Superlative player; delightful design backed up by tank-like build quality. Exquisite video performance, accurate and detailed surround sound (both for movies and for 5.1 (and stereo) SACD replay - which is a revelation to listen to - fantastic chance to rediscover some classic albums - Brothers in Arms, Dark Side of the Moon, Goodbye Yellow Brick Rd & Wish You Were Here to name just a few).

Finally, we just need to address the CD replay issues another reviewer flagged - firstly, this is a DVD Player with SACD capability, so you might just as well review it on the basis of its picture disk performance! Secondly, I have owned some superlative dedicated CD players over the years (including the legendary CDP-X555ES); the 999 is as good as the best I have heard - and also makes a great CD transport, if you wanted to decode its digital output with a separate DAC.

I have absolutely NO RESERVATIONS in giving this player a FIVE STAR REVIEW.

darn good video sacd even redbook sounds great.

layer change a bit slow but is that really a big deal? some croma issues but at least in my case not too bad.

I'm suprised to read the negative comments about this unit. I've had mine for over two years - it was a sony warranty replacement for my 1st SCD-C333es. I have to say it rivials my HDMI player for video quality and cd/sacd sounds better than my current scd-c333es. At least in my Rotel/B&W system I'm totally satisified with the 999es. I know this is all subjective but it gets heavy use and I find it to be an excellent piece. Also, I'm sure that mods must take this player to a different/better level but I'm not sure I agree with SACDMODS.com that this player is that bad in stock form. mostof my s/u rotel rsp1068 rotel rmb1075 scd-c333es dvp-ns999es dvp-cx995v b&w dm604, dm602 lcr6s2 asw600 audioquest sidewinder i/c's psaudio extreme digital cable for 999es audioquest type 6 speaker cable. TV: sony lcd rear projection 2004 model - cant remember the number

Similar Products Used:

denon dvd2900, sony scd-c2000es, sony scd-c222es, sony dvp-nc555es, samsung dv841.

Well built, heavy for a DVD player, good looks. Almost every aspect of video and sound can be adjusted from the unit. Remote is a bit akward at first, but you get used to it.

None

This unit is clearly a great bargain for the buck! I had ran it through its paces and have found no true fault with it thus far. Very detailed sound on CDs and SACD is a treat to say the least. DVDs show detail that I found only on my old Sony DVP-S300 (still one of the best for its time and now). Blacks are truely black (Matrix and Men in Black II) and colors really pop (Austin Powers and Half Baked). The unit is heavy and very nicely built like all Sony ES equipment. It may not be the highest of the high in terms of equipment, I would be really pissed off if I paid the $2k+ for the so called 'High End' and it is only marginally better than this unit! My System Consists of: Sony STR-DA333ES Receiver Sony DVP-NS999ES DVD/SACD Player Sony TA-N9000ES Amplifier Boston Acoustics CRC Center Channel Boston Acoustics CR7 Front and Surrounds Boston Acoustics PV-1000 Subwoofer

Similar Products Used:

DVP-S300

Excellent multi-channel SACD playback Excellent DVD video playback Many audiophile features Reliable

Remote is a little flimsy and not intuitive Complicated- you need to read the manual and check review forums to obtain maximum peformance

The 999ES is a very good DVD player, which is primarily what I bought it for. I have been very satisfied with Sony ES equipment in general. Those who have been disappointed with their products may have missed the many tweaks that they have. SACD audio was, to say the least, poor until I went through the audio setup to dial in the speaker distance, equalize speaker volumes, etc. You must turn off the front display and, on the 5ES receiver, use analog direct to get the best results. The sound quality of multi-channel SACD, such as on Norah Jones' excellent "Come Away With Me" only rivals standard CD if the player is set up right. Unlike the Sony DVP-S7700, which plays CDs very well right out of the box, you have to make adjustments to the 999ES to obtain maximum sound (try using CD Direct and setting the Audio Filter to Slow). The DVD video is awesome. If you have any complaints, you have not tweaked enough. It gives an excellent picture in interlaced mode, as good or better than the S7700. I have never seen digital artifacts with this player. The Superbit version of "The Fifth Element" looks almost as good as HDTV on my regular old Sony KP43-T70 television. It also plays damaged discs as well as any other player, a handy feature when you use Netflix (I have done some testing of other players at home theater stores). Yes, it is slow to switch between layers (what Sony player is not?)and the remote has these dinky buttons behind the slide panel. Fortunately, I rarely use the remote except when I am setting up the player. I do not have a progressive-scan TV yet, but I plan to get one and that, together with SACD playback is the reason that I upgraded to the 999ES. Another nice thing- prices traditionally come down on Sony when they introduce new models and there are lots of used players out there. This player is a real bargain since you don't have to pay $1000 for it now.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-S7700

