, room, etc all this gear is going in before I would feel confident making any kind of definite recommendation.

It would surprise me that Sony even bothered issuing a recall, considering how many bad production runs they've just let go in the past. Although considering that the ES series models have 5 year warranties, it might better to do a recall if that series has problems. (Their problematic DE and DB series models only had one or two year warranties, and they had a habit of shorting out right around the time the warranty expired) My area of concern would be that this year's ES series is Sony's first production run with high powered digital drive receivers. I just don't trust Sony's QC anymore.

[tp]

It would surprise me that Sony even bothered issuing a recall, considering how many bad production runs they've just let go in the past. Although considering that the ES series models have 5 year warranties, it might better to do a recall if that series has problems. (Their problematic DE and DB series models only had one or two year warranties, and they had a habit of shorting out right around the time the warranty expired) My area of concern would be that this year's ES series is Sony's first production run with high powered digital drive receivers. I just don't trust Sony's QC anymore.

thanks guys for all the great info!!!

[chimera128]

I bought a 3000 ES and returned it. I ended up buying a Denon AVR 3803. The problem I had was a hissing at ALL volumes, including none. Also the amplifier was not producing anywhere near it's rated amplification. Sony's own 1000ES receiver outperformed it. I had a v333es that performed very well but I had to have it fixed 3 times (3rd times a charm i guess) and I sold it to a friend who has had no problems with it. The warranty on the line is great, but it would be better to have to not use the warranty. I guess you can think of the ES line like Hyundai... except unlike Hyundai Sony's quality hasn't improved all that much.

[jasmit]

tp - You don't indicate where you're located so I don't know if this applies to you. Woochifer's comment that Sony ES carries a five year warranty is certainly true for the United States, but it may not be the case for other countries. I read a comment in another forum recently that Sony ES carries a different warranty in Canada -- three years I believe. I don't know if that's accurate, but if you live somewhere other than the U.S. and are considering Sony ES, you might want to check into it further.