I just got this piece considering its features and price. I have been playing around with it for a couple of days and I love It !! Sounds as good as any expencive pre-amp with tons of features including DTS, AC-3, and lots of DSP modes to make you crazy. the remote looks like a mini tv that came from the year 2100 with a touch button screan that can fully comunicate with the pre-amp, this remote can be compared to a pc computer with all its features it takes a long time to master its functions. This piece has plenty of inputs and outputs for all signals digital and analog enough to go around twice plus it works on three 32bit processors. Its built like a tank and a very heavy piece if you compare it to the meridian, lexicon and B&K referance 20. It has a 2 channel bypass mode which gives you pure stereo listening that sounds great, dynamic, clear, with good bass. I dont know what the other companies are going to do with this piece out on the market, not only does it sound just as good and even better but costs allot less and looks a lot cooler than those ugly pre-amps like the tiny meridian and ugly lexicon. In DTS and movies it will blow the hell out of most processor out there for a fraction of the price. the only minuses I found so far on this system is that the romote is not easy to read under poor light conditions all the time, and it does not have 4 channel stereo like the B&K has which I love so much but if you cancell the center channel and play around with its DSP modes you can adjust the sound to almost a good 4 channel stereo ( front and rear full range stereo). Ive only scratched the surface of what the TA9000ES can do and I still have allot to learn about this piece but considering the fact that I heard every pre-amp out there costing thousands more the TA9000 is a MUST BUY!!!! I can go forever on why this pre-amp is the BEST buy out there today but let your eyes and ears be the boss. The Sony can be bought from 1250$-1800$ so keep shoping until you found the right price. I will post another update on this piece in a while after I mastered it completely and listended more to it. For now you have to be a complete Moran with no high-fi experience for giving this piece anything under 5 stars.
Aragon 8008 BB
Acurus A250
Sony XA7ES CD
Sony TA-E9000ES
Sony Miny Disk
Audio Control EQ101
Tannoy C-10 ( soon to be Paradigm studio 80 )
Atlantic Technology surround

THE 9000es sounds much better than any other preamp in this price range of 1000 to 4000.00 .THIS sony is to kill for. AUDIO ENTHUSIAST FOR 40+YEARS...I GAVE IT 5 STARS...

I have this pre-amp for a while now and I can give a better review on this piece. First let me start by saying that the Sony TA E9000ES is a GREAT if not the best pre-amp out in the market today. And YES I mean that it can be compared to the fat boys like KRELL, MERIDIAN, LEXICON, ETC.... I heard them all connected to systems that run up to 100000$ and more. I don’t understand how Sony can give you so much more for so much less. But there are some points that need to be said about this pre-amp. The remote control is hard to read due to its poor light touch screen and it kills the batteries fast. Another thing you must keep in mind is that this pre-amp is so sophisticated and complex that it will take a long time until you configure it to your taste. It has so many modes, Equalizer adjustments, speaker setups, and sound adjustments that it will drive you crazy! It’s like trying to figure out a computer for the first time ever. Sony made it possible to tweak the right sound out of this baby to each individuals taste. You have to be very patience with this piece because it takes a long time to master it. You have a built in EQ for every speaker individually and you can adjust the frequency and level for the sub, bass, mid and treble on each speaker. On top of that you have all kinds of other surround setting like wall type, distance from listening area and others that I have not played around with so much. I can go on forever on all the modes and types of settings this pre-amp offers but I don’t think there’s enough room here to right all this, its just amazing what this pre-amp is built to do. I saw the Starwars trilogy that I bought on a high-fi VCR and I must say that it blew me away, never before have I seen or heard a THX movie with such surround, separation and impact that the Sony provided, it just simply rules. Bottom line is that in surround and Dolby movies, DTS this piece will blow the hell out of most if not all processors out there and I mean it. I had the Yamaha DSP-A1 and I had the B&K reference 20 in my home for a while so I know what more expensive processors can do. When listening to music weather in plain stereo or surround modes the Sony will provide clean sound with great bass and mid to all speakers. I remember how well the Yamaha DSP-A1 sounded when listening to surround music and the Sony just showed me that it is capable in exceeding the kind of professional surround that only the more expensive processors can handle. I got this pre-amp at a great price 1250$ in NY at Sound City on West 45 street. I have not seen or heard any pre-amp that offers so much for this price, you will need at lease 5000$ to get this type of quality. The Sony is built like a tank it’s massive and has a lot of weight to it, simply gorgeous. One of the great things about this piece is that it’s not hardware upgradable (IM not 100% sure about this) but Software upgradeable. The Sony has three 32-bit engines that can handle anything the future throws at it so you will have to download the software from the Internet or a computer. In comparison with the B&K reference 20 the Sony offers everything the B&K has plus MUCH more. The B&K sounds great especially in 4 channel stereo which the Sony does not have currently but IM sure its just a matter of a software download. The Sony offers more setup and configuration options plus more surround modes in video and audio including DTS, AC-3, Dolgy PRO-LOGIC. The Sony sounds better in surround modes including Dolby PRO-LOGIC, DTS, AC-3. The Sony has a more advance processor that will handle future upgrades at a less cost. Both these pre-amps sound great but the Sony is a much better value. Iv been waiting for the right pre-amp for a year now and I almost got the Acucus ACT III which IM happy I didn’t because not only did you wait forever for it to arrive but it gives a hum and has other problems with its processor plus they increased the price to a point where the SONY will walk all over it. For the conclusion the Sony is one of the best sounding pre-amp in the market, Its built quality exceeds most pre-amps, Its sound exceeds more expensive pre-amps, and its price tag is nothing close to pre-amps out in the market who charge 5 times as much and give allot less.

