Sony STR-DA9000ES User Manual

ES Series Receivers

Technical Background

Version 1.1; May 25, 2005

A new generation of A/V receivers

Digital home theater continues to advance at breakneck speed. You can
listen to upgraded surround sound formats, including Dolby Digital® EX 6.1
channel sound, dts® ES discrete 6.1 and dts Neo6:cinema. You can watch High
Definition video from over-the-air broadcasting, cable, satellite, HDV camcorders,
HD home videocassette recorders and HD digital video recorders. You can
enjoy surround sound from as many as nine speakers.

At the heart of the home theater—switching it all, decoding it all and
reproducing all the sound—stands the A/V receiver. And this single component
is challenged as never before. How do you coordinate and switch all those
sources, preserving audio and video in their most pristine form? How do you
pack all those channels of amplification in a single chassis and still deliver the
quality and power that home theater requires? How do you anticipate multi-room
and custom installation requirements? These questions are daunting. And the
answers determine the quality and suitability of any modern A/V receiver.

The engineers of Sony ES Series don't simply answer these questions.
They help drive the technology that brings these questions into being. Thanks in
part to this expertise, Sony's ES Series receivers have been praised by
equipment reviewers, cherished by home theater enthusiasts and scrutinized by
an entire industry. Sony's latest ES Series A/V receivers, particularly the STR­DA7100ES, establish an important benchmark in home theater design with three
crucial advantages:

• S-Master Pro digital amplifiers with 32-bit processing and a new generation of
MOS FET output transistors.

• HDMI inputs, upconversion, switching and output.

• i.LINK® IEEE 1394 interface for digital transmission from a Super Audio CD

or DVD player.

In this way, our latest A/V receivers carry forward the proud tradition of the
Sony ES Series, the Elevated Standard in audio and video.

Digital Home Theater and Sony ES......................... Page 3

S-Master Pro amplifier with 32-bit DSP.................... Page 4

HDMI inputs and switching....................................... Page 16

i.LINK IEEE 1394 interface....................................... Page 23

Other New Features.................................................. Page 26

Performance Series Receivers………………………. Page 28

Continuing Features.................................................. Page 35

Features and Specifications...................................... Page 37

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 2

Digital home theater

and the ES Series

The engineers of the Sony ES Series haven't simply witnessed the digital
home theater revolution. They've been driving it forward. After all, it was Sony
that launched and spearheaded so many of the entertainment formats that define
digital home theater. We co-invented the Compact Disc, DVD and Super Audio
CD. We're a global leader in professional High Definition production equipment,
as well as a leader in HDTVs. We've launched consumer High Definition
camcorders. And in Japan, we marketed the world's first Blu-ray Disc™ High
Definition recorder.

This heritage, unmatched in home entertainment, has inspired Sony
engineers since the very birth of the ES Series, leading us to create landmarks in
home entertainment:

• The world's first CD player with digital output and the world's first outboard
D/A converter (CDP-650ES and DAS-702ES, 1985).

• The world's first all-digital preamplifier (TA-E1000ESD, 1989).

• The world's first A/V receiver with a digital input for Super Audio CD signals

(STR-DA9000ES, 2003).

• Digital amplification in a high-end A/V receiver (STR-DA9000ES, 2003).

• A/V receiver with two DVI inputs with switching and output (STR-DA9000ES,

2003).

Sony's latest A/V receivers are worthy successors, bringing this heritage
to a new generation of home entertainment enthusiasts.

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 3

S-Master Pro amplifier

with 32-bit DSP

The video signal in home theater is increasingly digital from the latest
digital cinematography in Hollywood through digital transmission channels to
digital television display panels. The audio in home theater is increasingly digital
from the microphone mixing console through the distribution channels, to the
digital inputs and digital signal processing of your A/V receiver. With digital
sources, digital switching and digital preamplification, it was only a matter of time
until the power amplifier also made the move from analog to digital.

