excellent picture quality, great faceplate design

hard to read front buttons...

compared to the other 2 dvd players that i've used, this sony produces the best video quality that i've ever seen, especially when connected to my barco cine 7 projector...

and the best bonus is, it plays sacd too, if only it can play sacd in multi channel mode... now that would be a very big bonus..

can't play cd-r though, not a big concern to me since i have my rotel cd player to handle that part..

first 100 hours using this player will produce audio that is a little bit on the harsh and bright side... that is expected since it has not been run-in.. so you have to be extremely patient before.. the reward will come later...

once the machine has been run-in gently, you will be rewarded with sweet music that is filled with soul... and the video quality keeps getting better...

is this player good? no, it is an excellent machine...

Similar Products Used:

pioneer dv-37, toshiba SD9200

everything

no dvd-a

this is the best dvd/cd/sacd player on the market today. and at this price, it's not only a buy...it's a steal. now this is what i was expecting in an es line. sony video- it's the best out there.

Similar Products Used:

dvp 7700
toshiba 9200

The picture to die for!

Front buttons, small display, menus, no button for switching from interlaced to component on remote. This is nit picking compared to the overall performance.

This is a follow up to my review of 12/04/99. I was initially impressed but after only a week I did not want to say too much; it looked and sounded good.

Now, almost two months later, I can say this is the very best picture from DVD ever, and I have seen many demos at dealers in three states. My 9000 is paired with the Pioneer Elite 710 HDTV. Once you set the switch on the rear of the 9000 to auto, you can switch from interlaced to component using the on screen menus. This solves the problem of the Pioneer locking into FULL screen mode and giving you the wrong geometry on screen.

This past week a friend was visiting who had never seen a DVD so I played a dozen movies for him (most of which I had already seen). I myself was impressed with the picture all over again, he was dazzled! This player improves in both picture and sound the more you use it. The depth of color, the perfect flesh tones, the 3D quality only hinted at before is now much more pronounced. Detail resolution without harshness is phenomenal. And yes, the better the TV the better the picture. The picture holds up on this 64 inch display without artifacts and without softness to cover the mistakes of MPEG encoding. Most of what you see in defects are in the DVDs, not the Sony. This is the first time that I can see how much better the releases from certain studios and DVD mastering companies differ. Overall these discs are getting better and better and will satify the most critical watchers. This is 90% of the way to true HD DVD (I've seen demos at the CES show in Los Vegas).

The pictures from the Sony 9000 are better than in many (most) movie theaters! I recently saw the Crouching Tiger Hiden Dragon movie in NY. It was dark, slightly blurry, and had a mismatched lens on the projector! The people were taller and thinner than they should have been. Nevertheless, this is a fabulous film in every way. Can't wait to see it at home on DVD, it will be glorious.

If you want to stop buying a new DVD player every 6 months, this is the one. It should be a "keeper" for some time to come.

The only hesitation about the present state of affairs is that there will probably be a new model that plays multi-channel SACD this year (Philips is promising one next month but that is not DVD too). And those who are fretting that the SACD output is only analogue must not read the magazines or the internet - no one can put out an SACD (or DVD-Audio) digital signal do to copyright restricions, and the few that do (Meridian) is encrypted so that it can only read and decoded by another Meridian piece). No manufacturer is going to let you copy the original digital code, so get over it. Others have said how good the sound is. IT IS VERY GOOD, especially for the money. Yes, it can be bettered, but only on separate component systems where each piece costs more than the whole 9000. It is not fair to say that a $1500 DVD player's sound is slightly less good than a $5000 and up player hooked to a $3000 and up preamp! The combination of picture and sound in the 9000 is the bargain of this year and years to come.

As to all those complaints about CD-R, Sony doesn't claim they can be read. Anyone with any knowledge of PC's knows that these often cannot even be read on different PC readers/burners. The problem is not with Sony, but with very loose specs. Clearly some buyers have found blanks and burners that will work, it is just a little home work to find what is compatible. I find that if you can take the time to make these things, you have too much time on your hands. In my busy life, I have trouble finding the time to listen to my collection of CDs and DVDs without wasting time copying them. But to each his or her own!

Similar Products Used:

Pansonic H1000, Toshiba 6200, Sony 7000, Meridian 800

Progressive scan, advanced video processing, SACD, mechanical construction, and all the cool software included

Out-of-box failure on first purchase

Simply put, this is the DVD player I have long been waiting for.

Unfortunately, the first one out of the box failed after 2-3 hours of use. The video display began to "pixelize" (for lack of a better term) to the point of completely trashing the image. This was independant of source material, and even affected the background stills, menuing icons, and screen saver images loaded into the player. The problem existed on both the component and S-video outputs. It started out as intermittent, coming and going as different functions were exercised. Then after a few hours of warm-up, the image distortion remained constant, regardless of activity. I immediately boxed the unit up and exchanged it at the dealer. The replacement unit was installed and configured exactly as the first, with the same interconnects. No problems after 15+ hours of use.

