Update and small Sony ES amplifier build tribute

 Thank you for your patience during my extended absence from this blog.

I hope you understand that this past 2 months since the sudden and unexpected death of my younger brother has been an incredibly tough time for me personally and my family. I have had a lot to deal with, and it has been hard. Really hard.

I got away from things for two weeks to Japan in April, for a trip already pre-arranged almost a year ago. 

This trip was to enjoy the Sakura (cherry blossom) season, attend the Japanese F1 Grand Prix, explore Japan by train a bit more, and see my wife's family and our friends in Japan.

Here I was on a boat cruise in Kyoto enjoying the Cherry blossoms in full bloom:

The Japan trip was badly needed and I was really glad for the time off. 

Perhaps another time I will do a post about the great trains I travelled on and experiences while there, but that is not the focus of this post.

Coming back home, I arranged the funeral for my younger brother. He was with the coroner for a number of weeks for police investigation and autopsy. The police told me to take my planned Japan trip as nothing would happen in between - it was the right decision. 

I needed to return to work also, and I did what I needed to do, but the emotions were so raw, and the whole situation so difficult to accept. Organising the funeral while working full time almost broke me mentally. 

I am sure anyone who has lost a brother or sister suddenly and unexpectedly knows the feelings I went through all too well. 
I turned the corner on these feelings in these last two weeks, and my life started to feel a bit more back to normal for the first time in a while. 
I finally downloaded and enjoyed some of the new demos from Revision 2025 on my Amiga 4000T and A500.

I used to show these demos to my brother when he came over, as he appreciated and understood (as an IT person also) the technical skillset needed to code such amazing demos with such technical system limitations. 
I am sad he never got to see these latest demos with me.

I enjoyed the Yoomp! game released as a physical game release on Amiga - I bought it ages ago but finally got around to trying it:

Also did a bit of BBS Crash door game action with the Amiga Retro Brisbane group BBS from my Amiga 3000:

I have also been enjoying playing Rogue 64 on cartridge using my Mega 65 computer.  Sadly my Commodore 64C has got a problem with some keys no longer working when pressed, which means I can't load programs on it at the moment. 
I got a replacement C64C computer from Ebay as I lack the skills to repair it. I will set it up when I feel like doing it - right now I don't, so I am using the Mega 65 instead.
In short, I am starting to feel a bit better, although I have some personal health issues I am working through too when I am not working. I won't bore you with those - no one cares anyway.
I had been working on multiple blog posts on various interesting topics before my brother's death, and when I feel up to it, I hope to get around to finishing them and uploading them.
Small steps.
Today though, I want to tell a story about a system set up I wanted to do in memory of my brother.
One of the last things my brother gave me before his death was his original Gameboy that I played tetris two player linked with him back in the early 1990's, and his Sony ES amplifier below that he bought to use for his elaborate setup in his home.

My brother had already given up his high end floor speakers and other stereo components to other friends as he was in the early stages of moving home just before he died, so I just have his amplifier.

As my small tribute to him, I decided to get his ES amplifier setup in my home with some suitable components and connected to my main computer and consoles too. That way I would use it every day, a reminder of him every day. 

I am listening to it now as I write this blog post.

Sony used to make Elevated Standard (ES) versions of their component hifi systems, including Amplifiers, Tuners, tape decks, Minidisc decks, DAT tape decks, CD players, DVD players, and many others too.

The ES series are considered the best of what Sony made back in the "glory years" of the 1980's and 1990's when Sony used to make so many great products for consumers, audiophiles and professional equipment too. They were highly desirable then, but few could afford them - I certainly couldn't!

These days they are still valuable as second hand devices, simply because of the rarity of them, and their features.

Sony in 2025 (with a few exceptions of their Bravia high end OLED TV's, Walkman and ZR1/XM6 headphones) is sadly a pale shadow of what it was for consumer electronics. I know they still make a ES HDMI amplifier with Airplay for modern 4K TV setups, and premium ES car speakers, but that sadly is pretty much all that is left of the ES line today.

It seems people nowadays prefer small, compact audio systems, using soundbars, airplay, wireless speakers and app control replacing the remotes, dials and buttons of the past. We can stream unlimited music and video wirelessly from our smartphones with no constraints. We don't need tapes, cd's, minidiscs, records, dvd's or blu ray discs anymore. 