Even so, some observers were surprised in 2003 when Sony introduced
ES Series A/V receivers with a digital amplifier we called S-Master Pro. Fiercely
independent critics evaluated the Sony STR-DA9000ES receiver using the finest
source material and ancillary equipment. Their response was overwhelming.
They brought out their highest superlatives, calling the sound of the DA9000ES
"airy," "delicate," "pure," "relaxed," "open," "fantastic," and "a revelation."

Not content with establishing a new benchmark in A/V receiver sound
quality, the engineers of Sony's ES Series continue to press ahead with an
upgraded, 32-bit S-Master Pro LSI, redesigned MOS FET transistors and a fresh
approach to transistor cooling.

Process S-Master "Digital Drive"

S-Master
Generation
Introduction
Technologies

First Second Third Fourth
2001 2002 2003 2005

• Clean Data Cycle

• C-PLM

• S-TACT

• Clean Data Cycle

• C-PLM

• S-TACT

• Pulse Height

Volume Control

S-Master Pro S-Master Pro

• Clean Data Cycle

• C-PLM

• S-TACT

• Pulse Height

Volume Control

• DC Phase
Linearizer

• Discrete Output
Transistors

(2005)

• 32-bit S-Master
Pro DSP

• Clean Data Cycle

• C-PLM

• S-TACT

• Pulse Height

Volume Control

• Integrated DC
Phase Linearizer

• Discrete MOS
FET Output
Transistors,
redesigned
cooling

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 4

Why Digital Amplification?

After decades of engineering practice, the limitations and awkward
characteristics of traditional amplifiers have become so familiar that most
engineers don't even notice them:

• Complexity. In the context of today's home theater receivers, you have
digital source material processed through a digital preamplifier—only to be
converted to analog prior to amplification.

• Heat generation. Conventional power output transistors throw off much of
their power as heat. And heat is always bad for electronics.

• Thermal modulation distortion. Changes in the audio signal cause
immediate changes in the output transistor temperature, which in turn cause
changes in transistor performance! This is thermal modulation distortion.

• Crossover distortion. Conventional transistor pairs create crossover
distortion, which becomes particularly audible during quiet passages. The
normal solution is amplifier bias—which means more heat!

• Open-loop distortion. Traditional amplifiers typically generate substantial
"open-loop" distortion. The Negative Feedback (NFB) used to correct this
can trigger other problems like Transient Intermodulation Distortion.

Commonly understood for decades, these limitations are so thoroughly
ingrained in home audio design that they're considered "inevitable." Resolving
these issues means accepting massive heat sinks, tolerating circuitous signal
paths and chasing down transient distortions. Sony engineers sought a better
way. Sony's S-Master Pro circuitry overcomes these fundamental constraints by
completely replacing analog amplification with digital technology.

Digital amplifiers had been around for decades, outside the mainstream of
home audio. But great strides in Large Scale Integration (LSI), 1-bit processing
and faster MOS FET output transistors have opened the door to a new
generation of digital amplifier technology.

S-Master Pro: principle of operation

In the context of a modern A/V receiver, traditional power amplifiers
require the needless complexity of D/A conversion, Low Pass Filtering (LPF) and
analog volume control prior to the input.

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 5

r

Input

(Digital)

DSP

D/A
convert

LPF

Volume
Control

Analog
Power
Amp

Speaker
Output

Digital Signal

Analog Signal

The conventional A/V receiver is anything but simple. The signal must
run through a gantlet of processes and stages.

The Sony S-Master Pro amplifier is dramatically different. There is no
Digital-to-Analog (D/A) converter. Instead, the amplifier accepts all digital signals
directly, whether they're multi-bit Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) or 1-bit Direct
Stream Digital™ pulses from Super Audio CD. Even analog inputs are converted
to DSD. The output of the S-Master Pro amplifier goes through a single Low
Pass Filter to provide the wattage that drives the speakers. In this way, the
signal remains digital until the last possible instant.

