Review and Measurements of Sony UDA-1 DAC & Amp

[claudioguillermo]

I am personally most interested in seeing measurements of the TA-ZH1ES, which is Sony's desktop version of their S-Master HX (found in their portable DAPs), which is basically a bipolar PWM direct digital-to-amplified analog converter. Such a DAC is obviously highly susceptible to high-speed switching noise, but supposedly Sony's IC is supposed to switch at a speed that keeps the noise out of the audio band. After seeing some DScope III measurements of Sony's portable DAPs, the performance seems to top out at 100 dBA SNR.

 

[SEKLEM]

Sony was a home entertainment giant with seemingly limitless capitol and throughout the 70s until the 90s they took a no expense spared approach to make statement products that had no rivals, and no buyers. Some of it probably trickled into their mass market consumer equipment with the ES series, but most of it you could only read about.

http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-TA-N1.html

Look to China to beat Korea and Japan at what they’ve done best. They’re already doing it.

 

[anmpr1]

Sony was a home entertainment giant with seemingly limitless capitol and throughout the 70s until the 90s they took a no expense spared approach to make statement products that had no rivals, and no buyers. Some of it probably trickled into their mass market consumer equipment with the ES series, but most of it you could only read about.

Look to China to beat Korea and Japan at what they’ve done best. They’re already doing it.

In the '60s, Japanese electronics were mostly considered 'junk', quality-wise. Transistor radios that fell apart after a few months, etc. A lot of the 'high end' Japanese gear never made it to the US--stuff like Luxman and Accuphase were seen occasionally. Chinese factories can make pretty much anything at pretty much any price point--with commensurate price point quality. Whereas Japanese products had to get over the 'junk' label (their cars, Toyota and Honda, had a lot to do with a general perception turnaround), the same could happen with Chinese products, although with the current economic-political thing going down, nothing is going to change anytime soon about that.

 

[SEKLEM]

...although with the current economic-political thing going down, nothing is going to change anytime soon about that.

Without discussing politics specifically, 2020 is fast approaching. We will see what happens after that.

 

[anmpr1]

Without discussing politics specifically, 2020 is fast approaching. We will see what happens after that.

Yes. Who knows how it will go? My point was not to start a political or economic debate, but simply to observe that, given the current global situation, it is doubtful that any major perceptual changes anent the quality of Chinese goods can be expected--at least in the US. In any case, these sorts of things are always long term projects; generally consumer attitudes and preferences don't change overnight. From a practical and personal level, I find no compelling reason to buy a DAC or amplifier from anyplace but Syracuse NY, but that's just me.

 

[SEKLEM]

Here’s a picture from a search online of the inside of the UDA-1. Amplifier section appears to be class A/B and utilizes two IC output devices.

 

[estuardo4]

I would disagree. In their heyday and when they took audio equipment seriously Sony produced some superb equipment. Some of it was state of the art and shamed boutique audio brands. And I do not think that any company can get close to their pedigree as an audio innovator (the closest is probably Phillips, another company which basically abandoned audio).

They still have the best camera lenses for cellphones and home cinema projectors. And that's all. Other products like TV sets, audio equipment, PS4, etc. are OEM made in China to the lowest specs provided by Sony. And still they want to charge more just for the sake of the brand.

 

[Tks]

What even is that output impedance?

They truly thought people were pure morons didn't they when this thing released?

 

[folzag]

Unfortunately, the performance is unremarkably similar to its sister the HAP-S1.

I am curious how the HAP-Z1ES and TA-A1ES compare. Does "ES" still mean something at Sony, or are those resting on laurels too?

 

[folzag]

What even is that output impedance?

They truly thought people were pure morons didn't they when this thing released?

It is a resistor inline with the power amp output. They did the same thing on the HAP-S1.

