About 3 weeks ago I finished my planned mods to the TA-N77ES. They were delayed about a month due to an error that I did.
I incorrectly connected a pair of wires & fried a pair of final output transistors. Working too late into night the has its hazards, I guess I was more tired than I thought. The final output of the TA-N77ES is quite interesting. Each channel has 3 pairs of transistors in parallel.
Part of schematic showing the 3 pairs of final output transistors for the laft channel.
The amp functioned after disconnecting the damaged transistors. I also disconnected 1 pair of transistors in the other channel & ran the amp like this until the replacement transistors arrived. Sound quality seemed just as good with the 2 pairs of transistors disconnected.
I replaced the damaged transistors plus 1 pair of transistors in the other channel. I replaced the pair of good transistors in case there would have been any imbalance between the channels.
Other mods:
All electrolytic caps on the protector board replaced with Nichicon KZs.
All except the 4 big electrolytic caps on the Main (A) board with KZs or FGs. All except the big electrolytic caps on the Main (B) board with KZs. The large caps on both boards tested okay.
The input RCA jacks with Vampire CM2F-OFC RCA connectors.
The internal wires for speaker output with 12 gauge wires, soldered direct to board.
The incandesant lamps for the meters with diodes. This increases lamp reliability & brought power consumption for the lamp circuit from 2A down to 36mA. The color isn't quite correct, I will change the diodes if I can find any that are a better match to the original color.
I did the calibrations for the DC offset, bias & power meters. All of them were quite close before I adjusted them. This beast should be good for quite a few more years now.
Maxxwire Moderator Premium Member Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25772
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
Posted: 2011-01-02 01:10
What an exquisite job you've done of upgrading your TA N77ES Power Amp complete with the excellent quality Nichicon KZ caps and the superb sounding Vampire CM2F-OFC Pure Copper RCA connectors! Are we going to be able to see some of your high quality pictures of this TA N77ES Power Amp?
~Maxx~
----------------- A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
Yes, they will be coming. I have not put the side panels on yet. I the panels off so they would not get damaged while I was handling the amp.
I did not note in the first post that I also replaced the power cord & plug on the amp. It now has a 16 gauge power cord & Hubbell hospital grade plug. ----------------- TA -E77ES -E1000ESD -N77ES -F555ES RM -AV3000 -AX1400 (2)-AX4000 SDP-EP9ES, ST-S730ES STR-DA4ES, STR-DA3100ES (3) DVP-NS999ES, DVP-CX777ES, DVP-NS3100ES CDP-X303ES, CDP-CX88ES MDS-JA20ES, TC-K717ES, DTC-690 Pioneer CLD-3090 Laserdisc
[ This message was edited by: David_S on 2011-01-03 00:46 ]
Maxxwire Moderator Premium Member Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25772
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
Posted: 2011-01-03 03:17
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On 2011-01-02 02:30, David_S wrote:
I have not put the side panels on yet.
I did not note in the first post that I also replaced the power cord & plug on the amp. It now has a 16 gauge power cord & Hubbell hospital grade plug.
David_S- Your TA N77ES will sound sweet with the power cord and plug upgrade. Does it look something like this TA N80ES without its panels?
~Maxx~
----------------- A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
On 2011-01-03 03:17, Maxxwire wrote: ---David_S- Your TA N77ES will sound sweet with the power cord and plug upgrade. Does it look something like this TA N80ES without its panels?
It looks similar except for the extra changes done to the large caps on that TA-N80ES.
The 4 blue caps in the background of that image are not the originals, my unit still has the original caps in this location. The 2 black caps in the row of 6 foreground caps look original. My N77ES still has the original 4 caps here, the board has space for 2 more. All these caps tested okay. I might later fill the empty spaces on the foreground board of my amp.
I would like to know what the total diference in capacitance value that TA-N80ES has from it's original stock values. My lights already dim a small amount for a short time when I power up the N77ES and the initial charge goes into the caps.