This is in followup to my previous less than excited review of a ho hum high end "ES" Sony product....My primary complaint was that Sony did a less than admirable job in the fidelity of the CD playback on this unit...I still maintain this position on this unit......Searching for feedback on a better unit, I resolved my conumdrum as follows. First let me say that the video is nice on the Sony. My objection is with "average" CD playback and a below average remote...Average being something generic off the shelf at Wal Mart..... I managed to stumble across reviews on the AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000. This is a CD play only unit with tube output and upsampler. Please see reviews at this site. I chose to get a unit off Ebay.... The upsampler pins were sheared off so I had to pop back in the stock chips that the upsampler is intended to replace...The stock Njoe Tjoeb 4000 SMOKES! and is wayfar superior to the Sony CD output. This is without the upsampler upgrade. Miffed at being taken on ebay Sans a busted upscale sampler, I called Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio (I recommend readers going to that web site). Kevin is exchanging the upsampler even tho I didn't purchase the unit directly from him....How much better can service get than that! Nice! Allison Kraus on the Njoe???? Pure Liquid Velvet! Unstrained and smooth, running Phillips tubes..Ahhhhh!!!!!!! Can't wait to get the upsampler back to hear the Njoe really unleashed...My conumdum solved....Video thru the Sony...Audio thru the Njoe...I recommend going thru Upscale Audio to save the hassles of busted stuff on audiogon or ebay...tho got my Virgos off audiogon happily so....had 2 other less than optimal experiences from ebay. The unit is reasonably enough priced to go direct from the importer at upscale.....all you guys happy with the Sony CD audio?? To me it was like getting cotten taken out of my ears.....(breathing sounds....tongue noises on the top of the pallate....fingers across strings....more separation of discrete instruments in the soundstage...highs that aren't compressed, etched, or strained, bass that isn't bloated or soggy...I hear these differences in front end CD playback}.The problem is that I have the very first DVD player that Sony ever put out ...and it had much better CD fidelity (I'd list its model # but can't get to it as its wrapped up under tarps awaiting Hurricane Ivans passage about to make landfall about 70 miles to the west ;( For now, I'll enjoy how this CD player has upgraded my bedroom HiFi while I still have power.....

Able to do both cd and dvd very well.

I can't think of any for the price.

I had to write this review in respose to all the negative reviews this product has received. I bought this product because at the time I didn't have a DVD player and I thought if the Sony sounded good enough on the CD side I could sell my Arcam cd72 to recover some of the money spent. I originally brought home a demo model for trial. The store I borrowed it from didn't supply a remote so I had no idea how complex this machine could be. When I compared it the arcam cd72 it seemed to give greater detail but was also not as warm sounding. I thought I could live with the difference and ended up buying the unit even though the arcam sounded better playing cd's. When I finally received the unit I was surprised to see that the remote was the key feature into setting the machine up properly. The demo unit was probably set up to be in multi channel and I know for sure it sounded like it was set to the higher sampling rate. I set the unit at the slower rate or "warm" as they call it and set the speaker outs to normal stereo, not surround. After listening with these changes I found myself liking the Sony more than the Arcam. It had more body similar to the Arcam but didn't seem as bloated; I also noticed more detail as well. I am sure there are better stand alone cd players but the Sony is a very good cd/dvd player. After about 4 months I switched the upsampling to the higher rate and it didn't seem as bright or fatiguing as it did earlier. Maybe it was finally broke in. I leave it on all time, I heard it's better to leave the stuff on. The video is excellent. This is my first DVD player but I am amazed at the detail in the picture. Watching Matrix the first time was a whole new experience. It was very cool to see the dust coming off the ground as they were jumping from building to building and the broken brick flying in the air from bullet impacts. I have never seen this kind of resolution before. I will admit I was using a VCR before but I am very, very happy with the picture quality. I do notice some funky glitches every once in a while, once maybe every 5 or 6 rentals. Maybe it's the chroma bug earlier reviews are describing, I don't know, it happens so seldom it doesn't really bother me. I think it's dirty disks. Can you get better cd players, sure but a lot of this stuff is personal preference and system integration. If you want a machine which plays cd's and dvd's and does a great job for not a crazy amount of money this product is a great deal. Look at it this way a decent dvd player will be $300 bucks or more and a cd player will be at least that, probably a lot more. Add the cost of another set of interconnects and you probably will pay about the same as this unit. In addition, you will end up using more real estate in your stands/shelves. My setup is: Plinius 8150 Integrated Amplifier Vienna Acoustic Mozart speakers Siltech Sq-80 interconnects Sony DVP NS999ES Sony Wega TV

Similar Products Used:

Arcam cd72

World class video Good SACD performance Good CD performance Low price for what you get

CD performance is very good but not great.