 

[restorer-john]

Back in the day, for reasons now obscure, I bought a new top of the line Sony TAN-77ES amplifier. The front panel featured bottom lit 'power' meters [mostly for show--not in the same category as McIntosh watt meters, which I should have bought instead of the Sony], however the meter bulbs would burn out--frequently.

Having owned several of these amplifiers for ~30+ years and pretty much all the TOTL ES pieces from that era, and having 3 TAN77es amps right here in my lounge-room, I feel somewhat qualified to weigh in.

The meter ballistics, look and performance are excellent and more than a match for the relatively primitive meters McIntosh were putting on their gear at the same time. They are driven by a Toshiba TA-7318 which is an excellent device for the purpose and are calibrated on setup. Yes, like all meters, they are big and showy, but do not dismiss them. Of course they can be turned off if you don't like them.

The meters are top-lit in two groups of three series connected 12V 100mA bulbs. You can see the connection and PCB here:

They are facing down into clear perspex prisms. Sony did this for a good reason. Meters lit from the bottom with vertical or horizontal bulb placement are prone to mass failure due to the filament dropping onto the support wires on failure and causing either a short, or a current surge that takes out the other bulbs.

The bulbs are fed in series from a zener derived, fully regulated 36V supply via the auxiliary tapping (protector etc), again for good reason. Series connection avoids:

a) another unnecessary tapping on the power transformer to supply 12V at 600mA-1A just for the bulbs. Such an implementation as used in many US made amplifiers resulted in the meter lights getting modulated in time with the music, something Sony clearly went out of their way to avoid.

b) the requirement to fuse that tapping with likely a 2A+ fuse to prevent nuisance blowing on turn on. (remember cold filaments are virtually zero resistance and 6 in parallel would blow a reasonable value M205).

Series connection is perfectly viable for panel illumination, especially with Japanese bulbs where 'variations' are much less. Average current is less and turn on surge failures are minimized.

Three times it went to the shop for replacement. Weird thing was, I couldn't find anyone at Sony to talk to. No one. Nada. Zip. Phone calls were never returned. But what did I expect, from a large multinational corporation? Using the 'three strikes and you're out' baseball analogy, I sold it last trip back from the shop. Never bought another Sony product after that experience.

It's unfortunate you sold your amplifier due to some dead grain of wheat bulbs and poor service from the repair shop. I know these things can be frustrating, especially on expensive purchases. The performance of those amplifiers and their integrated brethren are beyond criticism to this day and are keepers in my collection.

 

[restorer-john]

What even is that output impedance?

They truly thought people were pure morons didn't they when this thing released?

The standard for many decades to protect headphones from instant destruction was series connected resistors. By all means, run your headphones directly from a power amplifier stage and see how long they last (and your hearing). Report back with your findings.

For the record, it would be irresponsible and utterly 'moronic' to drive a 20W amplifier directly into headphones. And yes, most people are morons- they short out headphone sockets regularly, pulling the plug out with the volume turned way up when they inevitably trip over their cable...

 

[Tks]

The standard for many decades to protect headphones from instant destruction was series connected resistors. By all means, run your headphones directly from a power ampliifer stage and see how long they last (and your hearing). Report back with your findings.

For the record, it would be irresponsible and utterly 'moronic' to drive a 20W amplifier directly into headphones. And yes, most people are morons- they short out headphone sockets regularly, pulling the plug out with the volume turned way up when they inevitably trip over their cable...

Touche'

 

[restorer-john]

There's an engineering term for it (ask @amirm) where you try to anticipate every stupid thing consumers will do and then design around it. Microsoft probably have an entire division dedicated to it.

 

[Fone]

Over the past few years, Sony has released some excellent boutique headphones and portable amps. And Sony's recent sound cancelling headphones are a competitive alternative to Bose for flying.

If you are in these markets, Sony should be in your short list.

 

[Veri]

Here’s a picture from a search online of the inside of the UDA-1. Amplifier section appears to be class A/B and utilizes two IC output devices.

