Fabulous SACD performance, great DVD-video performance, like the remote

CD playback, price

I had hoped to get a universal player - having been sold on SACD as a fabulous high-res music format. The 2-channel SACD approaches and sometimes surpasses analog and I wanted to upgrade from my "trial" DVPNS500 and hoped to get to one player, retiring my ARCAM Alpha 8se, which has a cache problem but otherwise sounds great. The reviews said the 999ES was fabulous in SACD and good for CD, so I bought one with high hopes. While it's only been 3 weeks and may need more burn-in, and I'm very happy with SACD and DVD Video performance, the CD side of the unit has been a big disappointment. It's nowhere close to the ARCAM, which cost about the same. The Sony sounds hard and brittle, even rendering some recent CD's, like Norah Jones latest, unlistenable. Some CD's sound fine, but not great. In the end, the 999 sounds about the same as the 500 when playing CD's, but much better on SACD and video. I picked the Sony based on the reviews, but I suspect I'd have done better with the Denon 2200, which offers DVD-A, if I really needed a universal player. My advice - forget about universal players for now. If you have a good CD player, don't expect an SACD/DVD player to replace it...

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVPNS500V Denon 2200 & 2900 (auditioned)

Great video, SACD, DVD a, and CD reproduction. Intuitive remote. High quality Burr Brown processors. Nice aluminum front panel and reasonable build quality.

No headphone jack.

Excellent product. Superb SACD and CD sound. This player's big brother was roasted by the Absolute Sound. I've compared this to a superb Sony SCD C555ES and a Sony ES555 cd player. The video is as good as it gets and the audio is open with good air around acoustic instruments and reasonable stage depth in terms of imaging. CD reproduction is very neutral as well.

Similar Products Used:

Sony SCD777ES, Sony SCDC555ES, Sony CDP555ES

Build quality, features, 5 year warranty.

Sony's flagship compares to higher end Companies mid level players. Noticable layer changes, slow disc navigation, non-intuitive GUI interface, artifacts. Last and not least, minimal snob appeal.

Over the past two years I have been on a quest for the absolute best value in Home Theater in the "mid" range class. I have upgraded and owned many of the popular DVD players in this group (under $1,000) and was drawn to the Sony because of the positive endorsements received by the salespeople at Tweeter and the popularity of the Sony NS900V (previous version). The folks at Tweeter insist that side by side, the Sony is the best they carry and narrowly beats the Pioneer 47Ai (which I have owned). I liked the build quality and it seemed to be loaded with features. My only reservation was that after owning mid-level DVD players from Denon, Marantz, & Rotel, I was skeptical about being able to obtain a true "flagship" model. In other words, it was kind of like getting a loaded Toyota Camry with instead of the Lexus. Frankly, that is what I found it to be. First of all, my review is based on video only, my feeling is that DVD players still don't rival a dedicated CD player for audio so if music is important to you and you got a $1,000 to spend, buy a $500 DVD player and a $500 CD player, ultimately you will have a decent compromise. Personally, I buy a DVD player for picture quality and the Sony certainly can be stunning at times, especailly with good visual DVDs like the new James Bond movie, Toy Story, etc. My only complaints are that I did notice a decent amount of artifacts and the picture was on the "processed" side vs. a more film-like image. Incidently, I bought a Denon 3800 which needed to be repaired and in the interim, Tweeter loaned me a Sony DVPNS725 ($125 range) and again, video-wise, I wasn't overwhelmed with a difference between the 999. In fact, it had many of the same features and seemed to be just as solid of a performer. But that is really the essence of this DVD player thing for me, assuming you have a decent TV, the differences aren't overwhelming on many DVD players. Sure if you can focus in for a split second and be bothered by a chroma bug or see background images that are "wavy" and still concentrate on the movie, than you should spend as much as you can on a DVD player. For me, I am in between. I love good build quality and the satisfaction of owning a quality piece and appreciate the basics, good colors, film-like image and vivid 3D pictures. The better the DVD player the more consistentancy you will find in these areas. The "Secrets of Home Theater" website that is brutal on DVD players and puts the DVD players through ridiculous paces, reveals that the Sony is plagued by many of the chroma, flag reading, etc. issues that most DVD players fail. Moreover, I think the Sony doesn't excell in any area that you couldn't find in a lesser expensive player, however, I have heard that the SACD is really good and if that is your thing, than Sony might be the way to go because the video side is certainly good and overall you would have a decent compromise. I ended up exchanging the Sony for a Denon 2900 and returned the Denon 3800 for a Denon 2200. Both Denons appeared to be marginally better than the Sony, they appear to be a little more consistent. Considering that the specs are better on the Denons (they use the latest and greatest Silcone chip among other things) and the 2900 has a more substantial build, and considering the price is around the same, the Denon is the way to go. Both Denons are universall and a little more future proof format wise, the 2200 would be the better choice if all you cared about was video. In sum, there are things I miss about the Sony, decent remote, great feature for memorizing where you stopped a disc. But the Denon has no layer pauses (if that bothers you) and allows you to navigate around much faster than the Sony. All in all, it is kind of like the guy who has a Lexus in his garage and the guy who has the Camry, they both swear that they go the best value. It just depends what you value.

