Sony S-master - Another Gimmicky Con ?

Hi ,

I've got a flagship Sony micro that sounds miles better than its arch enemy the Denon ud-m33.....each section is shielded separately to avoid interference and all caps are rubycon & ferrite everywhere etc.....

Anyway Sony advertise it has having an S-Master amplifier - im under the influence that this is digital but not certain.

Just wondered if any techs can explain what this actually is ?
another con like Technics "ClassAA" or "New ClassA" ? Or is it like the sonic impact "ClassT" a different way of doing things under the "Digital Umbrella" ?

Any help on this would be fantastic if for nothing else other than to feed my curiosity .....

James.

 

s-master is sonys digital amp technology (class d, similar to tact, tripath, b&o et al). from all accounts it's meant to sound pretty good but it being sony has zero hi-fi street cred.

 

Thanks Julian - It really does sound fantastic for what it is , imo it sounds better than denon pma-355uk , cambridge a500 & nad 3020 all of which I've owned......

Anyhow , thanks for the info
James.

 

Does anyone else think S-Master is one of the most hilarious brand names ever?

Dunc

 

Class D amplifiers can be broken down into two groups. The unambiguous way to classify them is "Analogue Input Class D" and "Digital Input Class D". Confusion arises because of the discrete-state output of all class D amps they're often referred to as "Digital amps" when that may not be an accurate description.

Sony's S-master is a digital-input class D amplifier technology. The sonic impact uses Tripath devices, which are analogue-input.

 

I mentioned this before as what seems like a bit of a bargain.

I'm sure I read somewhere, something about this using the same amps as the Sonic Impact.

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?pa=spromo&page=title&r=ELEC&title=857650#

 

Julian 2002 said:

There is also the S-Master Pro series of amps. I'm uncertain if there is any intrinsic difference between S-Master, and S-Master Pro; however as S-Master Pro is limited to their ES, or elevated standard range, one assumes top tier component quality, which from reviews I've read seems to be the case.

I can attest to the excellent sound quality.

My Sony ES series, TA-DA9000ES S-Master Pro 7 channel integrated digital amp comfortably outperforms my Naim 72/Hi-Cap/180 when in 2 channel mode driving my Naim SBL's, and slaughters the Naim electronics in standalone multi-channel mode (as against using the pre-outs from the Sony, to the Naim, and hence SBL's, and merely letting the Sony do just the DD/DTS decoding and drive the rears in a multi-channel music/HT setup).

Performance points of note between the Naim and the Sony; the Sony is much, much smoother, a lot quieter with really inky black 'background', a big jump in detail in every area, a much more realistic presentation of spatial 'clues' in performances, a considerable improvement in the rendition of tonal timbre and tonal colour, and lastly, the dynamics, a particularly known Naim strength, are a lot better as well.

And then there's the er, little matter, of the not inconsequential difference in cost. The Sony features superb build, finish, engineering, component quality and sound. As you rightly point out though, it has almost zero HiFi street cred.

Personally, I love quality engineering, and top quality sound. I also see no reason why I should be expected to pay a kings ransom for it either, not when products of this capability are available.

It has changed my outlook/approach towards high-end kit irrevocably in terms of VFM; I am not interested in badge snobbery, let alone the sheep like mentality of those who seemingly pursue such things (Naim die-hards come strongly to mind) only top qualtiy and sound at an sensible and fair price.

To be sure, there will always be better; it just depends upon how much money you have to spend to better it. My Naim dealer friend who has visited and heard it, was converted from being a doubting Thomas, to being 'blown away' by how good it is.

Needless to say, I am just ever so slightly enthusiastic about it, as you probably can tell.

Best Regards

John...

 

could you give me the type number og the sony mini?
________
spice weed

 

model number ?

Its a : CMT-SE1 With SS-CSE1 Speakers

discontinued now though but comes up on eBay for £100 (how i got it) but retailed at £280......

it also features an amazing FM radio - im in Dorset and it picks up BBC radio wiltshire

the brushed aluminium fascia is very high quality (about 5mm thick) & the speakers are ott as well - the tweeters have suede surrounds !

as you can tell , i like it









Cheers , James.