Finally upgraded to the 1.18C and what a difference. I could not believe the bass response that I was hearing. Bass response is deeper, tighter, and more powerful than ever before (no distortion whatsoever). The dialogue was also cleaner and sharper. The overall effect is mesmerizing. The speakers do indeed disappear like never before and phantoms run amok. I noticed with the upgrade that when I set all my speakers to large, I'm not given the choice to set the crossover frequencies for the center, fronts, and surrounds as I did before the upgrade. Does anyone have some light to shed on this???

System includes:
Rotel 985 THX amp
Sony 530 DVD
Velodyne HGS 18'
B&W 604's all around

I've watched scenes from "The Matrix", "Private Ryan", & "Aliens" several times but last nights performance brought these movies sonically to a level I never heard it before. Overall, this upgrade is a leap from where we once were. Now, I'm wondering how far the rabbit hole really goes. Please get the upgrade...

power by 3 32bit chip and a cool 232port for firmware upgrade.

no 5.1 input

hi i've been using tae9000es for more than 1 year now. and i realy said that the tae9000es is one of the best av pre-amplifier. but now i realy want to upgrade my tae9000es is there any want have the information how to upgrade the tae9000es i will realy appreciated.

1)do sony provide the upgrading from 5.1 to 6.1 channel
surround sound system.and is there a softeware that
provide the upgrade to 6.1 virtual surround.if i'm correct
the software model is vucd e9000a.i got this information
from the internet.

2)i heard that sony provided tae9000es with a pre-amp
5.1 input adapter model tap9000es the adapter provide
x2 5.1 input x1 5.1 bypass input and x1 5.1 output.i'm
trying to get the optional 5.1 input adapter because
i can find 5.1 input adapter in the singapore market.

3)can the tae9000es be upgrade to cinema studio-ex
capability.

4)can the tae9000es upgrade the 96/24bit to 198/24bit
audio dac.

5)can the tae9000es playback super audio cd (sacd)format.

(this is my home theater system)

sony tae9000es av control amplifier
sony tan9000es 5 channel power amplifier x 2 set
sony dvp s7700 dvd player
sony mds jb930 minidisc player
sony cdp cx450 megadisc changer
pioneer dvl 909 dvd/laser disc player
yamaha tx492 tuner
bmb dep3000k karaoke processor
sony slv777nc nicam stereo video recorder
mission 775 front speaker
jamo centre 200 centre speaker
tannoy m1 rear speaker
klipsch ksw 300 power subwoofer
castle plf 200/2 av power line filter
monster cable - speaker cable
- toslink cable
- coxial cable
- components video cable
- s-video cable
- analogue cable
sony kp 48mn2 projection tv
sony rm av2000t intergrated av remote commander.

Similar Products Used:

sony std-da50es

If the supposed 1.22 firmware itself comes on a CD that must be purchased with a $200 kit, is it possible that the file could be posted on the net by someone in Japan where it is already released? Many of us 9000es owners already have the proper cables required for upgrading and I can't seem to justify the price with the fact that it comes with yet another remote. Your responses are much appreciated!

Sound, Built, Construction, Upgrade, Appearance

Remote, Sony USA Support

This is still the best value and one of the greatest sounding Pre-amplifier in the market. It is far better than the Acurus ActIII from Mondial. Mondial makes the best Amplifiers but Sony kicks butt when it comes to video and digital audio processing. The TAE9000ES is not perfect considering the fact that it comes with the worst remote control on the face of the earth. It also lacks inputs for the 5 audio channels but Sony released an add-on for that matter. Sound quality is excellent and Dolby 5.1 is the best I heard yet. It’s a shame that with such a powerful processor ( 32bit sharc ) there aren’t many software upgrades. I would like to see 4 channel stereo and I would like to have the option of a subwoofer when I’m playing in 2 channel stereo mode with speakers on Large. With the sharc processor there is no limit to what this Pre-amp can do including Dolby EX 6.1 surround. Costumer support in the US is the worse you can imagine and we all need to unite and demand the software upgrades. If anyone has friends in Europe or Japan then it would be nice to share the software upgrades they provide for this unit oversea. This Pre-amplifier has been sold to more people worldwide than any other Pre-amp and that’s no surprise considering the fact that more expensive pre-amplifiers cannot keep up with the TAE9000ES. There is no pre-amplifier under $2500 that can compete with the TAE9000ES. What would make this Pre-Amp a perfect processor would be a different remote and a software upgrade that will provide more options in the audio modes. I am happy to see so many people uniting on this site against the lack of costumer support from Sony USA. I’m sure if we all keep the pressure on we will get our software upgrade in order to push this unit to the next level. For those who do not own this product make no mistake, the Sony TAE9000ES is the best sounding/built pre-amp processor on the market.