Technology is always moving forward, but here I think we lost something along the way. Modern audio devices are bland and boring to look at, and people miss the tactile and analog experience of playing physical media. 

It's not just older people either, look at the popularity of vinyl records in stores nowadays - they outsell CD's in 2025 and it's mostly young people buying them playing them on bluetooth enabled record players! 

Sony used to pack ES hifi component decks with many additional higher end features, screen displays and functions to differentiate them from the cheaper versions - the more fancy displays, buttons and inputs the better!

In this ES era, minimising buttons on the unit was not what customers wanted. The less buttons, the less capable and less features the device has. 

I can imagine for young people, the rear view below of this Sony GA89ES Amplifier would be scary - so many inputs and outputs with so many different connection types. No bluetooth and no HDMI! 


Five Speaker connectors (5.1 speakers) across two switchable A and B sets, sub woofer output, S-Video input, RCA AV input and output for 3 video inputs, TV input and output also, monitor output, phono input for record players, LaserDisc input, MiniDisc/DAT and Tape inputs and outputs for recording, as well as tuner AM/FM aerial inputs - whew!
For me though, I nod knowingly that this means I now have a great amplifier with a lot of connectivity options. And many hours of planning how to connect everything...which I actually enjoyed doing.
This amplifier has some unfortunate limitations I was disappointed about, mainly that it has no optical audio inputs, so I have to use RCA audio inputs. But I want to use it, so I have to find a way to live with it.

It didn't come with the remote control or manual, but luckily I was able to get the manual online from Sony themselves to find out the remote control model number, and then found the remote on Ebay from Canada of all places.

It has programmable buttons to assign to learn other remote controls so you don't need to use multiple remote controls so much.
I then managed to track down and buy some other great Sony components to use with this amplifier, for not too much outlay. 
Specifically, first up is the Sony KA3ES tape deck, another great ES deck from Sony.
 This tape deck needed a step down transformer to use here in Australia, as it uses 100V as a Japan release model. I got it from a Hard-Off second hand store in Tokyo while I was in Japan, for way less than they cost in Australia on Ebay...ironically those would be imported from Japan anyway!
It has a high quality motorised load/eject tape mechanism, with support for recording and playback of tapes with Dolby B,C and S noise reduction, along with Dolby HX Pro too.
I have received a number of new albums on cassette from my music purchases on Bandcamp, and I needed a way to play them that didn't involve a walkman and wasting many batteries. 
Of course I had the digital FLAC and MP3 versions of the songs to use on my iPhone and computer, as is the modern way. But you know, doing it analog in 2025 sometimes can be fun, more tactile, with liner notes and lyrics to read and more nostalgic sound too.
On top of this, I have to admit I had always been interested in Super Audio CD as a format, and was surprised to learn that new Super Audio CD's are still being made and released in 2025! 
I know Super Audio CD (SACD) was "replaced" by DVD-Audio and now Blu-ray audio discs, but for me the differences between those formats is minor. I decided to pick up some recent Super Audio CD releases to enjoy with this system - I love the special transparent rounded corner CD cases they come in too.
The ability of Super Audio CD's to operate as hybrid CD's mean they can play as Super Audio CD's with DSD and 5.1 channel audio full frequency output, or as a standard audio CD in a standard CD player. To me, that makes them way more flexible than later formats that need a DVD or Blu-ray player.
Above you can see some commercial released Minidiscs, recent release cassettes and Super Audio CDs.
As you probably know if you follow my blog regularly, I already bought a great Sony Walkman set (which I talked about here) to play the new release cassettes and Minidiscs on the go!
Next up, to use the SACD's I bought, I found in Australia what I think is a fairly rare thing - a Sony Super Audio 5xCD changer deck!
It can play standard audio CD's and Super Audio CD's. You can also choose which mode to play the SACD - standard audio or 5.1 channel DSD audio. It support CD text display also.
As you can see in the photo above, I also previously picked up a Pioneer LaserDisc player too. 
I had bought a Sony LaserDisc player a while ago, but there was an electrical fault in the unit that electrocuted me when I tried to hook it up! I immediately threw it away - I have no patience to deal with such issues and life is too short. 
Maybe one day I'll find a reasonably priced Sony laserdisc unit also so I can have a matching component.
From what I read the Pioneer units were superior players anyway! This Pioneer LaserDisc unit can play audio CD's also, with a special seperate tray built into the Laserdisc tray. Obviously you can only play one or the other, not both at the same time...
I already have a modern Audio Technica Turntable vinyl record player which I am unlikely to replace with the current lower spec bluetooth Sony record player on the market still..
I connected the record player to the ES Amplifier Phono input, and switched the record player to the non-amplified mode. 
The Bose system didn't accept phono input, so the pre-amp feature in the record player had to be turned on to use it with it. The ES amplifier natively supports phono with its own pre-amp so this has to be turned off on the record player. 