I feed the progressive scan output to a Panasonic 56" widescreen RP-HDTV and the SACD analog and DD5.1 digital outputs to a B&K preamp/processor. Using the HDTV component inputs on my Panasonic for the first time required me to spend the better part of a day adjusting convergence to dead nuts on. The Avidia test CD was very helpful in this along with the other more basic video calibrations. The result? Video imaging is filmlike as expected. Motion artifacts and noise are dramatically reduced compared to the S7000 I replaced. This player seems to highlight some of the weaknesses of my Panasonic display. Color tint is off (but I prefer it that way), and black/white levels needed tweaking.

Overall, the 9000ES delivers wonderfully on video. 5 stars

SACD is impressive as well, but to a lesser degree. The sampler disc does highlight a smoothness and increased resolution that comes with the increased data rate and direct stream digital processing. The added detail really helps to separate out each instrument. Willie Nelson's voice never sounded so good. However, I've heard some fantastic 16 bit recordings that have blown me away. But, that's the limit of the format. SACD's potential goes far beyond that.

For regular CD performance, I'm still evaluating. I've not been a fan of Sony's 1-bit current-pulse DAC, but this unit does have a nice sound. It's output seems brighter than that of the B&K processor (20 bit DACs), which is more pleasing at first listen. But, there does seem to be an edge there with the Sony. I need to do a more critical evaluation of this before I punch the ballot.

SACD and Standard CD gets 5 stars as well.

Value? For any price above $1K, I give it 4 stars. This is an expensive player with a lot of features, but does it really break new ground? No. Progressive video is now available for less than half the price, and SACD is in it's infancy with limited software on the market. I'd rant and rave about the build quality but there is the out-of-box failure that bothers me. Nice, metallic shell and cool interface, but if I opened up the box would I like what I see? Early builds generally end up with cuts, jumpers, teepees, and whatever else needed to get the product out the door. Later ECO's will improve the quality.

I recommend this unit to anyone with the supporting electronics that take advantage of its capabilities. You must have progressive scan inputs on your TV, and you must have a decent audio chain to enjoy SACD. Otherwise, your forking out too much cash.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-S7000

Beautiful detail found in both video, and audio!

If I were forced to whine about something, the shallow tray can be a tiny bit akward.

First, I appreciate the honest reviews found at this site. I really did use this site along with "professional" reviews to narrow my possible canidates to a very few. Once my ears and eyes were treated to the Eagles"Hell Freezes OVER" played in DTS mode, my mouth smiled, and I thanked each one of you who pointed me in this direction.

The unit itself appears to have a wonderful build quality. My only want now, is more quality software. Unfortunately, all DTS DVD's nor SACD's are created equal. I must admit that my whole CD collection has taken on a new life, however both my ears and eyes hunger for more that fit in the "quality" recording category. I now own the hardware that satisfies me, even though I admit to be hard to please.

Current hardware is by no means "state of the art", but by all means very pleasing :- )).

Sony DVP S9000ES
4 year old Mirage M-3si(power hungry)mains
Powerful Acurus amp for the M-3si
Onkyo Integra DTR 7.1 receiver
Mirage MC-Si center
Mirage bipolar surrounds
New Hitachi HD projection

In closing, most of the reviews posted on this product hit the nail on the head. I won't waste your time by saying the same things again. I will however post that I find it hard to believe that anyone but the most critical .1% would be anything but pleased with this unit. Personally I am thrilled with it!!

Similar Products Used:

Older generation Pioneer DVD, and Nad CD.

great picture quality, construction to last,fine cd playback, superb socd playback,georgeous

tray looks slightly flimsy

Great construction and perfermance for the price. I have the parasound ultra CD machine also,and it compares favorably to it in audio perfermance. It tends to be forward and slightly bright so it should be matched with the right conponents. Its audio perfermance is state of the art.

The rest of my equipment consists of :
1. audible illutions 111 preamp
2.McCormack DNA-1 amp
2.Definitive technology 2002 speakers-
3.Analysis Plus Oval Nine cables
4.Silver Bullet and Straight Wire Chorus cables

Similar Products Used:

pioneer 404

Well above average video quality, audio performance, build, and overall design of the whole piece

Minor: disc tray a bit too thin

Like most users, I have been extremely impressed with the audio quality, with ordinary CDs and needless to say, SACDs. It has a very balanced performance in all ranges and sounds very "musical" and this piece of equipment can be a very good all-rounder for different types of music from classicals to jazz.

For video quality, you have to hook it up with a decent display source to really appreciate its power. With TVs, my guess is that you could only notice marginal improvements (perhaps why some reviewers are not able to tell its real picture quality). I'm using a projector for an 80-inch picture, and it is really a masterpiece. Another superb function is that it allows users to calibrate a good range of picture controls.

This is a machine which could last me for quite a while before thinking of further upgrades!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Pioneer

Build quality, appearance, performance, value, features

hmm...not sure...maybe cd playback, but that's not why I bought it in the first place. The tray is awkward at times being so small.

