great sound,loads of inputs, upgradable

remote

Very happy with the selection. Recently bought the matching amp to run the center & rears and the dynamics are incredible. Noticed many reviews talking about a high noise level. I had one when I first set it up and noticed the problem stemmed from the monitor being too close. Ran the interconnect away from the TV sheilded in electrical conduit and NOISE-BE-GONE. Hope that might help, mine is so quiet I forget it's on at times.
I would like to know if anyone who has the 2000 disc DVD has gotten all the remote downloading features to work. I am tempted to buy it but don't have much faith in the remote.

Similar Products Used:

sony TAE 2000esd

Great sound!

REMOTE: see below

TA E9000ES problems; Saturday, 22 July 2000

I am going crazy here with the relationship between the remote and my new TA E9000ES. And I am wondering if anyone is having similar problems.

The sound is great.

However, the manual came with "GB" as a running footnote. I am not sure what this means. But I am wondering whether my unit was designed for Canadian or European use (Great Britain??). A reassuring point: the power specifications are USA, so maybe all is OK.

I have upgraded the firmware to 1.18C; that went fine as far as I can tel. Except that now in the "Sound Field" options:
1) the remote does not "check" the selected field, although it switches among them;
2) all level and test tone options are grayed out;
3) speaker type, distances, and position are grayed out;
4) "reload" does not fix this problem;
5) fortunately these can all be adjusted from the main preamp control panel.

Subsequent observations:
1) The remote will not "initialize." The SONY screen comes up and then the "Communicating with system" screen. I could hit the "OK" button, and it would try to communicate with the preamp but then delivers a rapid "beep beep beep beep" and the same screen reappears.
2) By hitting "skip" I can then go on and use the remote 1-way mode.
3) My Sony satellite system is no longer recognized, and when I select "Function" it is no longer possible to control the DBS system, but instead of a ""TV-DBS" menu I get a "Sony TV" menu, which is worthless to me.
4) Repeated installation of the firmware and diligent attention to detail of the upgrade procedure has not resolved these problems.

I have done the Sony technical helpline thing ad naseum over the last couple of weeks. The technicians there seem never to be clueless, re: this problem. I cannot believe that I am a unique user with these problems. So I am wondering what is going on with them.

So far, Sony has been impotent, and incompetent in figuring this out. Sony's help referred me to a regional service; when I finally phoned them, they refused to help me.

Today, they said I should ship my remote to the service center in Atlanta. I am pessimistic that this will result in a resolution of these problems.

Any help with these issues would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe Lepo

Multichannel & Stereo Performance

Can't please everyone ( can anything )

I have to say congrats on submitting possibly the most pointless review on this site. 1 Star for value and sound ARE you KIDDING? If you've found something so much better for 1/2 the price I'd love to hear about it, because as far as I can tell ( after hearing 100's of different combinations ) the E9000ES represents by far the best price:performance of any setup, combining seperates performance w/ intergrated pricing.

I've yet to hear ANY Processor under £3000 compare to the Sony in both stereo & multichannel, so I'm guessing that a 1 star rating ( which implies the worst, and therefore everthing else, including £200 cheapo "digital" amps are better ) is rather stupid.

Similar Products Used:

Too many now ;)

Sounds great!Remote is bad, planning to send back to service. Hope the upgrade fixes it.
Some strange behavior on the pre/pro. For example, with analog stereo sources and auto format decode, the display indicates "Dolby Pro Logic" even though only the L & R speaker icons are illuminated. This is intermittent, sometimes it correctly displays "Analog Stereo."
How do you get the unit out of standby mode without using the remote? I can cycle the power switch but that can cause audible pops because the power amp is still in standby.
How do you tell which firmware release you have? How can I get a copy?

Lots of surround modes, Excellent DSP

HUM!!! Sound is thin, Remote is the worst;(you'd be better off the a cheap button pusher!)

It pains to say that after two years with the 9000ES I wish I'd have kept the EP9ES in my system and had added the technics processor with DTS to complement the EP9ES. The 9000 just never won me over. It does an excellent job with the ambient surround modes that it offers; the best for music that I have heard, but it just isn't as good at dolby digital as the EP9ES: It definitely isn't in the same league on sound quality as the Marantz; and it is too noisy. It has a hum that you cannot get rid of. You can bring it down to an acceptable level with good cables and line conditioning but it will always be there annoying you. Believe me I wish this was a better product! Everything in my system except for my Adcom 7500 amp is Sony, (well now the Marantz 9000 Preamp). I have been a Sony fan forever and can wholeheartedly say that the EP9ES is one of the best Dolby Digital Preamps on the planet regardless of price, but not the 9000. It's not terrible, but for the same money or just a little more you get alot better sound quality. Sorry Sony guys.