Input

(Digital)

DSP

Digital Signal

S-Master

Power Amplifie

LPF

Analog Signal

Speaker
Output

The Sony S-Master Pro amplifier dramatically simplifies receiver design.
And in high fidelity, simpler is better.

The S-Master power amplifier generates a 1-bit pulse stream to switch
pairs of MOS FET power output transistors on and off. The resulting output has
more than enough wattage to drive a loudspeaker.

The output transistors act like an on/off switch for the power supply
voltage. The Low Pass Filter (LPF) converts the amplified pulses to a
smooth, continuous analog waveform.

The S-Master 1-bit pulse stream has much in common with the Direct
Stream Digital signal that Sony developed for Super Audio CD. If you look

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 6

carefully at the pulses, you'll see that where the audio waveform is positive, the
pulses are mostly 1. Where the audio waveform is negative, the pulses are
mostly 0. In this way, a 1-bit pulse stream can represent the audio signal. As
with a DSD signal, a Low Pass Filter (LPF) is all you need to recover the original
audio signal.

In the diagram above, (A) represents the output power pulse stream.
This combines two components, the original audio signal (B) and a
noise component (C). The audio signal (B) looks smooth and
continuous because the frequencies are low. The noise component (C)
looks abrupt and spiky because the frequencies are high. The Low
Pass Filter (LPF) effectively separates out the audio signal, for
extremely accurate music reproduction.

Inside the S-Master Pro process

While Sony's S-Master Pro amplifier is simple in principle, the fidelity of
the output signal depends on getting each pulse exactly right. That is, the
leading and trailing edges of each pulse must have the right timing—and the
height of each pulse must be carefully controlled. This is comparable to the
requirements for Super Audio CD playback. So to accomplish these goals, Sony
used technologies developed for our legendary SCD-1 Super Audio CD player.

Sony's CXD9773Q S-Master Pro LSI incorporates several stages of
crucial signal processing.

In specific, the S-Master Pro LSI incorporates five important technologies:

• Clean Data Cycle. "Jitter" or time-base errors can degrade the accuracy of
digital signals. That's why the first stage of the S-Master Pro process is
Sony's Clean Data Cycle. This regenerates the digital signal with time-axis
accuracy equivalent to the original A/D converter at the recording studio. In

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 7

this way, jitter is completely eliminated—and the integrity of the original
musical signal is restored.

• DC Phase Linearizer (DCPL). Interaction between traditional amplifiers and
real-world loudspeakers cause significant departure from phase linearity at
frequencies below 30 or 50 Hz. These shifts have a subtle effect, creating
warmer and more accessible bass. Sony's DC Phase Linearizer gives you
several control positions, including Off, enabling you to adjust low-frequency
phase shift and restore this effect.

• Complementary Pulse Length Modulation (C-PLM). Previous digital
amplifiers have used a 1-bit technology called Pulse Width Modulation or
PWM. Those digital amplifiers varied the width of pulses. Unfortunately,
PWM tends to expose the signal to second-order harmonic distortion. C-PLM
effectively controls the distortion, maintaining the integrity of the musical
signal.

• Synchronous Time Accuracy Controller (S-TACT). Because C-PLM
conversion expresses the music in a different digital form, the signal requires
another round of correction for time-base errors. Synchronous Time
Accuracy Controller (S-TACT), originally developed for Sony's SCD-1 Super
Audio CD player, effectively clears pulse generator jitter by referencing the
output directly to the master clock. This establishes extremely accurate pulse
timing for amazingly low distortion.

• Pulse Height Volume Control. Most digital volume controls work by Digital
Signal Processing, an approach that sacrifices detail in the least significant
bit. Sony's Pulse Height Volume control adjusts the 1-bit C-PLM stream by
adjusting the regulator that supplies voltage to the power pulse generator.
Because this method does not modify or reshape the original digital samples,
there's no loss of information, no loss of detail. Sound quality is maintained
from very low volume settings all the way to maximum.

