In this video, I completely restore a gorgeous Sony TAE-8450 Preamplifier. This is the first of a two part series, which will also include the venerable Sony TAN-8550 VFET power amplifier.
This was a very fun piece to work on, as Sony made it as service-friendly as possible. Most of the circuit boards are modular, making removal and installation a piece of cake. The internal wiring is also as neat and well laid out as much of the high precision test equipment I’ve seen. The 8450 has a myriad of inputs and features that make it a perfect preamplifier for someone who has many sources in their audio chain. It sounds wonderful and the PPM meters are very cool to see in action. It all comes together to make a great preamplifier that is a joy to both work on and listen to.
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TheVintageKnob article:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-TAE-8450.html
Audio-Database:
https://audio-database.com/SONY-ESPRIT/amp/tae-8450.html
HiFiEngine:
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sony/tae-8450.shtml