Aragon 8008BB
Aragon 8008x3
Sony TAE9000ES
Sony DVP7700
Sony MDS-JB930
Sony TKA-2ES
Sony KV-32XBR250
Paradigm Studio 80
Paradigm Studio 20
Paradigm CC450
DH Labs Cable

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Yamaha DSP A1, Acurus ACT III, B&K Ref 20, Krell, Sunfire, You name it I heard it

Sound & flexibility

Lack of a tape loop/monitor, digital input biased on optical type, only one digital output.

I have no experience of the most typical problem with this unit (namely, remote eating batteries and noise on digital inputs). I think that Sony has built two series of the E9000ES and kept it secret.

With the 1.10a firmware version everything is OK, but I would upgrade to version 1.18, though I'm not sure about the nullmodem cable I own.
The readme.doc file states that the pins 7 and 8 shoud be crossed, but in my cable they are not connected.
Does anyone have any advice on this?

The rest of the hardware:
NAD 214+216+902(mono) power amps
B&W CDM1+CDM C+CDM7+ASW1000 loudspeakers
Sony DVPS715 DVD player
Pioneer CLD1850 LD player
Ariston RD50+Sumiko BluePoint turntable

SOLID PERFORMANCE re:version 1.18C

I NEVER USED THE REMOTE ANYMORE

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING GILBERT MORROW!!!!!

I am sure that everyone who has this product agrees that it performs very well. Upgrade to 1.18C and it will blow you away! Use first class cables, speakers and components and you hit the jackpot! Giving minus ten to a product is unthinkable! Again, everyone who has this product agrees that it is not a minus 10... :-) Peace! :)

Similar Products Used:

SONY TA-1000ESD, TA-2000ES

alot of dsp modes

digital sound is to tinty

i bought the sony tae9000es after reading the reviews on it here on this site,i thought the sony would be better than the h/k. boy was i wrong about that, the dsp modes are not all that,i mean why so many 2 or 3 are all i seem to use,i guess so you can show all the lame modes to your friends.after listening to it for over 3 months i came to the conclusion that it bites big time.i unhooked the sony and reinstalled the h/k man it blew me away at the difference the h/k filled the room with sound (end of days). the sony tea9000es just does not have the true high end quality, if they would have left it in the analog domain it would have sounded great (maybe)? if anyone would like to buy one let me know i will surely sell it.to sum it up it sounds like all other sony products cheap toys!!!! i think sony makes some of the best video products around, but not audio products.one of my biggest gripes is it blew fuses on my maggies ever time you turned around(maggies protect the tweeters by fuses)i guess the digital sonics were to much for them or the pre is just lame,yes i tryed ever possible setting i could think of. well i will give it a 3 for build quality but a -10 for the chaepness of the sound.

Similar Products Used:

h/k signature 2.0

Best for Movie and Music too

None...

I use this product almost 2 years..i am very satisfy for this product..It give EXCELLENT effect for the music and after upgrade to 1.18C,listen to Music is also Excellent..
I am totally happy with this unit..

I did test with the Yamaha-AX1..Although it support EX and 8.2 but, i feel tht SONY's seperationis better than Yamaha..Bith unit support software upgrade as well..
i believe tht..all-in-on unit us wirse thn the seperation unit..so,i recommand to buy this SONY product ..is the BEST unit i the market at the moment

Finally,i hope sony will release the softwae upgrade for supporting cinema EX..

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha-AX1

i just installed version 1.18c and everything installed correctly. i have not listened to it long enough to compare the differences, but i hear there is an improvement over an already great preamp. i have notice that when i am playing a cd, and i go to edit eq, and then adjust the bass, midrange or treble gains the music stops or hesitates when i first push the button. this happens in all the software upgrades. does anyone have an answer?

Pls. refer to previous reviews.

Pls. refer to previous reviews.

This site appeared to be quite for some time and has not received any new inputs recently. It seems that everybody is still enjoying the tandem of es9000 and waiting for something that Sony will put forward to reveal the true power and capacity of this preamp. Well i am also enjoying mine and to say honestly, i am waiting what upgrade Sony is preparing for 6.1 or 7.1 channel digital audio surround. I am curious if there will be a (compatible) super audio dvd or SADVD hardware or player from sony to support their multi-channel format and to compete with the dvd audio hardware that is already coming out in the market. If there is anybody who has knowledge of this trend from the sony, i hope he can share it openly in this site. With dts software now got the full support of blockbuster movie producers, i'l be enjoying much more my sony tandem.

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Pls. refer to previous reviews.