Sony TC-WR11ES vs NON ES TC-WR950 differences?

[390FE]

My question is what the difference(s) are between the Sony TC-WR11ES & the non-ES version of the same deck, TC-WR950? (Oh and not counting that the ES deck came with the wood sides.)

TC-WR11ES
7897

TC-WR950
7898

Usually the non-ES deck drops off the Laser Amorphous heads & some other performance things. Correct?

BOTH have the LC-OFC Laser Amorphous Heads.

BOTH decks DO have the 210Khz SUPER BIAS (though the TC-WR950 doesn't have the words SUPER BIAS printed on well B tape door like the ES deck does)

BOTH were Remote controlable (& could have/did come with a remote)

BOTH have the SAME Signal to Noise Ratio Specs.

BOTH have the SAME THD spec with Metal ES tape.

BOTH have the SAME W&F spec.

Now this is where they differ in specs. (I got ALL the specs & INFO from the TC-WR11ES Owners Manual, from the TC-WR950 Service Manual & from the Sony ES Catalog & Crutchfield Catalog for the TC-WR950)

Freq Response:

TC-WR11ES :
Metal ES = 20 - 20,000 (+-3db)
= 30 - 15,000 (0VU recording)

UX-S = 30 - 17,000 (+-3db)

HF-S = 30 - 16,000 (+-3db)


TC-WR950 :
Metal ES = 30 - 17,000 (+-3db)
= 30 - 13,000 (0VU recording)

UCX-S = 30 - 17,000 (+-3db)

HF-S = 30 - 15,000 (+-3db)



And I would like to know why? What did they do/change to the deck to get the "impovment" in freq response?

(NOTE: I don't have a TC-WR950 deck or a TC-WR11ES Service Manual to compare parts to see where they differ if at all.)

Does ANY one know why/what the differances are, have a TC-WR950 deck and or a TC-WR11ES Service Manual?

[Scorpion8]

Geez, both look like pretty fair decks.

[Web Police]

I was able to locate an owners manual for the Sony TC-WR11ES Deck. However I do not have a service manual.

That looks like my dog in the lower left and my laundry basket in the upper right hand corner of the WE11ES picture. :)


http://home.earthlink.net/~web-police3/Cassette%20TC-WR11ES%20OM.pdf


I also located a service manual for the TC-WR950.

http://www.hifimanuals.com/samples/Sony%20TC-WR950%20Service%20Manual.pdf?prod=1740

[390FE]

I was able to locate an owners manual for the Sony TC-WR11ES Deck. However I do not have a service manual.

That looks like my dog in the lower left and my laundry basket in the upper right hand corner of the WE11ES picture. :)


http://home.earthlink.net/~web-police3/Cassette%20TC-WR11ES%20OM.pdf


I also located a service manual for the TC-WR950.

http://www.hifimanuals.com/samples/Sony%20TC-WR950%20Service%20Manual.pdf?prod=1740

Good eye Web. I borrowed the pic of your deck as I didn't have a pic of my deck I could upload. Thanks for the pic & thanks for the links *Hi5*.

I have the owners manual that came with one of the TC-WR11ES decks I got.
Web do you need a copy? I can scan & e-mail it to you. I also found just after I got both TC-WR11ES decks & got an original Service manual for the TC-WR950 from E-Bay a couple weeks ago. That is how I know the specs from the 2 decks.

Scorp the TC-WR11ES is a real nice deck!

What I don't know is what is different between the 2 decks that gives the ES deck the little better freq response? I would like to know what they did if anything. If they didn't change anything then it wasn't worth the extra $$$ for the ES version & the wood sides.

Any thoughts?

[Web Police]

I have the owners manual that came with one of the TC-WR11ES decks I got.
Web do you need a copy?

What I don't know is what is different between the 2 decks that gives the ES deck the little better freq response? I would like to know what they did if anything. If they didn't change anything then it wasn't worth the extra $$$ for the ES version & the wood sides.

Any thoughts?

The link I posted for the ES owners manual is to my web space. I found a pdf copy of the owners manual on one of my spare hard drives, so no i don't need a copy. Thanks for offering it though.


As far as the differences, they are probably pretty minor. If I believe what is posted on the internet the non ES model listed for $700 and the ES model for $800, so it would appear the wood side panels were probably the only difference. *scratchchin*

[Naknut]

It's the magic you get when you stencil the ES on the front panel, didn't you know that?*devil*

[390FE]

So what you are saying is that the Wood Sides & The ES badging & words SUPER BIAS added to the deck is what gives it the better extended frequency responce?

The superior magnetic, electrical & harmonic resonance properties of the Wood Sides improves the freqency responce?*stirpot*

We ALL MUST now add Wood Sides to our decks to improve performance!!!*scratchchin*


I wonder what gives the ES the better frequency responce?



In the summer of 1988 Crutchfield was closing out the TC-WR950 at $479 at that time they said the LIST price was $700 & their REGULAR price was $599.

In the spring of 1989 Crutchfield was blowing out the TC-WR950 at $449 & still said the LIST price was $700.

So it looks like the TC-WR950 sold for around $599 when New.

I don't remember how much my dad paid for the TC-WR11ES when he bought one for the school he worked for.

[dynakitbuilder]

I recently bought a Sony TC-WR11ES on ebay for the ridiculous sum of $20. plus shipping, another $20 for UPS ground. The deck looks like it was never used. The seller stated he paid close to $800. for this deck when new in 1990. I was wondering if someone here could direct me to a copy of the owners manual, since my deck did not come with one, and there are alot of functions on this deck that should be reviewed and familiarized before trying to get the most out of this beautiful piece. I played back several of my own tapes, and they sound very clean with ample highs and solid bass. Thanks .

[Pacific Stereo]

I run one of these in the bedroom system upstairs, and it's one solid and good-sounding machine. I've never investigated the differences between the models schematic-wise. If they are identical, it's possible that chassis on the line were graded by performance (there will be sample-to-sample differences, even with identical parts), with the lower-tier getting a 950 faceplate and the better ones getting the ES faceplate.

It's also very possible that Sony simply degraded the specs on the non ES version to push people into the "better" model. After all, no one complains when their deck performs better than published. Also, at that time ES models came with a three-year warranty, as opposed to the standard one-year warranty on ordinary products.

[R.Daneel]

Sony used the ES designation on some decks and it was rather unjustified. For an example, you have a 2 motor deck with average heads named TC-KA1ES and you have a more consumer version from the K5xxS seroes. Identical! The KA1ES was available only in the US while Europe never saw that model. On the other hand, in the late 1990s Sony issued the KB920 deck which was a QS (quality standard) machine and was identical to the entry level models that came out several years before it - namely the K561S. Now, for the money these are okay decks that sound decent but KB920 is quite a bit more luxurious in appearance with super smooth and thick aluminium front panel and seems to cost a lot on ebay.

Every product has it's place on the appropriate market and for the appropriate price I guess.

But, if the specs are different, then it is possible the ES deck uses better heads. Aiwa for an example used amorphous alloy heads in their very best dual-well cassette decks and these decks usually sounded very good.