Price Paid:  $600.00 from e-bay

Summary:
I've bought this amp on E-bay from second owner.Overall condition is very good,so basic electrical adjustements (offset & bias) did the job.
Well i'm really impressed of built quality and sound of this amplifier - i compared it vs
Krell,Rotel & Mark Levinson and need to say, that there is a difference in favor of those famouse ones, but really small one.....just noticable ( slower bass response i.e) BUT total amount i paid for Sony is NOT comparable - simply it is worth every cent spend on it !!!
Also - its electronical components as well as service manual are easy to get ....(still... after so many years) so....if something goes wrong servicing should be quite easy and not expensive.

Strengths:
Great MID's and HIGH's.......almost like tube amp...!!!! personally i use it to run Infinity Kappa 9a to feed mid&high section in bi amping.

Very good sound stage - deep and precise.

Really powerfull - will run ANY speaker (Kappas are not easy for amps)

Weaknesses:
Bit slow bass response (maybe replacing capacitors will cure this really small issue)
still expensive....
i did not noticed its high working temperature (will check silicone between radiator and power trans)...it is warm but not hot......even after long time of playing

Similar Products Used:
Krell KAV 500
Rotel RB 980
Mark Levinson No 29

Price Paid:  $800.00 from 1992

Summary:
I have the successor of the tan 77 the tan 80.
I think they are doing very well these days compairing too other much more exepensive onces.
I have two off them bridged which raised the power and makes the groud contact,s which can give problems overdone.
They have no problems too drive any speaker at all so even mu SYNTHESE 1 which are hard too handle perfomed perfect.
A natural sound no single spark off aggressive sound it sounds under the most complex music and it is an stable amp.
I had a krell in my house for one week but it couldnt satisfy me and that was a surprise for me and for the KRELL owner .
Perfect product

Strengths:
enough power too handle any speaker .
Nice detailed sound and an enormus energy off the power supply which is great

Weaknesses:
I had a few problems with the amp because off the very high temperture which blow the amp in smoke which was caused by an not stable bias current.
In fact there are an couple off resistors which will slowly getting higer in resist which make the bias circuit unstable .
So i modified the amp with new elco,s in the voltage amp and metal film resistors in the bias section and i do replace every kind off electronic part which was out off tolerence.
No that expensive mormal ring emitter transistors in the power output stage off SANKEN.
I also modified the bias current on the check pins which from the service manuel is an 15 mv too an lower 5 mv.
No effect on the sound but a much coller amp which can deliever longer power than with 15 mv .
Also check the DC output which needs to be controlled every year or so.
A good amplifier but the fact is that is is an heavy amp which was build in an too small case

Similar Products Used:
No compotition in this range

Price Paid:  $180.00 from from a friend

Summary:
Until I've purchased the Sony CDPX77ES CD player, Sony was never on my short list when looking for new equipment.

After wandering around and listened to the quite some amplifiers, the TA-N77ES really made it happen! After 10+ years listening to my Elipson 1313 speakers, they performed to the max the first time. This superbly build amp does measure up to most of the so called "audiophile" tube amps.
Of all amplifiers listened to, I concidder the Sony TA-N77ES only be beaten by the AITOS OTL mono blocks.
(see similar products used)

Strengths:
Open natural sound, much like a tube amp.
No end to the power it delivers.

Weaknesses:
Will get very warm.
VU meter lights braek often and cost a bundle!
Need serious body building to move the amp.

Similar Products Used:
Citation 12
Luxmann CL32/MQ3600
Denon POA6600
Denon L01-A
Duson A10
Musical Fidelity P270
Lynx Vega
Aitos OTL

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Used - eBay Auction

Summary:
Of the listed amps above, only the Bryston's (which I used for ten years) and the MC-300 & 500 sounded good enough to compare to the Sony. The tube stuff is just that, stuff with a capital F. I need clean and fast. The Bryston's were great. The MC-300 was OK, with the MC-500 considerably better. But the Sony is tops. Fast, clean and uncolored. Is a wonderful amp and runs much cooler than the Bryston's. It also looks considerably better. I feel it was a great step to get this thing. It is such a value, as well. I purchased for a twentieth of what I sold the MC-500 for. I will be buying more as I move to HT in the next year or two. I would give this amp a ten star rating for value. And Sony still supports it for parts and repairs (but I understand that they are bullet-proof, as are all ES equipment up to mid-90's). Happy Listening!!!

Strengths:
Sound!! This amp is so very fast and quiet. I recently sold my McIntosh MC-500 as it was never really fast enough. I used it in balanced mode and it had killer slam and could blow the bottom out of about any load and was truely wonderful across the range. But....it was slow sounding and I like them fast. So now I have an amp that sounds as good across the range and is considerably faster. Great to look at and I love those meters.

Weaknesses:
Doesn't have balanced inputs (but, it is 7 years old, at least). The meter light bulbs don't last very long and cost $17, each (and there are six). Sony needs to learn to build/buy a better light bulb. No other weaknesses that I have found.

Similar Products Used:
Bryson 2B-LP's run in bridged mode.
McIntosh MC-300
Quick Silver 80 watt monoblocks.
McIntosh MC-275II
McIntosh MC-500

Price Paid:  $900.00 from Private seller

Summary:
This amp ROCKS! 270 W/ch into 4 ohms, and 580W mono if desired! I found one in good shape for $900. I just got it 2 weeks ago. It drives my 7 year old Energy 22.3 towers- it sounds like a totally new set of speakers! The bass is incredible and I've never heard instruments so clearly before- they just jump right out of the speakers! It kicks the butt off of the old Legacy 2 channel amp which cost $2000 and was made for Legacy (a speaker company from Springfield, IL) by CODA, that I sold. It had bipolar outputs and I thought the sound was too soft and not concise enough for my favorite music, all written by Philip Glass. I couldn't find any brand new amps I liked under $1000, and I found this one for sale by a private seller. The Sony ES gear from the early '90s was their best in terms of build quality and bang for the buck. For example, the $900 CDP-X555ES CD player from '91 weighs 30 lbs. The $700 model today weighs about half that. Sony ES started to cut back on build quality somewhat in the mid-'90s, but they still make some nice gear today. THIS AMP IS WORTH SEARCHING FOR! There also is a TA-N80ES model that came out after the TA-N77ES, it is identical except they deleted the power meters. The meters are totally cool, however, especially at night listening to music in a darkened room.

Strengths:
Built like a ship, weighs 52 lbs., totally cool huge, lighted power meters (lights can be switched off), GREAT sound, great bass, detailed midrange, awesome detail, got it for $900, blows any new $900 amp away

Weaknesses:
Tends to get warm, worried a little about reliability for an amp that is around 11 years old and the potential high cost of repairs

Similar Products Used:
Legacy 2 channel amp (made by Coda), Parasound 2 channel amp