ARAGON 8008 BB
ACURUS A-250
SONY XA7-ES
SONY TA E9000ES
AUDIO CONTROL EQ
TANNOY C-10 SPEAKERS (Soon to be BMW cdm 7se or Paradigm studio 80)

PARADIGM CC300 center
ATLANTIC TECNOLOGY SURROUND
SUNFIRE SUB MK II

I wanted to write you with my experience with the Sony pre amp. I got it 3 days ago to replace the Marantz av 550. I have Martin Logan requests and Logos, and am running 4 stereo amps (Rotel 991 which is 200 wpc).
I spent the weekend playing with the Sony TA 9000. This was between 3 separate holiday parties, running on the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains, and watching TV.

The unit is built great. Putting in the connections was easy.

I do enjoy an on screen TV display when setting up the system, which unfortunately this unit does not have, and I really missed it. I found that I had to use the "reload" key very often when adjusting the speakers.

I read the manuals carefully, but still found that it was basic trial and error to get through it. There are some matters that remain unclear. It is unclear exactly what the difference is between "subwoofer" and "LFE". There are separate level adjustments for the two, although I can only get a tone generated for the subwoofer. What I am going to do is use the control on the subwoofer to adjust the level on my Radio Shack SPL meter rather than asking the pre amp to adjust the level.

I am not using any of the DSP modes. I will leave it on "Auto format." I did try the Cinema Theater B Kim Novak Theater (Which I have actually been to. I went to on the Sony lot to see a pre release of Air Force One). This DSP mode was fine, but guess what? When you went to TV, or CD, you REMAINED in Cinema 2 until you returned to Set up and changed it. My girlfriend is already upset about changing the remote control that she finally learned the basics on and was beginning to get comfortable using. So Auto Format it is. But I would REALLY like to have 2 settings: One for Music, which has normal bass, and a second one for DVD and Laser Disc, which has a boosted bass/LFE for more "ooomph." Maybe there is a way to do it.

I have another problem. My Sony CD change is the one with the TV display, like a jukebox. I was excited about "Audio Split" thinking that I would finally be able to get the display up simply (since the CD inputs on the pre amp do not have a Video in). But I still have not figured out what I could do, or where I should plug in the video signal for the CD. The picture quality for this is of no concern, it is just text and minimal graphics. I hope that I can figure this out.

Another limitation is the Equalizer. I have no intention of using it. But I would have like to roll off the subwoofer frequency response from the
Pre amp instead of the subs. Guess what? NO SUBWOOFER frequency response roll off control. Also both sub outs are joined, so you would not be able to have different control for 2 subs. No big deal in my case, both subs are the same brand and in the same location.

I would prefer having a lit mark on the volume dial, I sit 14 feet from the pre amp, and cannot really see the display. I did not find a separate DSS button and TV button, so I decided to make the icon for the TV (a Toshiba) and just use my radio remote control for the Satellite receiver (a Sony). Although not a big deal, it would be nice if it had a FM tuner built in.

The Remote Control has many features that are best described as awkward. It took me awhile to figure out how to turn the pre amp ON from the remote. To switch from one source to another sometimes you hit the icon one, sometimes it takes a couple of more presses get it to change. I HATE the fact that you cannot see it well. It is weak as a universal remote. I have a Sony CD, so it should work seamlessly, however there is no "scroll" buttons (the up, down, and sideways arrows). I have a Sony DVD player, but still need the remote to do the fast forward and reverse in any of the varied speeds, and to easily get to the DVD menu. Did I mention that there are NO MACROS? Despite its shortcomings, I do think that the remote is a step in the right direction, and feel that the next generation remote should be fabulous. It certainly was not as easy to use as the Marantz 2000 II, however it is the first step to a new interface. I do like that the buttons on the LCD pad change for every unit it is going to operate, the buttons just need to be improved (and visible).

