This amp is truly marvelous, it is built to last. It is still sounding perfectly today since I had it almost 20yrs ago ! It matches extremely well with my harbeth hl5+ and thiel cs3.7.

A look inside tells a lot how seriously sony took to build this amp. It has tremendous bottom end and most importantly - defined bass note., very accurate high frequency, The mid is another story, it brings out vividly the soul of every music it plays - the very reason why this amp has stayed with me all these years.

It runs very hot, however. Nothing should be put on top of this amp to allow optimal ventilation.

This review is for the Sony TA-N90ES Stereo Amp featuring MOSFET electronics. Unlike what the previous reviewer wrote, this Amp is truly balanced. It is the previous model (TA-N80ES) that is not balanced. At 100 W/ch, it does a really nice job driving my Def Tech speakers. I purchased mine second hand along with the TA-E90ES pre-amp for a fraction of the MSRP (N90: $2,700, E90: $2,000)
It is built like a tank with interesting optimization/improvements that are thoughtout. The feet are intentionally attached off center, which supposedly reduces vibrations, the screw on the back and bottom plate are all copper plated, and it has extremely beefy binding post (my personal favorite). The heat sinks do a really nice job dissipating the heat, since it run fairly cool even after hours of use. The cosmetics are nice and simple.

Dynamics,low regions let's you speaker rather breath than push out the bass (oempff effect i call that) Very basic look,stylish no big vu meters just a very simpel frontpanel.

Not real flaws just one thingie. SONY PLEASE DO NOT USE THOSE CRAPPY EL CHEAPO RELAIS!

I own two TA-N55es stereo amps (bridgeable) one TA-N80es stereo amp (bridgable also) and off course seen the title of this review the one and only TA-N90es the champion of the very wel known ES line from sony. However the may punish me with a TA-N1 also :-]]] Well the 90es what can i say seen it's brothers. This is one of the few TA-N model (in the ES line that is) That isn't bridgeable. It has XLR inputs and cinch. Now about those XLR (balanced inputs) trust me ladys and gent those are fake. The plug are only there for sony it's own benefit during testing and tuning the amp. Not even ONE TA-N is build balanced as it should be. Is this a bad thing HELL no! Balanced is only usefull iff you would use about 20mtr off cable. Were does it come from yes indeed the PA world onstage. There you have KM of cable to use..thats it. Well offcourse we popped the hood of this little baby to see how it is build. And there whas the big suprise. The little (BIG brother) the 80es was build very different!! most tans are not build like a accuphase ! The tan90es is truly a miracle two giant caps (size of a coca cola can or so) in the middle a very nice fist full tordial ringcore. And nice for a change seen the fact many sony poweramp getting very hot. The tan80es for instance is marked for life because of there meltdown failure some times. The tan90 had two giant heatsinks one on the left and one on the right!! VERY NICE! great parts to elna caps iff i'm not mistaken. The sound is very good to! On my floating synthese it sounds like a angel peeing in my ears. Really nice great controle on the low regions a little weakness lack of power (100w per channel @8ohm) It's really a great amp i can easy compete with the high end brands. After all the wheel is not re-invented on that area you pay voor a brand thats it. Just enjoy it sony really can make topproducts the TA-NxxES series are just great amps.

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TO much to write down

Great sound with all kinds of music, warm but yet detailed, punchy bass, natural voices. Unbeaten feeling of presence at this price.

Very heavy, had to put the poweramp on the floor since the shelf was about to give up soon. Too expensive at the original retailer price.

I came over a TA 90ES pre/power combination by an ad in the daily newspaper. The guy who sold them had won them in the audio store he worked in and had them hooked up to the worst kind of budget mini-system speakers. Such a waste! At least I try to do them some justice with the Von Schweikert VR-1000 speakers I use now. If I had the money, I'd buy a pair of VR-4 or VR-8 and I'm sure the Sony's wouldn't disgrace them.. The TA-N90ES and TA-E90ES combo sound just great and you get a "live" feeling with every kind of music you play. Never boring, never without nerve.

Similar Products Used:

Primare, Marantz, Holfi, NAD, integrated Sonys, Naim

Great speaker control from top to bottom. Bass slam with wonderful tight, fast control. Smooth mid-range and wonderul on female vocals, piano and strings. Clear and articulate highs with no grain.

None.

