Sony TA-F80
(1978 - 1981)

A transitional unit, the TA-F80 boasted two of Sony's late 70s tricks : the PLPS and the 'logical' signal path seen in the TA-E86B and TA-E88B 1976 high-end preamplifiers. The Heat Pipe cooling system was a novelty, and so were the red LEDs !

An attempt to pack those innovations into a more conventional format than the pre-Esprit units, the TA-F80 and its stark design was, along its smaller siblings (TA-F70, TA-F60), fairly quickly withdrawn in favor of... even smaller boxes, like the Japan-only TA-F50 or the worldwide and slightly later TA-F55.
Not being small, the F80 has a magnificent "feel" of use - shafts, knobs, switches all feel like what they are : high-end quality.

At 150,000¥, the F80 was no gadget and price-wise on par with a Marantz Pm-6 - even a little pricier than a Luxman L-58A. A japanese test I have at hand shows that -sound-wise- the TA-F80 was no cheap thingy : honorable mention.
And Mirko Essling's extensive review clearly shows why the F80 was and still is more interesting than what its looks somewhat bluntly conceal.