But let me tell you what I LIKE about it. The built quality of the unit is a joy. It has a built in RF demodulator built in. The terminals are gold plated, and not chintzy looking (remember, I am upgrading from the Marantz AV 550, so I appreciate these things). I like having 2 subwoofer outputs. It has 2 switched outlets (to activate some of my line conditioners that are current sensing). It sounds excellent, although I do have a pop when it goes from stereo to Dolby digital (like when the first part of a DVD or the menu is in stereo, but the rest of the movie is in Dolby Digital 5.1). I have not tried the DTS yet. There is no hiss at realistic listening levels (volume knob mark less that 12 o clock).

I am content with this unit, especially for the price. There will have to be a whole lot of improvements before I would bother to change it in the future.

Samir

Well I have to say Sony did a decent job on this unit, very clean sounding onmusic and very detailed. I found this to my suprise that a Pre/Pro can sound
decent on music playback(Still can't beat straight pre Amp), but regardless
very good. There DSP modes are decent not overbearing like some. Video and Audio
switching are top notch. I give this unit a 4 stars it would have got a 5
star rating but Sony gets a "F" on there remote. But hey on some $5000 systems
like Meridain and Krell and Proceed you don't even get a universal remote. Go
figure? Now Sony if you happen to read this, you sound have used your first
universal remote and combined the good from that on on to this new unit, at
least you can read the LCD and backlighting on that unit. Regardless of the
remote problems this unit excels in every aspect. Enjoy...............

Well I guess we are all in the same boat here, we all bought a great pre-amp with a not so great remote. rumor has it that Sony will be offering an up grade, but i have not heard any more than that. I have a friend at one of Sony's dealers, and he thinks they will let the dealers know first. So if he finds something out, i will post it asap. Also I bet we all cant wait for some software to become available so we cant do some up grades. Sony sent the software to the guy who reviewed the 9000 in stereo review, so i know it's ou there. Dont even bother contacting sony over the net, they never write back. so please if there is anyone out there that has any information about the remote or software up-grades, e-mail me. over all the 9000 is a great pre-amp for its price... i paid $1250 you should'nt have to pay anymore then that. I have heard some of the more expensive pre pro's and sony will compeat with most of them, especilly when it is in a surround mode. Even in 2ch stereo it will come extremly close. setting up the unit was a bit diffucult beacuse my stupid remote wont acess the surround level and edit modes....there is got to be a way to fit it, so if any one has ant ideas please let me know. sony also has couple of cool 2ch surround modes for music, like arena, stadium, and large hall. i usually dont like surround modes for music sony really did a good job on them. I cant wait to get my dts dvd's from netflix.com. If sonys dolby digital kicks ass I bet dts will really kick ass. So for what get you cant beat the price anyware, the 9000es has its problems, but im sure sony is hard at work trying to fix them for all us somewhat satified customers...Thes 9000es has inspired me to start swiching some of my other equipment over to the es line....fisrt i want to trade in my toshiba 3108 dvd, it's a grat player but now I want the sony 7700 dvd.
Sony if you read this please make the next remote universal....i cant control some of my other equiment like my hk 8450 disc player, and some macros would be nice, and not to push it but the remote should have been radio frequency not IR. As far as the pre amp goes multi room would have been nice and maybe a composite to s-video converter.
I would have given the pre amp a five star but beacuse of the remote it's getting a four.

One of the best preamps I've ever heard, but I have one minorquick question for the audiophiles out there. I just picked up the above-mentioned unit, and am enjoying it immensely. But I've noticed that when
making a smooth transition in volume levels, usually past 12:00 which corresponds to levels over -15db, I can actually hear the volume being raised
in steps, as opposed to a linear increase/decrease. Now the manual says that the volume control is completely digital (something called Digital i
Volume Control), and the range is from -100 db to 0db, where the increments between -100 db and -10 db are in 1 db steps, but from -10 db to 0 db
are in 0.5 db steps. Should I be hearing these steps? Do other owners of this model hear them? If you set the test-tone to a single speaker, you can
hear it much better when playing with the volume knob. Also, between -11 db and -10 db (when increasing the level) I hear the level actually drop
momentarily (very brief) before increasing. This is where the resolution changes from 1 db steps to 0.5 db steps. Is this normal? I need to know
before I pack it back up and have it exchanged. Thanks in advance.......

