(temporarily) using my Sony 333ES as a Pre-Amp, getting a good Amp now. (1 Viewer)

[Matt_ES]

When I told an stereophile shop here in Chi-Town that I would like to get a very good Receiver, such as a Sunfire Ultimate or B&K 307, he seriously tried to talk me into buying a very good 5-channel amp right now, and using the Pre-outs on the Sony because the ES is actually very good circuitry (relatively speaking).

Then, he said down the line I could go for a very good matching Pre-Amp for the Amp.

He was not trying to make a sale, he knows I will shop around for the best deal/quality/value, and do my research.

He said a quality Amp would drastically improve the sound, fullness, quality and etc., even coming out of the Sony ES Pre's.

The speakers are JM Lab Cobalt, 815 & CC. So they do require something with much more drive than just this receiver. Plus, I'll be getting equal speakers, if not Electra's for the rears/fronts.

OTHERS, however, have disagreed, saying that you'll only amplify garbage by utilizing the Sony's Pre's, and that I'd be better off with a HQ surround receiver. Now, the Ultimate has 200W x 7, the largest of any A/V Receiver out there. But that's at least $2,500, if you can find a demo or used.

Any thoughts on this? I'm on a roll with this forum-advice, and I appreciate every bit I've gotten so far.
Thanks in advance!

-matt

 

[Darrel McBane]

The first five channel receiver I had was the Sony 30ES receiver. It had 80wpc@8ohm X 5 channels I think. Before that I had a Carver 2000 stereo receiver. It had 200wpc@8ohm. And used it with my Klipsch Forte speakers for many years. After I changed out the Carver to the Sony. I added a Klipsch center channel and rear speaker and a Klipsch sub. I then got power hungry and decide to add a five channel power amp. Rotel had introduce the 1095 five channel amp which puts out 200wpc@8ohm X 5channels. The difference in power definitely changed the sound. There was a greater clarity and detail at low or high listening levels. But, what I noticed most was how bad the Sony sounded. When I increased the volume. I could hear what sounded like a dirty volume nob. The Rotels power brought out all of the flaws in the Sony. And after a few months I sold the Sony and got a dedicated preamp processor. And have never looked at receivers again. That was about four years ago. And since then I changed out just about everything in my system. Except the Rotel 1095.

If you feel your speakers need more power. Then you may want to go to separates directly or a higher power output receiver.

Just thought I'd pass along my experience with adding a power amp to a receiver.

 

[james e m]

Do it and don't look back. That what I did, but I have the 5ES. Check out my ht pics to see what I did.

James

 

[Dean Arizona]

That salesman is not steering you in the wrong direction. I took the same course when I transitioned into separates. My first DD receiver was a Sony 555ES which is an excellent performer (much of the tec from of the very fine Sony 9000 pre/pro trickled down into the ES units manufactured in the late 90's until the most recent ES redesigns). I used that receiver's preouts to feed outboard amplification in the form of an ATI 1500. I eventually upgraded to a B&K Ref 50 and the ES compared favorably to the B&K pre/pro. I still have the 555ES and look forward to using it in a secondary system. Using a receiver as a pre/pro is a very sensible approach to graduating into separates.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I agree with the salesman. I used a 333ES for a couple of years and it is not garbage by any means as far as processing. It's one of the most versatile 5.1 receivers around, with lots of adjustability and clean sound. I think it'd make an excellent stopgap used as a pre-pro for a year or so with a high quality amp while you save up for a dedicated pre-pro. I think the naysayers may be confusing the ES with the DE line from Sony.