I was on the lookout for new speakers, DVD player, graphics equalizer/sequencer and minidisc deck to complete my setup, but I was keen to get started! So I used my existing Bose lifestyle speaker set and amp initially to get what I had set up and working. 

I fed the monitor audio output from the ES amplifier to the Bose Amplifier initially, since the speaker connectors for the Bose speakers are proprietary and not compatible. 
In addition to this, the bose system I have been using until now has an electrical fault in it that causes it to emit undesirable smells from the sub woofer and is clearly on the way out. I needed to replace it anyway, so perhaps this was perfect timing.
I also used the black Checkmate monitor I reviewed previously here to connect the LaserDisc video output from the Sony ES Amplifier. The Checkmate's native 4:3 output display screen is perfect for this setup.

I used one of the HDMI inputs on the Checkmate monitor to feed in my HDMI switcher box connected to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch 1. I used the audio out connector on it to feed the audio to the ES amplifier given it has no HDMI inputs or pass through.

Soon I was enjoying playing PS4 Trackmania Turbo using the ES Amplifier and the Checkmate monitor.

Having got this working, I found and bought the next two pieces of the system, a Sony DVD QS player, and a Sony SEQ-333ES Graphic Equalizer. I set to work installing them.

I picked this model Sony DVD player specifically as it supports DVD, Picture CD's, Super Video CD, Super Audio CD's. Also, it's output was 5.1 audio with standard RCA AV and S-Video output rather than HDMI. 
This array of output options made it easy to connect to the Sony ES amplifier which supported S-Video and RCA AV input only. The QS series was the next level below ES gear in the Sony range.

Connecting the Sony Equalizer to the final speaker setup was much trickier than I expected, but more on that later.  

Naturally, I wanted to be able to use the Equalizer to control the audio output fed to the tape deck as well as to the speakers, which was not possible when connected to the Bose amplifier, since it was a single RCA audio cable connection I could pass through the line input. The Equalizer supports two tape input/output pairs, in addition to the line input/output.

I LOVE this Sony Equalizer. It was not a cheap purchase, but they are rare in Australia, and I can't resist a cool looking piece of kit like this. It suits this set up perfectly in my opinion.

There are modern graphic equalizers around these days, but they are more decorative than actually functional. This does both, and as a Sony ES Equalizer, has a lot of extra features to explore. 
For now I use the Auto EQ function which automatically adjusts the output in real time to keep an optimal output across all frequency levels. You can do it manually per frequency output level with the buttons underneath each section, and save the settings to a preset to recall later as needed.

I tested it with the DVD first, and then the LaserDisc also, playing INXS's live baby live concert video:

With the setup so far working well, I turned my attention to the speakers. I needed to buy new speakers to use with the ES amplifier and to remove the Bose setup. 

In my audio setup in the living room, I use Wharfedale surround speakers and subwoofer, and I am happy with them.
To be honest I really wanted to get Sony speakers for this setup, but the problem is that Sony no longer sells those kinds of speakers, only wireless speakers.
I didn't want second hand Sony speakers from the 1980's or 1990's, as the condition would likely be less than good given the age of them. So I had to get new ones.
So I took advantage of a sale to get some new Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 speakers (4), centre speaker and sub woofer. These days, such speakers are only available in speciality audio shops, and we have only a few of those in Adelaide - they didn't have any in stock.
I ordered them from the distributor directly and they soon arrived by courier, in 4 big boxes:

I am sure someone will point out these speakers are overkill for this system, and especially for my room which is only 4m x 4m.

