Sony TA-F555ESG

Japan-only transitional unit, prelude to the excellent ESL, ESA and ultimate ESJ versions of the other bestselling lineup of integrated amplifiers : Yamaha CA-1000 series for the 1970s, Sony TA-F555ESX between 1985 and the early 1990s.

The TA-F555ESG was another step in refining the formula inaugurated with the original TA-F800ES, aka TA-F555ESX in Japan.

A G-chassis (G for Gibraltar), staple Spontaneous Twin Drive drive, high Gm power transistors, a bigga 316VA transformer, two vibration-free 12,000µF / 63V / 85° Nippon Chemicon coated caps (for the power-supply ; coated à la TA-NR1) and 24kg made up for a very healthy and reliable mid-end integrated amplifier which, like all of Sony's ES integrated amps from 1965 onward sold extremely well.

As always in Sony's 1980s / 1990s integrated amps : generous heatsinking, Elna and Nichicon select parts, copper bus bars, solid steel chassis, thick aluminium front finished and anodized to perfection and extruded aluminim knobs.

The TA-F333ESG sibling is basically the same, visually identical, but with less available power, only four caps for the entire power-supply and output stage (instead of two + four), no coating/damping of said caps and a bare aluminium heatsink (vs. black anodized).

Minus the balanced i/os, the set of functions and most of the layout is exactly equivalent to the contemporary but export-only TA-E80ES preamp, even the massive aluminium-turned input and attenuator knobs are equivalent.