...I'm also a fan of the classic Sony ES line...
Quite simply, as a
complete line of various products (CD players, DATs, integrated, power/pre, tuner, cassette and speakers) there was nothing at the time from any other brand that came close to the Sony ES range.
I have 2 of these:
Pioneer had their Reference line (later named Elite in the US) and had some great gear too (think C90s/M90s, A-91D, PD-91, CT-91, F-91 etc). If you want to see a lovely, high performance integrated amplifier, look no further than the A-91D, the heaviest integrated amplifier Pioneer ever built, 65.7lbs of it (29.9kg). AU$2699 list. It took me years to find a perfect one for my collection. Pioneer had no speakers of note and had to tap into the TAD line from Japan and bring them over for the shows.
Here's my A-91D which is currently out for exercise with a pair of Sony CDP-338esd players and a CDP-X7esd, all bought brand new in the early 90s and sealed up for 20+ years in my storeroom. I recently unpacked them all, replaced all the loading belts, checked lubrication and they are perfect. As good as the day they were made. Such is superlative engineering.
In 1987/8, Yamaha did their Centennial Series (pre/power/CD and speakers) which was in a whole other league again, but not a complete line and made in very small numbers. We sold a $10K CD player from that series and we sold a few of the NS-10000Xs IIRC.
For the 1988/9 ES series, Sony produced two Japanese home market TOTL speakers (SSG-777es and SSG-333es) and we were lucky enough to get a very small number into Australia of the SSG-333es. (primarily as promotion or to show the halo range at shows etc) I secured a sealed pair at the time, along with their matching WS-333 stands (they are 10kg each- just the stands). When I get them out of the storeroom, I'll post some interior shots- the crossovers are works of art, three independently mounted with identical lengths of cable to them and each driver. Copper bussbars etc. All up, 32kg each. Those are the speakers sitting behind the components in the Oceania/Aust brochure shot above.
At the time, I compared them side by side to all of Yamaha's range, including the NS1000Ms and the NS1000Xs (on the comparator). The Sonys were a lot better and a lot cheaper. Unfortunately, the natural rubber roll surround on the bass driver had a short life and they are languishing in their original packaging waiting for me to find suitable rubber surrounds and re-roll them. I have a bass driver here, so I'll take a few pics and post them.
...although the ES line lives on it's not what it once was...
Sadly, Sony stuck the ES badge on anything and everything in the mid to late 90s and utterly destroyed the legacy that had taken so many years to establish. I suppose someone high up said "This endless pursuit of perfection has cost us a fortune and not really returned enough- it's time to make it pay." It was disappointing to see the ES brochures deteriorate, get riddled with home theatre rubbish, then disappear altogether and end up in Sony's lifestyle magazine/catalogs.