SACD, CDP, DVD, Price

Lack of SACD artists/titles

I needed a DVD and new CD player. I had a downpayment on another $400 Onkyo DVD. I had read that mid priced DVD had inferior CDP, since music was my main concern I explored other options. This is my reasoning.
1) A good CDP would cost me at least $1,000
2) A good DVD player would cost me at least $1,000
3) If I spend the $1,500 for the 9000 I get it all and the SACD player for free. Even if the format does not win out over DVD-a.
4) I have 30 days to try it out. I can always bring it back.
The unit is incredible. I never watch or rent movies, I got this unit 99% for music. The DVD player is fantastic. I've watched more movies since I've gotten it because the picture and surround sound is incredibel=better than movie theaters (and the popcorn is cheaper) Sacd is better than live. If you have 5 channel stereo try the Willie Nelson track an the demo SACD even if you don't like Willie Nelson. It sounds like he is sitting in your living room=unbelievable. This is the ultimate player, I cannot recommend it highly enought. Please excuse the spelling and grammar=I don't care, I'm a science major.

Similar Products Used:

none

This website compared several prog scan DVD players. Not sure how realistic or how relevant these tests are for everyday use. Supposedly they found some fault in the Sony's chipset, however the only player that really was better was a $4000 Camelot Roundtable with a built in DVDO line doubler. If that is true, one could just buy the doubler and have an even better combo that also performs on CD and SACD for $2250 (1500 + $750).

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-progressive-shootout-12-2000.html

See review below

See review below

Hi, this is an update to my earlier review of the 9000ES.
In that review, I mentioned an unresolved problem involving the progressive input on my Pioneer 510HD. I am glad to
report there is no problem. The Sony works perfectly with
my 510HD. It seems there is a little quirk with the 510
that occurs when you feed it a progressive signal and switch the Sony to progressive input. The 510 has a separate set of settings for component input 1 or 2 when you feed it a
progressive signal. In other words, 1A for interlaced, and
1B for progressive etc.. When I hooked up the Sony and set
it to progressive, my color setting was -6, but what I did not realize was that my set was shifted into a new submenu of settings for that output and the color was set to -21.
Anyway, with the progressive now working well, I still cannot see much of a difference in the 9000ES in progressive, over my old S7000 in interlaced. Same goes
with the 9000ES interlaced vs progressive. No noticeable difference. However, I did get an email from someone reporting seeing an improvement in the picture of his 510HD when using a progressive scan Pioneer. He speculated it might be due to a design synergy between the two Pioneer products. In any case, the SACD alone is worth the price of upgrading. It is spectacular sounding (especially the Willy
Nelson track).

Similar Products Used:

See review below

Video is okay

Sound is really weak, price

I don't understand all this hype about this product. Honestly, it's okay but it's too much to pay for the performance level. There are players from Pioneer Elite and Toshiba that are much cheaper and offer similar performance. Forget all that crap about SACD. I have a Proceed AV setup and this player really is sonically weak and it's okay as a transport. I'm so tired of people posting on this site to feel better about their purchase. Needless to say I have returned this overpriced player.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 3700, Pioneer

BOO HOO HOO TOM AND HEATHER. THE SAME AS THE 7700? YEAH MAYBE IN INTERLACED. HEY NEWS FLASH GENIUS, THIS IS A PROGRESSIVE PLAYER TO BE USED WITH AN HD TV. I TESTED THE SONY AGAINST PROGRESSIVE PLAYERS FROM PIONEER, TOSHIBA, INTEGRA, AND ONKYO. SONY BEAT THEM AT EVERY LEVEL. BELIVE ME I HATE SONY AND THINK FOR THE MOST PART THEY MAKE SOME OF THE WORST CRAP OUT THERE, BUT TO SAY IT'S WEAK IS STUPID. GEE TOM MAYBE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH YOUR PIONEER 434 AND SONY WEGA. DON'T POST ON THIS SITE IF YOU AN IDIOT. FAG

Price and performance with SACD and damn good picture quality. Very ease for setup. Last but not least, it is Sony ES :)

The tray is suck like a paper dish. The menu screen should have number selection. The manual needs improvement.

Day 1
=====

19-Jan arrived late at night just performed cable connection and have a brief test for some functionality. Power cable was using Taralab AC Reference and the power conditoner was Furutech Pro-168F (www.furutech.com)

Day 2
=====

The major gears of my HT : 80" 4:3 screen, NEC 6pg Xtra CRT and DVDO Iscan Plus. The pic was very beautiful when using my previous player (S7700) which I used this combination for 6 months. But when I played crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon DVD R3 in 9000ES, I noticed that the picture seemed to be out of focus and since the movie has a lot of dark scene (fighting), I could hardly tell who was fighting. Changed another DVD to "Noting Hill" - My God the skin tone is messy and the focus was not correct. But at least the sounding was without doubt far better than my 7700 ...

Called my AV consultant and he said that the Projector did not need to tune up as i was having a good sharp picutre for 6 months ...

