Sony 4ES - different all over (1 Viewer)

[AdamCDN]

Hey all, I have been enjoying HTF for a while now, but this is my first post. (thanks to everyone that has posted info/comments) There is a lot of excitment around the 4ES. This will be the reciver that I will upgrade to. I had spoken to the Sony store today, only to find out that the 4ES will not be available in the Sony Canada warehouse until Mar/April. I hope that this unit will remain unchanged when we do see it again (it has not been available in the warehouse since Dec. Unless all of our american friends are snapping up the worlds supply, hehe). If anyone might have any info on this please let me know. If you look at this site Sony VZ555ES
This seems to be the 4ES being sold in Japan. This link has a good pic of the guts of the unit. Look at the power supply, its like the older 9000 transformer. Well thanks to everyone for all the help/info in the past, and all the info to come. Have a great day.

Adam

 

[AdamCDN]

I forgot to mention that you have to click on the pics twice to get the bigger image of the japanesse unit. If any of the canadian members have any info about the stock out here, please let me know. Thanks again

Adam

 

[Alex Dydula]

Hi Adam,

Can you buy from the States?? Or is that cost prohibitive??
Several places down here have them.

Alex

PS: A great choice by the way!

 

[AaronBatiuk]

Note the lack of 12V triggers, the IR in/outs, the Control-S connectors for the video inputs, and the 2nd zone A/V output that the North American 4ES has.

Note also the addition of some modular connectors at the top, which are labelled "D4 Video". Looks like two inputs and one output. This is not DVI; D4 is a type of video transmission/connector system used in Japan, but not used on consumer level products in North America.

 

[AdamCDN]

Alex, I can get the 4ES for around the same money as what you would pay for a unit from the US, after the exchange. There are some to be had around the Greater Toronto Area, so I am sure I will find one. Thanks for the advice, i have family down there, so if I need to, might have to bug them for a favor.

Alex, nice job on spotting the differences. I thought it was kind of cool to see the D4 connections. I am sure we will have to upgrade to that in 5 years (we always seem to be late getting everything, just look at the european sony tvs). But other then a few differences they look quite similar. I was shocked to see all of the labeling on the back to be in english. Does the power supply in VZ555 look like the same as the 4ES except for the es logo?

Adam

 

[Craig_Kg]

The 4ES is sold as the STR-VA333ES in most non-North American markets and has the 12V triggers, the IR in/outs, the Control-S connectors for the video inputs, and the 2nd zone A/V output ripped out (thus I didn't buy one).

The addition of the D4 switching is probably the mod for the Japanese market giving it a separate designation.

 

[AaronBatiuk]

FYI Adam, I bought my 4ES in Ottawa from the Sony Store for $1225 + taxes, including a 1 year warranty extension (worth $100 on its own). In Canada, ES products have only a 3 year warranty rather than the generous 5 years in the U.S.

 

[AdamCDN]

Hey Aaron, I have found the 4ES available in the GTA for around $1200 including taxes, only with the 3 year. I am not sure why we only get 3 yr when they get a 5 yr down south. I asked the manager at a sony store in oshawa why that was. He told me that that wasnt true. He said that new sony consumer products in the USA were comming with a 90 day warranty. He obviously was not informed (I just thought the store manager would know why there was a 2yr difference in the warranty.) I would still love to know why it is out of stock in the sony warehouse, i hope that they have not decided that the 4 and 7 are to similar for $2000 cdn difference. Has anyone opened up their 4ES, i was curious if the power supply is the same as the 555ES.

Adam

 

[AaronBatiuk]

Adam, $1200 including taxes is a spectacular deal. Jump on it. The retail price is $1500+tax which is $1725. I was quite happy to pay ~$1400 for mine in December (with an extra year of warranty).

And, Yes, except for the power transformer which looks inferior to the unit in the Japanese VZ555, the power supply looks the same. Note that the main power supply filter caps are only 15000 microF. I am considering increasing that, not by replacing the existing ones, but by connecting another two in parallel with the existing two.