S-Master Pro Benefits

Sony's S-Master Pro design delivers a host of benefits.

• Simplicity. Digital signals remain in the digital domain until the last possible
moment. The purity and clarity of digital source material is maintained.

• Low heat generation. With S-Master Pro, the output MOS FET transistors
simply switch between fully On and fully Off states. The transistors operate at
nearly maximum thermal efficiency. This has a profound impact on the
physical design of the power amplifier.

o The amps can be far more compact, because the heat sinks take

up far less space. This is a major consideration when you have
seven amplifiers, each putting out 170 watts per channel (all
channels driven, 8 ohms, 20 to 20,000 Hz, at 0.15% THD).

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 8

o Instead of isolating the power amplifier because it runs too hot, the

amps can be located anywhere in the chassis that makes the most
sense.

o With this new freedom in locating the amplifier, the circuit paths

inside the chassis can be rationalized. In Sony's words, they can
be made "short, simple and straight."

• Minimum thermal modulation distortion. In traditional amplifiers, the
output transistors must reproduce the waveform directly. This means the
heat inside the transistors changes rapidly—getting hotter during the middle
ranges of the audio waveform when the transistor is inefficient. Unfortunately,
the changing heat can degrade the electrical performance of the transistor,
generating thermal modulation distortion. Because the S-Master Pro
transistors simply switch from full-on to full-off. There's almost no power
wasted as heat. So thermal modulation is held to a minimum.

• No crossover distortion. Conventional power amplifiers use separate
transistors to reproduce the upper and lower halves of the waveform. This
tends to generate the glitches of crossover distortion, which is particularly
audible when the music is soft. Because the S-Master Pro amplifier uses
pulse density, the output transistors do not generate the waveform. Any
switching glitches get removed from the music by the low pass filter. In this
way, the system is immune to crossover distortion, even when the music or
movie sound track is particularly soft.

• Superb open-loop performance. Traditional amplifiers typically generate
substantial distortion in "open-loop" mode. That's why analog amps use
Negative Feedback (NFB). Unfortunately, NFB exposes the signal to
Transient Intermodulation Distortion and other dynamic problems. In
contrast, the Sony S-Master Pro amplifier achieves excellent fidelity without
any negative feedback at all! Distortion remains low without any sacrifice in
transient and dynamic characteristics. Music comes alive.

Independent reviewers have heaped praise on Sony's S-Master Pro
amplifier. But you don't need a magazine review (or a white paper) to appreciate
the results. Use good speakers, a suitable disc player and a Super Audio
Compact Disc that you know well. Then sit back and listen carefully. Dynamics
are powerful but not forced. Bass is vigorous but not boomy. Music is rendered
in very high resolution, against a background of silky silence.

The 32-bit Upgrade

Where the acclaimed STR-DA9000ES took advantage of 24-bit S-Master
Pro processing, Sony's latest design boasts the superior precision of Sony's 32­bit processing. Sony proudly presents a masterpiece of integrated circuitry,
Sony's CXD9773Q Large Scale Integrated circuit (LSI).

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 9

As a primary manufacturer of Large Scale Integrated circuits (LSIs),
Sony has the freedom to pursue innovative thinking like S-Master Pro
and then express this thinking in silicon. The result is Sony's own
CXD9773Q.

• Superior dynamic range. The previous S-Master Pro LSI achieved 24-bit
processing at 1024 fs. This translates to an impressive 34 bits of resolution at
the 48 kHz sampling rate (fs). The new CXD9773Q goes much further, with
32-bit processing at 1024 fs. Internal dynamic range at the 48 kHz sampling
rate is improved from 180 dB to 228 dB. When Super Audio CD signals are
sampled at 8 fs, the internal dynamic range improves from 162 dB to 210 dB
out to nearly 100 kHz. Clearly, the new 32-bit processor has more than
enough dynamic range for the most demanding digital audio sources.