I suspected that the S-video or the AC power Cord was the root cause of the problem or even 9000ES needed a longer run-in time ? Went to my cable dealer and bought JPS Ultra S-video cable, JPS AC Video power cord and Quantum Octave power conditioner. Hey this is a big investment for trouble shooting Huh ... But the conditioner for sure can improve the performance of my overall system

To make the long story short ...

Yes, I called my wife and said everything has been resolved. I could tell who is fighting in the dark. And for Noting Hill, the skin of the actors are so natural. Details came back and yes. I thought the problem resolver was my new Quantum Octave Power conditioner not the power cord.

But like 7700, the red bug still there. I watched Toy Story (1,2) and the RED monkey was so #$@#% even though 9000ES and a bit (I say a bit) improvement over 7700

The unit has now running-in for more than 120hrs and still going. One must buy "Rebecca Pidgeon" - The Raven SACD no matter you are using SACD player or not (hybrid Disc). When playing in 9000ES, you will thanks for the SACD technology. Sound so sweet and the sound stage so 3D.

Who should buy 9000ES ?

If you want a decent picture yet would like to jump into SACD playground .... Run but not walk and goto the nearest dealer and have a try !

Btw, to save space. My full set of HT can be seen

http://www.glink.net.hk/~taiwan

Cheers!

Tristan

Similar Products Used:

Sony CD/DVD Player DVP-7700

Unit sound great...
for CD-R...U have to burn in 1x or 2x..
All my cd-r works.

This is a follow-up to my review from about a month ago (first review at the bottom of this page). Back then I focused on the DVD player aspects. In the meantime I acquired a couple of SACDs, and had more time to compare the CD player capability. )The additional discs were purchased at www.HMV.com in Canada, where at $US 18.42 they are actually almost comptetitive with CDs. )

I also have a small SET set-up, and the best way to describe the SACD sound is by comparing it's immediacy to that of a reasonably well tuned SET. At the same time the music is repuiduced effortlessly across the entire frequency range. As an aplifier I was using the very decent, but not really high-end Sony STRDA777ES receiver, and the improvements just in the source brought the system up to SET levels. OTOH whereas SETs usually have problems with very dynamic music, the solid state set-up guarantees that the system does not give out at higher volume levels - very cool.

Bottomline - rather than trying to improve the reproduction with a more sophisticated - and costly - pre/power-amp, SACD allows to get the same quality sound by improving the source, at a comparably modest price, which leaves moeny for new material (SACDs).

On the CD play-back I must admit that the player improves a bit over the first 100-200 hours. In comparison to the well regarded $1800 stand-alone CAL CL-15 CD player, it is very very close, however A/B comparison throught the CAL's digital input revealed the following differences:

Bass - the CAL is more extended
Midrange - both players are very analytical, however in the upper midrange the Sony seems to resolve details just a little more, while the CAL tends to slightly gloss over some nuances.
Treble - the trend I observed in the midrange continues, with the Sony being very analytical, and the CAL being a little more laid back.

The better treble and midrange resolution can be an asset in a laid back system, however in a neutral to analytical system they can actually be slight drawback, since any inprcision in the recording is immediately audible, which I felt as slightly fatiguing.

Soundstage: apart from the bass the Sony carves out at least as much information as the CAL, however the CAL throws the wider, more realistic soundstage, and there is also more immediacy in its playback.

Bear in mind these differences will be evident only in repeated a/b comparisons. And even then they are relatively subtle, and may be adjusted for by another component choice in the system.

Overall this comparison confirms my initial impression that the Sony though not better than the CAL, would be a veritable deal, if offered at $1500 as a CD player alone.

Equipment used:

CAL CL-15
Sony DVPS9000ES
Sony STRDA777ES (in analog direct mode)
Snell CV speakers (b-wired XLO, and wireworld)

As stated in my first review this player is a bargain, and 5 stars for value is actualy underrated.

Not to get carried away about the ratings, but in the overall rating I am giving it a 5 despite the fact that the CD player capability it probably "just" a bit better than 4 stars, with the CAL being at 4.5, and the Sonic Frontier SFCD-1 (at $3800) and similar players being a clear 5. However the SACD capability is beyond reproach (i.e. 5 stars) - at least for the time being - resulting in a solid 4.5, which I am rounding to 5.

If you want the best DVD player $3000 can buy - get this model, and smile when you realize that it takes up only half your budget. Then jubilate when you realize that Sony threw in a first rate SACD/CD player for free #:o).

Similar Products Used:

CAL CL-15

Bin..
You are wrong..
SACD transport = Accuphase
SACD D/A = Accuphase

The only problem, it cost $30 grand.

Everything that's already been written and then some.

None

I unloaded my Pioneer Elite DV-09 in favor of the new Sony DVP-S9000ES and it was 1 of the best moves I've ever made--Now, still at $2,200 list
and not progressive scan or SACD playback, the Pioneer is technically obsolete like much of Pioneer's other audio offerings--

The Sony kills it with extraordinary audio and video performance PLUS a FIVE year warranty as
opposed to Pioneer's measley 2 yr warranty--

And the price--I was fortunate to get mine through a Sony employee for $825 (list is $1,500), the
Pioneer DV-09 even discounted is much more than the Sony's list--Pioneer can't even begin to compete with this Sony, period.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-S7700