Similar Products Used:

I have owned and substantially used these products: Pioneer 45a, Pioneer 656a, Pioneer 47ai, Denon 910, Integra Dps 5.4, Sony DVP 360, Marantz DV4200, Toshiba SD2800, Denon 3800, Denon 2900, Denon 2200, Rotel RDV 1080 (probably the best video).

Looks. Plays SACD's

No DVDA, harsh sound and picture, not as well made as the 9000ES. Price.

I work full time at a Sony dealership, so trust me, I have spent MANY hours with this unit. Ever wonder why this unit is so much cheaper than the 9000ES? In an industry where components increase in price every year, why this. First let me clear the component and interconnect issues. The Audio portion is a Classe' pre and Lexicon (Bryston) 5ch amplifier. Video is A sony 51' rear projection set. All interconnects are Straightwire as is the speaker wires. Speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference. With that aside let's move on. I was deeply disapointed with the 999ES. I spent many hours calibrating this unit and found little to no return. It is inexcusable that a unit bearing this price should share components with it's cheaper brothers (755V ring a bell?) I found the picture to be very harsh and unforgiving. As was the sound. All of sony's units now sound very "digital". Why? not sure. Compared to current Marantz units in this price range the 999 can't begin to compare. I'm not trying to be overly critical, heck my first DVD player was a Sony. I'm just saying that this unit is not all it claims to be. Not a high-end unit by any measurements. It would be good at possibly 500 to 600 dollars, not $1000. I feel the other reviews are of people who spent a good ammount of money an a pseudo high end unit and have convinced themselves that it is the real deal. It's just to harsh in both audio and video to be that.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel,Marantz,Toshiba

Sound quality A++++ with redbook and SACD. Awesome smooth 3d like picture.

Remote could be larger, build is not up to ES standards IMO.

Well, after owning the Pioneer Elite 47ti (to go with my Elite 49txi, and Elite big screen) I decided to give teh Sony a try as the Pioneer was not cutting it for CD or SACD playback. I am using $13,000 Avantgarde Uno speakers as my mains (use dto have tube amps) and running them with a Elite 49txi, and klipsch center and rears/sub. The Pioneer 47ai was so bright and grainy with audio, decent on DVD. The Sony 999ES blows away the Pioneer with picture quality (even though i did see teh chroma bug, but its minor) - and the CD playback is awesome. Better than my old 777ES. Amazing. redbook is awesome. SACD is even better. Maybe its my cables (Acoustic Zen Silver ref IC's and Hologram II speaker cable) - Bit there is so much air. I can now say that this combo sounds better than my old Wavelength Cardinal Amps with the Unos. Amazing.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite 47ti, Toshiba 9200

Great transport, excellent CD and SACD playback, including multi-channel SACD. Wonderful DTS and DD internal processing. Great picture! What else do you want?!

No DVD-A playback. Have to press "stop" button twice before ejecting.

I bought this unit mainly to upgrade my 1st generation Pioneer DVD/LD player (1997 model). I can tell you that the picture from the Sony blew me away right out of the box! Unfortunately, my TV does not accept progressive so my evaluation is based solely on the S-video connection. Even with that limitation, the Sony provided much richer colors and texture than the previous Pioneer, almost 3-D like in quality. I must admit that my passion lies more with audio than video so I have not been able to determine what the "Chroma bug" is. Maybe ignorance is bliss in this area and if the "problem" does not call attention to itself than there's no problem in my book! The audio portion of this player is really good! It took about 50-60 hours for the player to properly break-in, especially for the SACD but it was well woth the wait! The redbook performance is exceptional, yet not quite as good as my separate upsampler and DAC (which cost many times more $$$). I do find the Sony to be an excellent transport! Where this unit really shines is the SACD (multi-channel/2-channel) performance. I am now convinced that SACD is here to stay. Since Pink Floyd's DSOM came out I am firm in this point of view! The sound is so smooth and natural it's unbelievable! I own about 10 SACD titles now and can tell you that 8 of them are vast improvements over their redbook counterparts. The other two are on par if not slightly better than the redbook. Pink Floyd's DSOM is by far the reference standard for multi-channel SACD. This unit also has extremely good DTS and DD decoding built in (better than my previous Pre/Proc)!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DVD/LD player

Build Quality, sound, video output.

Ugliest remote I've ever seen! Instruction manual is a bit hard to navigate and understand.