I also put Soundcoat damping material on the back side of the metal panel behind the meters and on the top & bottom panels, not covering the ventilation slots.
Excuse me if pigtail fuse use is mentioned in your "The AC Power Principals In Action" thread but I have overlooked that posting if it is. I would like to know what your opinion is about replacing the in line AC "snap in" holder & fuse with an equivalent soldered in pigtail fuse. You can answer this in the "The AC Power Principals In Action" thread if you feel it fits into that thread.
Maxxwire Moderator Premium Member Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25772
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
Posted: 2011-01-03 16:47
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On 2011-01-03 14:19, David_S wrote:
Excuse me if pigtail fuse use is mentioned in your "The AC Power Principals In Action" thread but I have overlooked that posting if it is. I would like to know what your opinion is about replacing the in line AC "snap in" holder & fuse with an equivalent soldered in pigtail fuse.
I know of a number of highly competent Modmen to whom replacing the in line AC "snap in" holder & fuse is an important part of the upgrade packages that they offer. As you know the "The AC Power Principals In Action Thread" is dedicated to exposing and eradicating these kinds of weak links in the AC Power Delivery System the chief of which that I recently discovered and you have had a significant and highly valued input on sharing the deeper technical impact of and that is the Wall Outlet which affects all of the equipment which with the backdrop of having upgraded many power supplies with higher quality cords and plugs myself the Wall Outlet still looms as the greatest Weak Link of all and by upgrading the primary source of AC Power at the Wall Outlet to its fullest potential are all of these lesser yet highly significant and very sonically important weak links that have previously been upgraded are finally able to reveal their full Musical effect.
You are always welcomed to bring your knowledge which is based on a wealth of practical experience as a skilled Audio Tech to the "The AC Power Principals In Action Thread"!
Hi, the blue caps are 22,000uf 100v each for a total for 44,000uf per positive and negative rail. The 6 caps in the bank of caps are original. I only changed the smaller caps and trim pots on that board. The stock unit had 2 main caps of 22,000 80v. You can see the story here on my website:
Maxx-Thanks for the feedback. Swapping snap-in holders & fuses for pigtail fuses has not been high on my priority list but in the back of my mind for quite a while. I will post it to the "The AC Power Principals In Action" thread when I swap some out.
Maxxwire Moderator Premium Member Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25772
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
Posted: 2011-01-03 21:41
sonyeslover- Thanks for the link to your web site! I've long been an admirer of your work and find myself often WoW-ing people who are becoming interested in vintage Sony gear with pictures of it!
~Maxx~
----------------- A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
Maxxwire Moderator Premium Member Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25772
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
Posted: 2011-01-03 21:44
Member Quote
On 2011-01-03 19:30, David_S wrote: Maxx-Thanks for the feedback. Swapping snap-in holders & fuses for pigtail fuses has not been high on my priority list but in the back of my mind for quite a while. I will post it to the "The AC Power Principals In Action" thread when I swap some out.
On 2011-01-03 21:41, Maxxwire wrote: sonyeslover- Thanks for the link to your web site! I've long been an admirer of your work and find myself often WoW-ing people who are becoming interested in vintage Sony gear with pictures of it!
On 2011-01-07 03:09, TMC wrote: </blockquote> My pleasure Maxx. The TA-N77ES are beautiful amps, I briefly had 2 in my collection recently: </blockquote>
Hi there, "had" (?) what made you selling these...?
Money...as always. They were great amps. I had them bridged mono powering my Magnepan speakers. The setup had tons of headroom, I would rarely go past 10 watts per channel peak.
Maxxwire Moderator Premium Member Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25772
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
Posted: 2011-01-16 17:50
sonyeslover- I noticed the wedge and pyramid studiofoam in the background of your pictures of the Sony TA N77ES Power Amps. Are these Power Amps played along with a Preamp and front end in this room with these acoustic treatments?
~Maxx~
----------------- A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
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Posted: 2011-01-02 00:47
