Sony is making good equipment but not at the level of hi-end companies like Meridian or B&K that has been mentioned here.
The TA-E9000ES is a Good Pre for the casual listener but certainly not for the series audiophile.

Well it's been a few weeks since I last reviewed the 9000. All in all I am still very happy with pre-amp. Although I am on my second one, I had to return it beacuse the stupid remote would not communicate back to the pre-amp or vise-versa???? I got the new one and it set up right the first time. I called SONY and they said that it had happend to a handfull of other 9000's.Yes there are a few things you might wish the pre-amp has but hey for the price and the quality of the product(minus the remote....rumor is april for th new one.)you cant beat it, and belive me I have tried. I had a chance to watch two of the six DTS dvd's......I think that DTS is wonderful.....spare your self and dont buy DAYLIGHT it was horriable, but Dante's Peak is worth it...

TO all the people how had E-mailed me over the last two weeks thanks for the the input and advice and keep it coming.....What most of you ask was where I got the SONY........

IEI Electronics (Authorized ES dealer)
HWY 36 Hazlet, nj 07730
732-264-3900 ask for Kato he's the manager

I'm not sure if they do mail order
PLUS I DON"T KNOW IF YOU CAN GET THE PRICE I DID

Sound city in Denville NJ www.soundcity.com

SOLD ME MY FIRST ONE FOR $ 1375......a little bit to high but they deliver

Also check the Tech section of this site some other people have it in there for $1200.00 delivered????????might be worth it.

ATTENTION OWNERS OF THIS WONDERFUL PREAMP!!!!!!!!
As a salesman for an authorized Sony ES retailer, I am pleased to share this information with all of you. Yes, the display quality on this remote ranges from unreadable to unbearable. All of us know this, including Sony. Provided your 9000 preamp was purchased at a factory authorized retailer, you may exchange your remote for the newer remote, with the improved display. Your retailer can petition Sony for the newer remote. The entire process will probably take several weeks, but at least you will have the new remote. This new remote is currently shipped with all of the new pre-amps so it's existence is indeed a reality. Two thumbs up for Sony for responding to this issue. This also holds true for any DA-50ES receiver owners. I hope this information helps. I also give the preamp a 5 star rating because of all of the aforementioned reasons. Primarily because its quality and features can not be approached at, or above this pricepoint.

A WARNING TO ALL TA-E9000 USERS

UNEXPECTED FAILURE OF ENTIRE UNIT

After one year of use, my 9000 suddenly stopped working. Only the LED function lights worked, and no audio was output. Sony fixed it, and noted it was a problem with some parts in the power supply. On another forum (http://209.247.51.7/faussiedvdandhtforumsonytae9000esinformationforum) this problem appears to be a very significant defect in the 9000, affecting as many as 10 percent of all users.

HAS ANYONE ON THIS FORUM HAD THIS FAILURE HAPPEN TO THEM????

It would be helpful to get a sense of how many users this problem has affected.

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS PROBLEM - IT WILL HELP ALL OF US WHO HAVE 9000'S....

Similar Products Used:

TA-E2000, TA-E1000

5.1 DD & DTS, perfect match for TAN9000ES/N amp, 2.10 upgrade, value for dollar and good looks. Alas, the 5 YEAR WARRANTY !

Had to have it serviced twice. So far...Possibly the remote. I have a Marantz 5000i so I can't say for sure.

This is a review responding to the previous one on this thread. My unit is the Champagne one with the /N suffix on the model #.

My symptoms the first time I had it fixed were:

1) Display dimmed and became not adjustable
2) Accessory outlets dead
3) No output to amplifier. (Obviously, the killer.)

Sony fixed it in 10 days or so.

The second time it failed I had the first two symptoms as above but it still worked (sent a signal to the amp) so I didn't fix it until I expanded my system and needed the outlets to trigger my Monster HTS5000. (BTW I had the added motivation of getting my DVP-S7700 fixed before the warranty went kaput. But, that is another story. The legendary c13.00 error from the DVP-S360 thread.) I have to take a star off for having two breakdowns. Still a very good product.

A word about the 2.01 upgrade. I use the Virtual Matrix 6.1 for nearly everything except DD and DTS movies and think it is great. Better surround than any of the factory "effects". Allows the DVD remote to control the volume! Worth the $100 Oade charged for it.

Thanks to all reviewers. I read these things all the time and almost never write one.

Similar Products Used:

None. Two-channel JVC mini-system. Not similar.

Excellent sound across the boards. Excellent detail across the boards.

Cheesy remote.

I have enjoyed this unit since October of '99. I downloaded the 1.18 upgrade sometime in May of '00 and I now understand that there is a "2.0something" version available. Can anyone out there please e-mail me with the info on how to download/purchase this newest version? What are the benefits of the new version? Please contact me at lram2388@mindspring.com when possible. (The first letter in my e-mail address is an "L" not a "1").

