The TAE-1000ESD was the only Sony ES preamplifier I returned after a weekend loan when it was brand new, 30 years ago. I'd waited for it to be released with baited breath. My dealer rang me and said 'take it home for the weekend' as he was an ES stockist and it was going on the floor anyway.
It sounded dreadful, had an anemic output, and overloaded easily, but was a huge amount of fun to play with. The DSP was half-baked and not in the same league as the Yamaha DSPs of the era. But you could move your seats around in the halls! PEQ was novel and fun at the time.
A mate picked one up recently in mint condition and I tested it. 30 years on. It still sounded dreadful to me and compared to my standalone ES analog preamplifiers, just not in the same league.