I have only had this for almost a month. I love the unit. I don't really watch a lot of movies or tv b/c of time, but I always listen to music. I primarily bought this piece for the SACD and the DVD playback. The build quality is awesome. I walked quite a bit from my car to my room and that really worked my arms. Sony has made a very impressive unit here. I am not a fan of lower SOny products b/c of reliability, but this is AWESOME. I love the SACD format...I have heard both DVD-A and SACD and I can tell you no matter what your system is SACD should be the one to stay. I love the appearance of the unit too. Solid and elegant front panel. The tray is a bit thin and scary in that I feel I touch it the wrong way and it will snap off, but very minor.

Performance:
I first listened to the SACD sampler and was blown away even on Cyndi Lauper's Time after Time! Everything jumped from my system. I have tried CD's too and they sound decent, but nothing special. I do have my 80ES 5-disc hooked up the Link DAC III and I can really tell a difference over the 9000ES. Everything is so much more involving and detailed. I feel the music more alive when listening to my DAC and changer setup. DVD playback is also amazing. I watched Double Jeopardy last night and everything was so vivid and I am not using a HDTV ready TV. Leaps and bounds over anything I have seen..especially in this price range.

Other:
Not much more to say than what has already been said by others. I think this is a tremendous value for what you get. I do have one complaint and it lies in other reviewers. I realize people are judging this for lower Cd playback and I agree, but let's think about it. I think the 9000ES should be rated on what it is intended for..DVD playback. In this price range not many come close. A few Pioneer and the Toshiba 9200 compete in peformance with this machine. I think to judge this player a 4 b/c of CD playback is being somewhat harsh. In my opinion the SACD and CD playback are bonuses to this player. Just my two cents. Cheers!
Equipment:
Sony 777ES
80ES paired with MSB DAC III
PAradigm Reference Studio 40
Velodyne FSR-12
27" WEGA
Liberty ULTRA CAP2 THX speaker cables
Stealth SCR RCA interconnects for analog (SACD).

Thanks and wishing all well!

Similar Products Used:

Other Sony DVD players S530D

VIDEO PERFORMANCE,BUILD, STYLING.

POOR CD PERFORMANCE

AFTER INTIAL SETUP ON THE PLAYER, I MUST SAY I REALLY ENJOYED THE SACD DISC, I WASN'T UNTIL I STARTED TO REALLY LISTEN TO THE OVERALL SOUND THAT I BECAME A LITTLE DISSAPPOINTED. THE SOUND IN NO DOUBT DELICATE AND WARM, BUT ALSO VERY UNREVEALING. IN COMPARISON THE ADCOM CD I HAVE WITH 4 DUAL DIFFERENTIAL 20 BIT DACS ABSOLUTELY SMOKED THE ES PLAYER IN EVERY RESPECT, THAT IS BASS, TRANSPARENCY, DETAIL, MICRO DETAIL, OVERALL PRESENTATION IS JUST MORE ENVELOPING. EVEN ON THE SACD RECORDINGS THAT I HAVE, THE PRESENTATION SEEMED TO BO THIN IN COMPARISON TO THE ADCOM.
ONE IMPROVEMENT WAS SWITCHING FROM THE 18GA. STANDARD PWR. CORD TO A 14GA. MIT UNIT AND USING THE AUDIOQUEST EMERALD INTERCONNECTS FROM CD PLAYER. THESE PROVE TO BE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN COPPER GIVEN THE IMPROVEMENT. AS FOR VIDEO, IT SIMPLY HAS NO COMPETITION. THE THING SEEMS TO REALLY PULL YOU INTO THE PICTURE. OVERALL IF YOU HAVE AN EXTRA 1200-1500 LYING AROUND, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY WAIT FOR THE PHILIPS SACD-1000 DUE FOR RELEASE IN FEB 2001 FOR A GOOD COMPARISON. THIS UNIT WILL DECODE 5.1 SACDS,DVDVIDEO,STANDARD 16 BIT 44.1 CDS, AND 2 CHANNEL SACDS
ITS PROBABALY WORTH THE WAIT.

Similar Products Used:

DVP7000,DVP7700,ADCOM HDCD PLAYER

Here's another one of those non-review posts. I don't usually do this on Audioreview but I think it's important to mention this.

I wanted to warn Canadians that there is only a ONE year warranty on this $2500 (give or take a couple hundred) DVD player!

Sony in the US gives all their ES products, including the DVP-S9000ES a FIVE year warranty! I wouldn't buy this in Canada just on principle alone!

If anyone lives near the US, I'd get it there, and save some money while your at it, but make sure the store will get it serviced for you since you're from Canada. I have no doubt some A/V shops would do this.

This is a big chunk of change to spend on something that only has a 1 year warranty. Even the Pioneer DV-37 Elite DVD player has a three year warranty, which oddly is two years in the US.

I couldn't imagine the repair cost on this unit if something happened to it after a year.