Soundstage!,sound quality, build quality,reception.

None,except that for my personal taste,it could be 5% warmer.

This review is for the Sony 550es. Manufactured in the late 1990's with Sony es quality standards.Sony succeeded in building a wonderful digital tuner with analogue characteristics.Extremly attractive with real wood side panels this unit provides a warm,yet detailed sound when used with my Jolida(tube pre-amp).An excellent sound stage with space and definition.Superior reception and I only use a $10 Radio Shack antenae.Features include; narrow and wide IF band,30 presets,nicely balanced flywheel tuning,fm muting,signal strength meter,& s-connect to other sony es products.A great buy on the used market for less than $200.

Similar Products Used:

NAD,Marantz,& Sherwood.

outstanding reception & sound quality, wide and narrow IF bands, manual tuning option w/ analogue-like flywheel tuning, extremely well-built, remote-compatible w/ sony S-link, handsome w/ veneered end panels

It's the original S-link (4 pin) system, so can't interface it with the current S-link (minijack)-equipped Sony components! :-( No IR receiver.

This review is of the sony 550ES , which was the ES tuner produced just before the current model (the A50ES). [Webmaster: Please correct the designation in the index.]

Really excellent reception, lots of fine-tuning options for tricky reception situations, built with typical Sony ES-series quality, has a terrific manual tuning option with a nicely-balanced flywheel knob, overall it puts the Yamaha 950 to shame at less than half the price on the used market. I've compared a zillion digital and analog tuners in a range from $50 to $2000, and this one's a steal on the used market!

My only complaint is that I'm really grouchy that there's apparently no way to link this S-link unit to the updated S-link II minijack format. Does this mean owners can't integrate it with their current Sony components?? ***Has anyone found a solution to this??? Please email me if you have! ****

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha 950, loads of excellent analog tuners