I'm not sure what the past reviewers were talking about with regards to poor CD sound. I have had many in the past including units from Rotel, Arcam, Musical Fidelity and Meridian. The CD sound is fine. Just think about what you get with this: world class DVD performance, great SACD performance, good red book performance, and multichannel audio to boot. Sure there are better CD players out there, but the differences aren't huge and you need to spend signicant coin to get it. I just had the Musical Fidelity A324 DAC for this and sold it because it made almost zero difference in the sound quality. This is a good unit for the money. If you really NEED slightly better red book performance you can find it by buying a used Arcam Alpha 9 or something like it. Associated Equipment: Martin Logan Ascents, Cinema Musical Fidelity A300 Rotel RSP976/RMB985MKII Mirage sub Kimber, Nordost, Audioquest cables

Similar Products Used:

Denon 2900 and 5900

Good picture quality.

Not worth $1000...the buttons on the faceplate will not work right if it is not press straight on.

The picture quality is good, but I don't think it is that much better then the Denon 1600 I had. SACD sounds great on it, but I am slowly getting less interested in SACD because of the lack of media. Playing CD on it is ok. I guess I am just expecting more from it since it is a $1000. Maybe I should have gotten the 9000es used for half the price. Overall I am satify, but not thrill about its performance.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1600, Pansonic, PS2, and older Sony DVD player.

Build quality and reliablity so far. DVD sound. Picture quality is stunning after calibrating my monitor using Video Essentials.

Remote control.

This was my very first DVD player so I cannot compare it to any other. I am very pleased with the overall performance. I use it as a CD player as well as for DVD movies. My old faithful Denon DCD-1290 I think is still a better CD player but maybe that is because my ears are still accustomed to it after so many years of listening. I cannot complain about the DVD performance. Sound is terrific and the picture on my SharpVision HD monitor is exemplary. As with any component, you need high quality RGB cables and audio interconnects. Remember to properly calibrate your monitor - it makes all the difference! Used with: All Legacy-Audio speakers SharpVision 34NWF5H Monitor Anthem AVM20 Anthem PVA7 Van Den Hul Second interconnects XLO Reference for front speakers Kimber for center channel Belden for surrounds

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCD-1290 for CD.

Hmmmmm...hard to think of anything really GREAT to say about the unit

Lots....read the above critique

I give this a strong "pass this one by". Historically, with various Sony products I have been pleased with overall quality. It seems that recently as I have been upgrading various electronic components, when going to the various Bbuys and ccity's.....I leave without Sony Brands....Eg Samsung Plasma TV....Panasonic phones......etc. I wished someone would have warned me away from this unit. Purchased as a complement to my Sunfire classic tube preamp and amp with Audio Physic VirgoII speakers, I was dissappointed that the CD audio was not as good as my first Sony DVD player purchased.... when Sony first came out with DVD players....Furthermore, build quality was just not there......With burn in, balance of the audio output biased excessively to almost a monural quality favoring the right speaker. I troubleshot the unit by placing my old Sony player back into my high end system and this monural right speaker only effect went away......The video is quite nice, but even that seems to be plagued by alot of clean discs not being read....furthermore, the remote is one absolute pain in the wazoo...very unintuitive and too small. I thought I was getting flagship "ES" quality......Unless ES is an acronym for "exceptionally sh***y" sorry for that one but don't waste your electronic pin money on this unit if you are looking for something very nice or "worth the money" as this one is not. I am rapidly loosing brand loyalty to Sony and really expect more.....we all Know that they can be up to the task if they want to. If anyone who reads this review knows of a really Great High end CD/DVD player worth considering please email me at mreinh8936@aol.com for your appreciated inputs....I can't wait to get rid of this one and get something nice....HELP WANTED...ps the slide tray is way too slow and the boot up time is excessive when first sliding in a CD..frustrating....Good luck in the hunt for a good DVD/CD player

Similar Products Used:

Sunfire amps preamps Audio Physic Virgo II speakers