Similar Products Used:

Lexicon

ease of use,handsomely crafted it fits right in even with older ES products,5 yr warr.,upgradeable,loads of features.

no analog or digital loop,cant copy from one source to another while listening to another source,remote needs serious work its hard to see batteries dont last even with upgrade.digital noise when there is no source being played,
no second analog tape input for those of us who like single cassette decks and like to dub hence no analog loop,also i dont like the way the volume hesatates as you increase it it gives me the impression of no control.

overall performance is excellent dolby digital decodeing is on the money here.it is my opinion that this is a master piece and im proud to own one. its solid and ridged construction put it in a class all of its own. lots of inputs. the menu function makes it easy to use, the sound was flawless when conected to my other ES components. also i like the fact that it is upgradeable i have not done mine yet im not sure i want to either.
i give sony two thumbs up for this one and hope that they rock on.
equipment used
sony XA7 cd player,MDS-JA50ES minidisc,KA3ES cassette deck,SA5ES tuner,(3)TAN-55ES amplifiers,DVP-S7000 dvd player,SLV-1000R vhs vidio player

Similar Products Used:

there is none like it

Upgradeable!, great build quality, features, and surround processing - very configurable

Remote not programmable, noise floor a little high, no analog bypass, no separate record loop, can't set default sound field for inputs

I got this preamp a year ago. I looked at others for a while before the 9000 came out, but when I finally got to see the piece in the store I was hooked. There wasn't anything comparable at the time for anywhere near the price, and there still really isn't.

I was first very impressed with the build quality. This is a solid heavy preamp. The features and configuration options are outstanding and far surpass anything in the price range and most at any price. I haven't seen better bass management anywhere.

The standard surround processing is outstanding in Dolby Digital or DTS. This is really the unit's strong point. The various DSP modes are also very good because they don't affect the dialog and don't over do it. My previous Yamaha receiver often sounded unnatural. The Sony also sounds very detailed and clean in 2 channel mode for music.

The tremendous digital processing power and ability to upgrade the software finally hooked me. I've done it myself 2 times. No need to take it to a Service Center and wait for weeks.

Now the weaknesses and my wish list. I was dissapointed at the amount of background (digital) noise when it is turned up to 12:00 or beyond. I had hoped it would be silent. However, at any practical listening levels with a source playing you are extremely unlikely to hear any noise. I was also surprised there is not a record loop allowing you to record and listen to separate sources simultaneously.

I wish there was an analog bypass mode, but this seems to be impossible to find in a digital processing preamp for under $5K. And truthfully, I don't listen to any high quality analog sources anyway - vcr and cable only. It does force you to use the preamp D/A converters. I'd like to be able to set a default surround setting for each input. A 5 channel "stereo" music mode would be great. Finally, I wish it included THX Ultra processing, component video switching, 6 (or 8) channel input for future upgrades, HDCD, a tuner...

The remote is disappointing as everyone knows. I don't find it as bad as most - mine lasts several months on a set of batteries and I can read it adequately enough. My biggest gripe is that it isn't programmable and turns other Sony products on when you might not want to. It should allow you to create macros and program other remotes and in the best of all worlds, to design the screens.

All in all this preamp is hard to beat and pretty untouchable for the price. I have been extremely pleased. I only give it a 4 overall because I am a very critical person - I've listed above some ways it could be improved - and there are better preamps at much higher prices.

Looks, price, clean sound

remote could be more sensitive and not go through batteries like water

I received my unit in Feb. 99 and I have not had any of the noise floor or voice sync problems that some of the first units had. I have not wanted to upgrade to the latest software because why "fix" something that's not broken? I did drop off my remote at the Sony service center and within 10 days they upgraded the chip. The batteries last a a lot longer now. My unit does run a little warm but it's not excessive.
I have it paired up with an ATI 1505 amp and NHT 2.5i front and 1.5 surround speakers. The sound in stereo is very clean and you hear everything that is on the recording. Where this unit really shines is in 5.1 DD and DTS movie decoding. Wow! I think to get this level of performance, you'll have to go up to a B&K pre-amp and those are over $2000. This unit is definitely a bargain. It's not perfect but then again I've read that none of the higher priced units are either!

Similar Products Used:

None

I’d like to share a recent experience with the SONY TA9000ES and accompanying touch screen remote. The preamp itself is superb in all respects, but I called SONY about the lack of brightness and contrast on the remote. They were aware of the problem and suggested I send the working remote to the South Florida factory service center for an upgrade to the new improved remote now being shipped.
It came back and would not communicate with the TA9000ES. Back it went, came, and went a second time, after supposedly being tested both times. Numerous calls to the SONY direct response center produced no results. A call to the service center only gets as far as the answering machine and routing back to the center. After contacting the SONY consumer affairs board about the problem, a “new” upgraded remote was shipped. You guessed it… that didn’t work either. The irony here is that my remote, the “E” model, was the new improved unit! After two more weeks, six in all, the service center in Novi, MI finally sent a new up-graded TA9000 and remote.
For that I can thank the tech working the case.

Before purchasing this equipment, I would strongly suggest readers thoroughly evaluate the remote in lighting conditions similar to their own home and are completely satisfied before heading out the door.

Don Miller


millerdh@worldnet.att.net