View attachment 26430

Post #4 found the same pic already

 

[artnoi]

IMO later Sony audio products seem to be full of snake oil and most are just unnecessarily complex/heavy while measuring very poorly

 

[anmpr1]

Having owned several of these amplifiers for ~30+ years and pretty much all the TOTL ES pieces from that era, and having 3 TAN77es amps right here in my lounge-room, I feel somewhat qualified to weigh in.

The meter ballistics, look and performance are excellent and more than a match for the relatively primitive meters McIntosh were putting on their gear at the same time.

The meters are top-lit in two groups of three series connected 12V 100mA bulbs.

It is my understanding that McIntosh meters are true watt meters. At least they were in 1995 [compare: Audio Critic Issue 24], measuring voltage and current, rectifying and averaging the product, and not just volt meters calibrated into 8 or 4 ohms. Not sure about Mac of that era, so I'll take your word for it. According to Ken Rockwell's review, the Sony meters, "read peak voltage directly off the internal signal output rail, calibrated in equivalent watts into 8Ω." But you are right, for the most part all meters are cosmetic, and decisions will likely come down to whether you like Binghamtom Blue or Tokyo Orange. Even so, once you spend dollars for them, you'd like them to work. And one thing's pretty certain, a McIntosh dealer will give you a loaner while your unit is in the shop. At least that was how it once was. Can't say that about my Sony dealer, back then. But I guess you pay upfront for this kind of service, and I admit I was going the cheap route, so what did I really expect?

As far as the meters being uplit or downlit, I was going from memory, and I have no reason to doubt what you are telling me. That said, they didn't stay on long enough for me to really investigate, and inasmuch as the amplifier was under warranty (which I didn't want to void), I never took the top off to check, or try home repairs. Wherever they were mounted, they didn't work reliably on my example, and other's units too. Interestingly, Sony soon came out with the TAN 80 ES, which (at least from the pictures I've seen) is the same thing as the 77, sans meters. I guess Sony decided it wasn't worth the effort to correct. The entire thing was an exercise in frustration. Sure, a light bulb doesn't affect the performance of the machine, but then why include them at all? Sony agreed.

So what do we have at the end of the day? A marketing thing, simply a cosmetic selling point. But it is the face a consumer sees from the get go, and as such it is important as a sales gimmick in these sorts of 'emotional' decisions. The fact Sony engineered something so simple so sloppily makes you wonder. Or at least it makes me wonder.

PS: I don't want to single Sony out for abuse. I've had other amps with shoddy build quality. The most egregious I ever owned was a small American boutique company, Amber, whose Series 70 amp kept blowing up. I got rid of that after two trips to the factory. Then they went out of business. Wonder why? I owned early PS Audio products that simply fell apart after a few years. But they were dirt cheap to begin with. Made Dynaco look like McIntosh. PSS: I was using the Sony amp with Acoustats, but found that Jim Strickland's 200 watt/channel Transnova MOSFET amp worked better, IMO. At least it didn't have meter problems!

 

[JJB70]

I still use my early 90's Sony ES CD player, amp and tuner and despite being over 25 years old they remain rock solid and dependable components which still perform very well. They weren't cheap when I bought them but at least they really were superbly made and given the many years of pure pleasure they have given me I consider them to have been a bargain. I find it sad to see Sony's current audio range.

 

[tktran303]

I still use my early 90's Sony ES CD player, amp and tuner and despite being over 25 years old they remain rock solid and dependable components which still perform very well. They weren't cheap when I bought them but at least they really were superbly made and given the many years of pure pleasure they have given me I consider them to have been a bargain. I find it sad to see Sony's current audio range.

Agreed. In the late 80s and early 90s the ES series was some of the best, from a mainstream brand.

I was too young and without a job to afford it.

Now I can, what mainstream brands can I turn to now?

Someone please name a well known multinational electronics brands thats building audio gear with a high level of excellence...