Purchased this to replace another high-end Sony unit, the TA-F808ES integrated amp (great piece - is for sale). I moved and now have a dedicated listening room so decided to go back to separates (now can play more - you know, buy and sell more and drive my wife nuts) in that eternal audiophile search for listening nirvana (ain't gonna happen). Anyway, the one thing that the Sony integrated taught me when I downsized for our last new house (condo at the shore) was that if one is going to listen to solid-state that MOSFET is the only way to go. I truly liked my Bryston and McIntosh amps, but the sound of MOSFET gear is truly superior, to my ears. All the good things about tubes and S-S gear seem to be wrapped together with MOSFETs. And the Sony TA-N90ES has it in spades. Wonderful, powerful, smooth, musical, lyrical sound. I listened to both a set of Soliloquy's great monitors (the 5.0S) and now my new Audio Physic Tempo IIIi speakers and I can state that this amp "controls" them extremely well. Powerful, tight bass. Wonderful mids, especially with female vocals, and smooth as butter highs. I auditioned the Tempo's with a BAT VK-200 and VK-3i premap. The VK-200 is similar in that it is a 100 wpc MOSFET amp. I thought I would buy this pre and amp, as well. But decided to listen until the new speakers were broken in on the integrated. Especially as I got before we moved. Once the speakers were broken in and we moved, I started looking for a VK-200 and put the TA-F808ES up for sale. In doing so, I noticed the TA-N90ES for sale and started doing some research. Very similar to the VK-200, with just a bit more power. So for less than 1/3 the cost, I went for it. And also bought a Threshold FET 9 preamp. So am running SE'd and couldn't be happier (until I get a balanced preamp w/remoe and separate phono stage). The TA-N90ES is just great. It sounds as good as the VK-200 and has the noted -ES line build quality. Can't wait to listen to it in balanced operation.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 2B-LP (pair in bridged mode), McIntosh MC-275 (re-issue), MC-300 & MC-500, Sony TA-N77ES.

hello can some body tell me what the price off a sony Ta-n90es with a sony Ta-e90es now's and is't good quality. i want to buy one only the price is high. greetings umberto

power price acessories(XLR)and very good quality

weight at first time has strength and professional sound

very good sound and price

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sony ta-e90es sony cdp-xa7es sony dtc-2000es sony dar-1000es

Unburstable, accurate, analytic, handles difficult speaker loads well

complicated turn on procedure with single ended Pre Amp- takes a long time to break in

In June of 1999 I had a major power crisis. My Michael Yet PA1, one of the best sounding amps for its price (1200) gave up handling difficult loads (an hour and a half of Susan Tedeschi's Just Won't Burn followed by Emmylou's Spyboy)- it just turned itself off for a day or so.
At that time, my local Sony Outlet (Woodbury Common) had the Sony for $700, a quarter of the usual price- so I bought one.
It functions flawlessly, driving my PSB Stratus Silvers at whatever volume my ears or my wife's patience can tolerate, never getting beyond warm. It's not as magical as the Michael Yee, but its much more robust.
It took months to break in- the initial harshness characteristic of new solid state was annoying but ultimately disappeared, leaving a neutral, analytic unit. Not a "warm" sound, but not cold or brittle- and glorious bass from the Stratus Silvers.
One quirk- even when I leave my Cary SLP 30 preamp on for a few minutes, I get a serious click from the speakers when I turn on the Sony. I turn the gain to 0, and so far no damage to the speakers, but its annoying and would probably disqualify the unit for a non-obsessive audiophile. To be fair, the Cary is a strange beast- single-ended (whatever tht means)
The structure of the Sony is amazing- it weighs over 50 lbs, for 100 watts/8 ohms- and most of that seems to be in a truely massive transformer. Build quality is exceptional,even for Sony.
Would I rather have Bryston? Yeah- a warmer sound with more depth, but a 40% of the Bryston's list you get a first class affordable amp that should mate well with a similar level Pre-amp, and speakers like PSB's or Vandersteens. I'm sure it can't be bought new anymore, but if you see a used version, remember, the final price was only $700, so bid accordingly.

Similar Products Used:

Michael Yee PA-1

I have this amp, if you wish to talk to me about it. email wilsonj@murray.net.au

As for the product, it seems good, but I havent actually compaired it to anything else, so hard to tell.

I do not have this amp, but I have been searching everywhere for revews or a person that may own this unit. I
know that this is not the correct area to post this in but
I am at a loss where to turn to. Any info would be
appreciated. Thanking all in advance.