Sony ES via mail/online? (1 Viewer)

[Woodrow_Stool]

I've been following the various threads regarding the Sony ES receivers, and I am ready to pull the trigger on a DA4ES box to upgrade my current system, which is currently a recent Yamaha HT receiver driving an NHT speaker farm.

There are no Sony ES dealers even remotely in my area.

Given that I must buy via "mail order" or the 'Net, which dealers offer an "authentic" Sony ES receiver that is fully authorized/under warranty by Sony? Using the new Google "Froogle" service and plugging in "DA4ES" I get dozens of dealers offering the thing for $600 - $700, but no idea which of these are worth doing business with.

I'm not the kind of guy who buys a box, uses it for 29 days, then sends it back expecting a full refund. Other than a receiving system DOA, I'm happy to let the mfr handle the warranty after the sale.

So, who to buy from?

 

[Danny Tse]

Try Crutchfield and J&R. Both companies provide excellent customer service, with prices most likely to be better with J&R.
I am sure others will have more suggestions for you.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Try Crutchfield and J&R. Both companies provide excellent customer service, with prices most likely to be better with J&R.
I am sure others will have more suggestions for you.

Crutchfield will charge $999 + shipping ($3.00 or so) for this receiver. J&R will charge about $700, but they do price match. J&R is also offering "free" ground shipping for all items except for those marked "freight" at the current moment. Sammans.Com has also been another good source where they have been providing quotes in the $619 range for the receiver (shipped.) Oade Brothers is another good vendor, but their price seems to be about $640 plus a small shipping charge.
All the vendors listed are authorized to sell the "ES" gear. If one goes to the "Yahoo Shopping" site, there are dozens of vendors selling the 4ES for $615 - $650. Given the weight of about 56 Lbs. when it's packed for shipping, the Yahoo retailers are going to have a great time charging you big $$ on the shipping side. Heck, most of these retailers wanted $39.99 to ship a 25 Lb. Pioneer receiver. Avoid the Yahoo retailers. Go with one of the "Authorized" retailers.
Now, here's my take (and advice) on how I'd handle the situation. 1) Get a good price quote that breaks down the receiver price and the shipping amount. Sammans.com will provide pretty quick E-mail turn-arounds on price quotes. 2) Take the price quote and have J&R match it and mention the "free" shipping that they advertise on their Web site.
Why do I recommend J&R? Because they are pretty liberal with their return policy. You have 30 days to return an item. Sammans will not take back an item that was opened - unless you are getting it replaced. Oade Bros. - I'm not sure about, but think their policy is quite similiar. Yes, you said that what you buy, you intend to keep. However, you could get the receiver in your home and it could be horrible with your speakers ... or your environment. This same situation happened to me with a Yamaha receiver.
I can gladly state that I'm happily running a Sony 4ES that I've had for over a month now. J&R was a great retailer to deal with. They shipped the receiver the same afternoon that I ordered it. Plus, before my 30 days was up, I contacted them to get a "price adjustment" where they returned another $27.00 to my Visa card.
Now, you've probably realized that there's a little bad press floating around this forum about the Sony 4ES which is stemming from a test performed in the January 2003 issue of Sound and Vision. S&V didn't publish the numbers for the output with all channels driven (or even with 5 channels driven.) A few members of this forum are speculating that it's because the Sony can't put out even near its rated power. This is all B.S. Don't listen to the "armchair quarterbacks" and their silly opinions. They don't own the 4ES ... and they are only speculating. Let me just say that I've owned a few Denon receivers, a JVC receiver (that put out 68 watts with all channels driven), a Yamaha receiver and now the Sony 4ES. The Sony 4ES has way more than enough power. I've never had mine at more than 60% of the volume level and I have a 15' x 21' x 8' listening area. This receiver has plenty of headroom.
Sorry for the long post. Hopefully, you are armed with enough information to make your purchase.

 

[AaronWT]

I got my 4Es from Sammans.com in August. I had to order it on the phone since they don't list the ES prices. I think it was $640 + $40 for shipping. They aslo packed it very well and double boxed it. I have no complaints. They shipped it the day after I orderd it and I picked it up at UPS 3 days later.

 

[Newton]

Sony is one of those companies that will honor mail order purchases. Even though they say that there are 'official' authorized ES dealers, they will honor the warranty as long as you have a receipt.
Give www.oade.com a call. They usually have good prices and have a good mail order reputation also.

 

[Kevin_Kr]

I can help you if you like as well.

 

[Darrel McBane]

I bought my Sony ES 9000ES and 333ES from Oades two years ago. They gave the best price and shipped to me with no problems. So, I'd recommend Oades from my experience.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Along with Oade, www.onecall.com is an authorized Sony ES dealer. I purchased a DA50ES receiver from them about 4 years ago and had no problem getting service from the local Sony Service Center when the unit had problems (it turned out to be a blown fuse). I also purchased a 555ES SACD/CD player from OneCall.
I would suggest calling OneCall for their best price. They rarely put their lowest price on the website. I almost always get a better price by calling the toll free number.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I would recommend Oadebros.com as well. I have bought a Sony ES processor and an Onkyo 989 from them. Excellent to deal with.