The sync problems blamed on the TA-E9000ES may actually be the fault of the Pioneer DVD players that many of you use, in order to get a 96/24 signal. All the current Pioneer and Elite DVD and LD/DVD combo units have a lip synch problem with a number of popular DVDs, including "Under Seige" and "Lost in Space". Pioneer admits to this problem and has no fix for it. They claim that the offending DVDs (which are less than 10% of available DVDs) are not in strict compliance with the DVD standard. If you look at the reviews on this site for the Pioneer 414, you will read much about the problem.When I play "Under Seige" on the Pioneer 414 through the TA-E9000ES, there is an obvious lip synch problem. When I play the same DVD on my old Sony 3000 through the TA-E9000ES, there is no lip synch problem. Chesky 96/24 DVDs are recognized as 96/24 by the TA-E9000ES when played on the Pioneer 414. When played on the Sony 3000, which does not claim 96/24 capability, they are recognized as 48/20. They actually sound very good either way...
For the most part, I am pleased with the TA-E9000ES. My only complaints are the remote, which is hard to read and runs through batteries faster than the Energizer Bunny, the lack of component video switching capability, and the lack of an "on screen" display.

After writing SONY customer service and requesting the firmware update, this is the response that I got back:
Thank you for contacting Sony Electronics Inc. and visiting our
website.

I am sorry to learn of your concerns with your product.

However, since we do not have repair technical training, we cannot
attempt to diagnose the problem with your unit.

If you feel that there is a problem with your unit, we can only
recommend that your unit be evaluated by a Sony Factory or Sony
Authorized service technician. We are unaware of any upgrade.

For information on your local Authorized service locations, or Sony
Factory Service Center, you may contact me again with your original
message and zip code, or contact the following location to speak with
a customer service representative that will be happy to assist you:

SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
Direct Response Center
(phone) 1-800-222-7669
(phone-International) 1-941-561-7669
(hours (EST)) M-F 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sat 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun 10:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.

I hope this information is helpful.

Sony Response Center, Internet Group
srd

Thus, it can be seen that SONY is lying through it's teeth about the firmware upgrade. This unit is a good unit, but SONY's customer service is the worst in the world.

Have had the 9000ES for a couple months now and consider it the best pre-amp/processor for the money bar none. Produces clean uncolored sound
and is unmatched in flexibility. Remote not much to talk about, but then I don't listen to the remote.

Concerning the "review" below that talks about "seeding", can you believe
someone who puts up a bogus email address?

After 4 months of waiting, this preamp finally arrived. The software upgrade was version 4.10A. I thought the had a very clean sound. It has more adjustments than I really needed, but it is nice to have. It sounded excellent in all modes: 2 channel, dts, and dobly digital. Personally, I prefer dts format. I've listened to other components such as Classe SDP25, Yamaha 2095, Lexicon, and a Proceed. (I think it was the AVP). All of the units mentioned above are all very good units. They all sound very clean and detailed. (The Classe I thought was a little bright, but that could have been due to other components). However, the Sony E9000 is incedibly accurate and reproduces audio and video beautifully. Bang for the buck, the unit is worth it. I am exremely happy with the unit. I must also admit that I bought this unit through reading review on this website. Other associated equipment:
Sony TAE9000
Sony TAN9000
Sony DVP7700
Kimber Hero cables
Totem Mani-2
Totem Model-1 Center
Totem Model-1

I've owned this product for several months and did not realize that there was a problem with the installed software until I read the Stereophile review alluding to the lip sync problem which had manifest itself as an intermittentent problem that was present on some but not all DVD's. At about the same time I stumbled onto this web site and with avid interest read all the comments that people have submitted.My unit has been seviced and have had both the upgrade to the original remote and version 1.10c of the software installed.
Insofar as the remote is concerned except for shutting itself offvery quickily( in some cases too quickly-before one has had a chance to make an adjustment) and perhaps being marginally brighter there is little functional difference. With the new upgraded chip I don't see any wasy to have control over how long the display stays on which I do not like.Battery life has not improved either. So in summary I don't think there has been any real improvment in the functionality of the remote.As far as the unit itself is concernedThe sound is open and detailed in Dolby Digital and have no complaints with the unit when watching movies with either LD' s DVD's or videocassettes.I don't use the unit as a stereo preampas I feed it through the unity gain bypass mode of a Levinson Pre-amp so don't feel informed enough about its stereo performance to offer an opinion.I only use it as a surround sound processor / decoder.Insofar as the new sofware is concerned it gives you the option of using a unidirectionally communicating remote. Iborrowed one of these from the Sony dealer I work with (Sony pp402)which comes with one of the newer recievers and is also available separately thru sony parts for 139.95 dollars.It is a traditional multi function remote and allows control of various sony products(vcr/dvdplayer/ and the preamp) The functions it allows you to control on the 9000 are the following- Choosing the source,the processing modes, raising or lowering the levels of the center and surround speakers but NOT the subvolume, engaging the Test tones in the auto mode onlyand turning the unit on and off. It is easier to use than the supplied remote for these functions, but obviously does not give you access to all fo the functions.This remote will not work unless you have the new software installed as there is a setting in the customize menu that must be set to allow for both unidirectional and bidirectional remote operation.This option is not present in the older software.I hope people find these comments useful.As far as the overall sound quality of the unit I'd give it 4 stars for sound quality in processing soundtracks.I don't use it do any video routing of signals as I route thes directly into my PTV.Associated equipiment:Apogee Mini-Grands/Apogee center andApogee Column surrounds/ Aragon palladium monoblocks/ 8008BB and 4004/ pse studio 4 driving speakers/ Pioneer pro 99PTV/ Levinson 380s preamp / Pioneer DV09 dvd player/ Ps lambda 2 cd transport and levinson 36 DAC/ Custom dual voice coiled sub 15" driven by a pair of marants ma500's Pioneer 704 LD Jvc Svhs vcr and various other things.