Got this Pre-Amp for 1,500 and I think it was a bargin. To start I had Yamaha 3090 integrated Amp and what a great amp it was, but I audition the Sony TA-E9000 one afternoon at a specialty audio shop down at Corpus Cristi and it matched the Yamaha in every way. I am not a fan of DSP modes but with the sony you will have a lot of fun. Now for the important part, the 9000 sounds the same or beter than the Yamaha in music, and listen almost every preamp out there sounds the same in dolby digital or dts it's on music where the good separate from the bad, and there is where I compare the Sony with high end pre-amps like the DC-1 from Lexicon, Chiro 800, Marantz 500 , Rotel 980. Remember I audition every pre-amp I am writeing about but no one as the Sony and I am not fooling around, it had better top end than the Lexicon and more clean and detailed sound on music, I think the Lexicon whas made more for home theater than for music. I used to say that Sony made equipment only for consumer,boy did I had to eat my words, with the Sony 9000 and with there great DVD player the DVP-7000 I am converting to Sony, that is the ES line . The only problem with this pre-amp is the remote, its not that the range is low its the back light on the LCD thats to dimm. For me I just tweak my pre-amp once and leave it that way. Honestly give this pre-amp a listen and you will see what all the fuss is about. One more thing whats the thing spending $3000 to $5000 on a pre-amp when you could spend $1500 on the 9000 and have the same performance of the "high end" pre-amps out there. Like a freind of my thats not familiar with the 9000 said to me the other day " what are you doing, you are stepping from high end to low end for Sony?" boy what a shock he is going to get after he listen to the great Sony TA-E9000.

Great preamp. Tops in the under $2000 category for surround sound preamps. Has great build quality coupled with ultimate flexibility. Has a plethora of surround modes in addition to standard DD and DTS, has the famed parametric EQ for front, center and surround; allows you to set crossover point individually for front, center and surround. Remote is poorly lit and eats up batteries. An overlooked and underappreciated feature is surround sound via headphones. All in all, a must buy and will keep me content for the years to come!!

I have been in the process of reviewing upper end preamps and in the process I just spent two weeks with the new Sony TA-E9000ES. I'm looking for two things in my preamp: clean, neutral, sound and a competent A/V switcher.
The Sony unit sounded very good. It was clean and has a terrific parametric EQ feature which allows you to adjust each set of channels (L/R, C, surround) individually to correct for room response anomolies, etc. I cannot overemphasize how valuable this feature is for those who cannot build a listening room from scratch. I would have liked to see an ambience extraction mode for music (as opposed to ambience generation). The different surround modes were not overbearing but not particularly useful either as far as I'm concerned. Soundwise, the unit gets a 4.

The Sony unit is also, by the way, upgradeable in the same way that more expensive units from Meridian and Proceed are -- via the RS 232 port on it's back panel. It is an open question, however, as to whether Sony will put the same degree of effort into making updates available to consumer that actually improve the product. (Bug fixes available through an authorized service center would be my bet.)

Where the TA-E9000 falls short for me is as a switcher. It has lots of inputs but if you want to record one thing while listening to another, forget it. Unlike every other preamp/processor I've looked at in the last 10 years, this Sony does not have a separate record path. Or -- if you're like me -- you use the record path to send a different signal to other rooms the house. Forget it; you're stuck watching the same thing in every room. I cannot believe this basic feature was left out.

As far as the remote goes, the good first: Because there is two way communication with the remote, you don't need an on-screen display to set up and adjust the TA-E9000. No need to turn on the TV everytime you want to change things. I really liked this.

Now the bad: Yes, the remote is hard to read. And it does use batteries liberally. But that isn't what I hated. Because the remote communicates back and forth with the 9000, they have to be close to each other and properly oriented at nearly all times to avoid loss of communication. Why not use RF signals to avoid this annoying problem?

But it gets worse. The remote couldn't control my seven year old Yamaha CD player or my second RCA DSS receiver -- at least two years old. These aren't new remote codes that weren't available when the remote was designed. And the remote lacks the ability to learn new signals (except via a Sony software update)! This is inexcusable for a remote that attempts to advance the state-of-the-art.

It would be nice if Sony's "statement" preamp had features like S-video to composite conversion and a six channel input for the upcoming DVD-Audio or SACD formats. Certainly Sony is in a better position than most to anticipate future needs. Yet for $1,700 I can live without these niceties. But the lack of a "record/zone 2" path and the shortcomings of the remote eliminate this attractively priced preamp from my short list.

TL

-B&W 801/III, HTM center, SCM-8 surrounds
-Parasound amps
-Fosgate Model 3a preamp/processor