Guess what, I don't care. 
I wanted good speakers for my late brother's ES amplifier - no regrets. It is what he would have done too.

Actually, they look amazing. 

Turning the speakers around, I see an unusual four plug arrangement. Never seen this before.

I had no idea which ports to connect the wires to!

I had to read the manual to find out that the ports are connected, so only two connectors need to be actually connected to speaker wire to the amplifier for a standard connection like mine. 
If you have two amps you can remove the connecting metal plates to run a bi-amp configuration. Heh, I didn't even know that was a thing!

I wired up the speakers using new speaker wire I bought. You would think for such expensive speakers they would include the cables, but no...

Before you ask, the laserdisc was not actually placed underneath the speaker, just the laserdisc cover to prevent it damaging the record player cover while I was wiring up the right speaker.

The sub woofer was quite large:

It has level and cut off knobs to adjust the volume level and where the cut off of bass happens, ie. how much wall vibrating you end up with...

The setup was getting a little high to put the checkmate monitor on top, so I needed to move it...

Also, I wanted to connect my old iPod classic via its dock to the ES amplifier too. Because, why not!

Moving the monitor was important since I knew I was going to add a Minidisc deck to this setup to finish it. I had wanted to get an ES model Minidisc deck, but they are just so expensive.

After spending so much on my replacement Mac Studio, the Wharfedale speakers and equaliser, I decided to buy a cheaper Minidisc deck on Ebay. 
I didn't really need to use the higher level functions of an ES deck, since without optical inputs a lot of those features were not so useful anyway. 
I got an older MDS-JE510 model for a very good price, mainly as it didn't have a remote control. I tracked down a remote control separately on Ebay from the UK, and doing it this way saved me a fortune!
If you want to buy these kind of components, I suggest buying them without a remote control as it reduces the value a lot, and make sure you can buy the remote separately before buying the deck.
I didn't talk about until now, but I replaced my 5 year old Intel Mac Pro from 2020 with a new 2025 Mac Studio. With the upcoming MacOS Tahoe being the last OS release to support Intel Mac's, it was finally the right time to swap it. I use this machine everyday, so it is important for me!

The small size of the M3 Ultra series Silicon Mac systems compared to the old Intel Mac Pro tower is amazing. It has the same storage capacity and way faster multi-core CPU and GPU in a tiny fraction of the size. 

 
The Mac Studio is also way cheaper than the current slower M3 silicon series Mac Pro, which with slower specs, and without the MPX module add ons and PCI-e graphics card support seems to me to be a totally pointless computer in 2025. 
That said, I love the design of the 2020 Mac Pro tower and plan to keep it, since it is the last Intel Mac they ever made. I will repurpose it later on as a streaming machine in my other room to make streaming from my Amiga systems a bit easier to do in the future - well, at least as long as MacOS Tahoe is supported by Apple...

Transferring the data between the system took ages - I have 14TB of data on the Mac Pro so...

It took over a day actually - I used a TFT screen with HDMI output from the old Mac Pro since the Mac Studio was using my main display.

With that done, I could setup the left Wharfedale speaker in the Mac Pro's old location, and moved the Checkmate display screen to the other side of my Mac Studio display replacing the TFT screen. 
This is where my PS4, switch, ROG Ally handheld, Analogue pocket dock and Xbox are located. I connected all these systems (including my Mac Studio) to output audio via the Sony ES amplifier.

The mess of cables underneath my desk to run all this stuff has to be seen to be believed! 

But it all works very well. 
I even connected the HDMI output from the checkmate monitor to the Elgato 1080p streaming device connected to the Mac Studio. Checkmate Displays included a HDMI to USB converter for this purpose, but I found I didn't need it as the output worked fine using the Elgato - maybe it is needed for GBS scan doubled outputs? I need to play with it more, but not for now.

The plan is to eventually to get back to streaming again when I have the time for it, so this is kind of pre-work for that!

I am happy with the new (old?) stereo system setup for now, although I plan to add the S-Video card to the Checkmate display so I can use S-video output from the Amplifier for superior video output. 
I hope my brother would be happy with how I am re-using his ES amplifier in 2025. 
I miss you greatly my brother, I think of you every day. Rest in peace.
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