Similar Products Used:

Sony EP9ES, Marantz 9000

sound quality, processing speed, upgradable, value for money, solid construction.

cant turn display off, big orange lights, no component switching, no 5.1 inputs, gets very hot and ( of course:) ) the remote.

I have only had this preamp for a few days but am very impressed already. it does take a long time ( 20 hours+ ) to run in so be patient. the speed in which it processes movies is exceptionaly fast and acurate. try scene 31 from the matrix - u can hear each individual bullet. I dont think much of the cinema modes except for virtual multi dimension which is good if u have omni-directional rear speakers like me. I have already upgraded from v1.01a to v1.18c and noticed differences in presence, soundstaging, openess and general clarity. the bass is smooth and sizeable too. I would like to upgrade to v2.01 if anyone has it can they please send to me or tell me where i can find it. any questions just email me......

My system:
sanyo 100" projector
sony dvps 735 dvd player
sony tae9000es preamp/processor
rotel rb890 power amps ( x2 bi-amped for fronts )
sony ga8es reciever ( just runs center and rears but soon
to be replaced by rotel rb976 )
B & W asw1000 subs ( x2 )
B & W dm 603 s2 fronts
B & W dm 602 s2 rears
B & W dm cc6 s2 center
QED 25th aniversary silver speaker cable
monster svhs and audio interconects

so to conclude - an exceptional processor for movies and not too bad for music either and value for money to boot.

Sound Quality, Features

I recently upgraded to the version 2.01 firmware. I was initially skeptical about shelling out $146.00 ($139.00 + $7.00 shipping) for the upgrade, but it was money well spent! I purchased my 2.01 upgrade from SoundSeller (www.soundseller.com, 1-800-826-0520). I was pleasantly surprised at the inprovement in overall clarity and detail of the sound, particularly in the bass. Only compaint about the upgrade kit (other than price) was the rather cheap looking silver-gray remote.

I first tried to order the remote from Sony Parts (1-800-488-7669, part # VUCDE9000A, price $150 + shipping)but they were out of stock and didn't know when they would be getting any in stock.

I echo most every compliment...and criticism on the 9000ES I've read here. It sounds great BUT the upgrade policy (gotta take it to the service center) and the remote (a REALLY poor effort unbefitting the rest of the piece) are unexcusable.
I will have to say however that my local Dallas Sony center must be more on top of things than most. I took them the remote...they gave it back in 3 days and it works MUCH better. Still pretty hard to read, but the batteries have lasted for over a month now.

Now if Sony just trusted us a little more to do a SIMPLE UPGRADE ourselves and tested their product a little better before it left their labs..........

I am very upset with the lack of quality control in having my 9000 remote upgraded. I have had my 9000 for around 6 months and haven't used the remote due to the viewing position in my theatre. I have kept the remote in a drawer until I can afford to purchase a repeater. I took my remote to the dealer without the pen and removed the double-A batteries at home. I also removed the pen at home so they wouldn't lose it. The dealer asked me to leave the small battery in the unit so it wouldn't lose memory. What the heck does that matter. The remote didn't come with the battery in it in the first place. I went to the dealer to pick up the remote today before I read all the comments on the Web site and guess what, it wasn't mine. The small battery was missing, it had a pen, and it had been used by the indications of rubbing on the bottom of the unit. I have had it with service departments that don't know their rectum from a hole in the ground. I have just got on the web and a friend told me about this sight. I see that I am not the only one that has had it with Sony and its so called service department. I do think the 9000 is the best unit on the market. Other manufactures can sell their items for 5 or 10 times the price but what are you really paying for. I would appreciate some assistance from someone on getting my remote problem taken care of. I don't want to leave it up to the dealer. A five star processor with a one star service department and remote. Think before you leap Sony. Listen to your customers. You can learn alot and save money at the same time.

This is one funny product review. We all love the pre-amp because it sounds sooo good and I saw a DTS movie on it that blew the hell out of me, Excelent!!I cant believe that Sony has such an excelent, cheap pre-amp with such a poor service support. They dont know what the hell is going on, they even asked me what the TAE9000ES was, After I explained what there pre-amp was he couldnt help me. He told me we are aware of the problem and Sony is working on it. Well in all honesty I barely use the remote because it realy sucks. But thank heaven the pre-amp is nothing like its remote or Customer service. I think Im going to get a different remote in the futer and I would suggest not even dealing to much with this remote because its just a total failure. The pre-amp sounds great and decodes movies better than more expencive pre-amps out there but think of it as a pre without a remote. Im happy to hear that Sony has an external decoder for futer software and I hope that it will not come with a remote because I had enough of there remote controls. By the way The DVP7700 is one killer DVD player but the remote control on this player is not the greatest either. I guess Sony needs to improve on remote control quality.