I have owned my TA-E9000ES for about six months now. The audio quality is top notch in all settings. On several occasions, I have run into lip sync problems as reported by many of you. The remote eats batteries almost weekly. My biggest problem, however, has to do with source selection and soundfiled settings. Example: I select TV (which is an analog audio input) and set the unit to normal surround. Then I select CD (a digital input) and set the unit to stereo. When I go back to TV, the soundfield stays in stereo. I am forced to manually change back to surround. When I set the unit to "auto format decode" it will properly change to stereo when I play a CD but when I select an analog input, it changes to 2 channel Pro Logic (something I never new existed, Pro Logic with only left front and rignt front???????!!!!!!!!!) I am wondering if any of the software upgrades will correct this problem. Despite all these problems, I still believe the 9000 to be the best processor on the market in its price range (and possibly at twice its price). I just wish Sony would work on some of these details and inform the public on available upgrades.

First, would someone PLEASE E-MAIL ME A 1.10c (or newer) FIRMWARE UPDATE WITH INSTRUCTIONS. I would greatly appreciate this.
I have had my unit for about 2 months now and I am very satisfied with it. I agree that the remote can be a little frustrating, but overall, it works alright and looks cool. The features of this pre-amp are outstanding. It replaced my old tae1000esd from 1990! I hope that I can get 9 great years out of this one as well (the old one didn't die, just became obsolete- anyone want it cheap?) The sound quality is outstanding. I was up til 3:00am the first night auditioning DVDs! I could not believe the improvement over the tae1000. I haven't had any problems with hiss as others on this sight have mentioned. There issues could be with a ground loop. If you have hiss problems, try connecting the phone grounding lug on your tae9000 to the center screw on your AC outlet (make sure the center screw grounds inside the receptacle). This helped the hiss dramatically with my tae1000 but my 9000 didn't seem to have the problem. The ONLY gripes would be the remote (minor) and the lack of component video switching- minor for now, may big bigger with HDTV and when DSS receivers start being introduced outputting component video. These are the only factors keeping it from a true 5 star rating. And the price is incredible. Try www.soundpros.com- they have it for $1,295 and Scott there (not me) is the nicest mailorder person I have ever spoken to!!!

A trick I did with mine was to use the 110v switched outlet to energize the coil of an HVAC contactor (basically a heavy duty relay). This let me switch one and off my large tan77es amps whenever I turned on the pre-amp. The contactor can be found at Grainger contractors supply and is only about $20. You also will need a standard and heavy gauge extension cord to complete the project.

alex, while i'm not going to call you an idiot,as the previous reviewer did, i will point out
that your observation made concerning "high
quality" amplifier's input sensitivity is
erronious. most spec an input of 1.0 - 1.5
Volts for full rated output, including
exotics like tube and single-ended designs.

as for this unit, i have auditioned it for a
second system and found that it can handily
drive the input stage of the amps with which
it was demoed [B&K and Parasound]. the union
[especially with the Parasound] was capable
of high volumes. i simply chose against it
due to its dismall sound quality with stereo
music. however, it is quite adequate for
home theatre usage and i would actually
recommend it for such on the basis of its
copious amounts of features and ease of use.

Great features, a lot of inputs but this preamp has one major flaw besides the remote. The biggest flaw that I've found with the 9000es is it's very low output level of 2 volts. Most quality amps hit the wattage output they were rated for at 2.5 volts! The 9000es puts out only 2 volts at 10 on its dial where it is very noisy. The 9000es works great with its Sony Ta-n9000es 5 ch. amp because that amps sensitivity is rated at 1 volt for max. output, which keeps the 9000es in it's quite relm on the volume dial which is about at 5. Overall great bang for the buck if you use the Ta-n9000es amp, otherwise look into the Lexicon mc-1 or dc-2 which both put out 6 volts.

I have had my 9000 for about 3 months, and it exhibited most of the problems that have been mentioned in these reviews: lip synch problems and excess noise in particular. I recently sent it in to Sony to see if they could fix the problems, and when
it was returned to me, the upgrade had been installed, as I expected; but on the warranty receipt, under "description of parts
or service", is the message - "constant weak/excess audio - electrical adjustment - replaced parts". I have no idea what that
means, but the effect on the unit was very beneficial. The hiss problem is gone, as well as the lip synch problem. This leads
me to believe that maybe some of these units had more problems than could be solved with a software upgrade. I wish I knew
what was done to the unit in detail, but maybe someone out there knows, or can decipher Sony's jargon. Anyway,
if your 9000 is misbehaving and the (self-installed) upgrade didn't fix it, you might think of asking Sony to fix it, as I did.
I still give this unit a 5, especially for value. At this price, it's hard to believe it could sound any better, maybe at any price.