What a great unit! I am a little biased though, as this is the first time that I've had a progressive scan unit for my 65" Mitsubishi Diamond HDTV. I am also giving a review on the Audioquest YIQ-4 component video cable here as well, since I've only viewed DVDs on the Sony with those cables. I first watched a few older films (Alien and Donnie Brasco), and I could tell through all the graininess of the original transfers, that there were still much more vibrant colors and excellent blacks. But, it really didn't look a hell of a lot better than my previous unit with an S-Video connection. Then I put on Shrek. Holy s@#t, was it incredible! I have watched this DVD countless times (I have two little girls that love it, besides me!), and I never noticed that Shrek has a pair of plaid tights on! I just thought it was shadowing before, I guess. They just never drew my attention there. But now they do! The scenes with water are simply breathtaking - SO realistic. Colors throughout are vivid, and rich, but never unrealistic. Wood grain on the shacks, etc, are very detailed and 3D-like. There was never any jitter or weird pauses or anything like it. It is solid. I can see now why this DVD is reference quality for video. I am not sure how much difference the $750 AQ component cable makes, but this combination is far beyond what I expected! I also read a lot on the net about this "Chroma Bug" that plagues almost all DVD Players, but I saw absolutely no evidence of it, even on the Superbit version of The Fifth Element - a known offender. As far as CD playback is concerned, it does a great job. CD playback is tough to evaluate, but it sounded as good or better than any other player that I've owned. Another first for me is SACD. I've never heard any other player, so I won't evaluate the SACD section. I will say that I am going SACD shopping though! Build quality for the Sony seems top notch to me. I did not inspect it's predecessor, the S9000ES, so I can't say it's better or worse. But who cares, it's all about performance, and this unit is rock solid. Here is what the Sony is connected to: F/R Mains: Legacy Audio Classic Center: Legacy Audio Silverscreen L/R Sides: Infinity Speaker Cable: Kimber Kable 8TC Processor: Lexicon DC-1 v4 Software (DTS) Power Amp: Acurus A125X5 TV: Mitsubishi WS-65909 Digital Coax: Kimber Illuminations D-60 Interconnects: AQ Coral Component Video: AQ YIQ-4

Sonics,picture,features,style & build

No DVD-Audio Not for the Circuit City Dorm room crowd.. Price....?

This new DVD/SACD machine from Sony is excellent.I own the x777es & this does it one better in audio performance.. Video replay is also superb... The build quality is not quite on par with the former 9000es but out weighs it with other strenghts mostly Multi-channel SACD replay & red book also The forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon Multi-channel SACD should be a stunner on this machine...Great Picture controls & far more compatability(DVD-R/RW) than previous models. Simply put only DVD-Audio's absence(not in the Sony camp) makes this near universal spinner a winner........ The Only upcoming(No DVD) threat is the Krell SACD standard but at a Whopping $4000.00 ! I'll review it here or Audio Asylum April/May '03.... I hope under the Krell's hood some parts are labeled 24kt to conicide with it's retail.......

Similar Products Used:

Sony x777es,Pioneer Eilte DV-47a,DV-45a, Marantz DV-8300 SA-8260,SA-14,SA-1,Denon DVD-3800......... & more

Great SACD & cd playback

Not the best video I've seen.No faroudja chip

I bought this unit on an impulse.I already have the ns900v which is a nice unit itself.After buning it in for 62 hours before listening I noticed that sax stuff was alot easier to listen to.With my old one it got kind of bright especially with the first generation single layer SACD's that Sony put out.Boy are they crap!!Give me Telarc,DMP or Chesky anyday.Everything was alot smoother,more analog sounding.Once again the guys at Team steered me right again.It wasn't a major difference for most stuf but the stuff that was different was much different.I did notice a little line wobbling in some videos.It was better than my 900 though.I delegated my 900 to my bedroom & have SACD all over the house now plus a dvd player too.Just my luck the price will go down like when I bought my 900.Chet Baker's SACD on analogue productions is my new fav.All tube mix(way kewl)The sax on there you can actually hear the metal vibrate.Another thing is I used to have a hard time listening to some classical recordings especially orchestral.It sounds great on this player.I have my coax cable run thru a music fidelity DAC upsampler the unit works great with my 999.Very dynamic!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony ns900v

Picture control adjustments, Gamma control, Black level control

The remote is thin and long, I miss the 9000 remote :(

I bought this unit to replace a Sony DVP-S9000es. This unit is in my opinion has much better video output, the haziness of previous players goes bye bye. You can adjust the color, contrast, brightness, gamma, black level control (finally)! You can dial the picture in exactly the way you want it. The new black level control brings the black level down, you can see a big difference over previous Sony players. Finally a player that looks as good as it plays.

Similar Products Used:

DVP-S7000, DVP-S9000ES, DVP-NS715P, Denon DVD900