• Higher accuracy for the Clean Data Cycle. Because one-bit digital signals
depend on the accuracy of the time domain, Sony suppresses jitter with
Clean Data Cycle. Our 24-bit processor achieved a theoretical accuracy of
40 femtoseconds. One femtosecond is 1/1,000,000,000,000,000 second (in

-15

scientific notation, 10

second). For comparison, it takes a billion
femtoseconds to equal one nanosecond. Stated another way, there are as
many femtoseconds in one full second as there are seconds in 30 million
years!

So it's fair to say that accuracy of 40 femtoseconds is fairly precise. However
our 32-bit processor goes well beyond this, to an accuracy of 0.08
femtoseconds (or 80 attoseconds, if you prefer). This is about the same time
it takes an electron to fluctuate within a single lattice of a metal crystal. So we
can say that the 32-bit Clean Data Cycle reduces jitter to the theoretical
minimum. (Note: This measure, 80 attoseconds is roughly four orders of
magnitude more precise than the jitter induced by chassis vibration. From a
practical standpoint, suppressing chassis vibration has a great impact on the
final sound quality.)

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 10

• Built in DC Phase Linearizer. Where Sony's 24-bit LSI required a second
chip to contain the DC Phase Linearizer, this circuitry is built right into Sony's
32-bit design. The process is performed by Infinite Impulse Response (IIR)
calculation, which processes more data in less time.

In this way, Sony has taken the critically-acclaimed S-Master Pro amplifier
to a higher level of precision and performance. Those fortunate enough to own
of the STR-DA7100ES will experience superb clarity of expression, relaxed
listening hour after hour, and the effortless dynamics to handle everything from a
the Dies Irae of Verdi's Requiem to the meteor impacts of the latest action movie.

Toroidal Low Pass Filter

The Low Pass Filter is a crucial stage in any digital amplifier. The filter
must have a turnover frequency high enough for high-resolution audio, yet have
a cutoff characteristic steep enough to suppress high-frequency noise elements.
In this way, the filter has a major influence on sound quality. That's why the
engineers of Sony ES selected the filter parts carefully and methodically. Instead
of choosing less expensive cylinder-type coils, the ES engineers chose exotic
toroidal coils, optimized for sound. Customers will never see these toroidal coils,
but they will hear the benefits in clean, open, non-fatiguing music reproduction.

Shown here wrapped in black, the toroidal coils of Sony's Low Pass
Filters are more expensive. But their contribution to sound is more than
worth the price.

MOS FET Output Transistors

In traditional amplifiers, the output transistors or ICs directly shape the
analog waveform. For this reason, traditional amplifiers are extremely sensitive
to the selection, configuration, bias current and heat sinking of their output
devices. By their design, digital amplifiers are inherently less sensitive to these
factors. That's why some previous digital amplifiers have used relatively
inexpensive integrated circuit op-amps at the output. But Sony ES engineers
were after the best possible sound. So they selected deluxe Metal Oxide

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 11

Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOS FETs), four per channel, for the
STR-DA7100ES. The result is another measure of signal integrity.

A detail of the power amplifier circuit board of the STR-DA7100ES. The
twelve black chips are the MOS FET output transistors for three
channels (4 MOS FETs per channel).

Sony output transistors are remarkable for their internal wiring and
bonding, their unique packaging and the way they're configured on the power
amplifier circuit board. Consider the packaging.

MOS FET Thermal Packaging

Conventional output transistors have two distinct sides. The bottom is
designed to radiate heat, and is usually attached to a metal heat sink. The top is
fashioned from molded plastic, from which heat cannot escape. No matter how
much cooling may be available at the top, the plastic package is too thick to
conduct heat away from the transistor.

On the left, the MOS FET output transistor used in Sony's STR­DA9000ES was 2 to 3 mm thick. At right, the MOS FETs used in the
DA7100ES is 1 mm thick or less, for far better dissipation of heat.

ES Receivers v1.0 Page 12