Just tried this sony dvp s7000, using it as a CD transport with a Wadia 25 D/A. First impressions:- Midrange is detailed and full with good harmonics, sound stage is wide with good dynamic range, a little weak in extreme low bass, but could complement a bass rich system well. Works better than the meridian 208 as a transport. (which was stereophile class B rated). Seems to be great value even as a stand alone transport, and that is not counting its DVD capability! Wish it had AT&T optical interface though.

When my Adcom GCD-575 (8 years old) died last month, I purchased the DVP-S7000 to replace it as a CD player as well as for obvious DVD purposes. I must admit the video looks wonderful (though I have not compared it to other 10bit DVD players like the Toshibas). The sound however disappoints me somewhat. Compared to my old GCD-575, the Sony is more forward, bright, and the soundstage is narrow. I cannot seem to get the precise imaging I had become used to even with my old Adcom. I found myself moving my speakers into the room, further apart, back, toed in, etc to try to get imaging as good as with my old CD player, to no avail. The dynamic range also seems limited. All in all, the machine does not impress me as a CD player. This all goes to show that a machine that measures well in lab tests may entirely fail to impress in your family room.
Associated equipment: Audio Research LS3 preamp, Rotel 990BX amp, Von Schweikert VR3 speakers. Monster/Esoteric Audio (inexpensive) interconnects.

As the player is designed primarily for DVD video, some audio features are hard to access (i.e. programming a play back program require going through 3 levels of video menus, the remote control only controls Sony TV's (unlike their DSS remote-which can be programmed to control most TV's).

The CD needs to be placed in the tray exactly in the center. If it is off slightly, the player will not play the disk and it will need to be reloaded.

As I intended to use the machine about 30% for DVD use and 70% for playing CD's, I plan on returning it to where I purchased it from.

MANY!

NO DTS.

I have owned this player for over a year now and have had absolutley no problems. It should be noted that this was my first DVD player. I decided to buy a refrence machine right of the bat.To say the least I'm glad I picked this one. Picture and sound is flawless. I listen to most audio sources through the optical out and find the sound flawless. However if you like the warmer analog sound, switch your reciever to analog out insted. My current system consists of the following:
SONY DA777ES RECIEVER
CARVER TFM 45 MAGNETIC FIELD POWER AMP (POWERS MY SILVER 9i,s)
SONY DVP S7000 DVD PLAYER
SONY CDP CE215 5 DISC PLAYER
TOSHIBA M760 6 HEAD VCR
TOSHIBA 56inch CINEMA SERIES
ADCOM ACE 515 LINE CONDITIONER

FRONT SPEAKERS ARE MONITOR AUDIO SILVER 9i
CENTER CHANNEL IS MONITOR AUDIO SILVER 10i
SURROUND ARE MONITOR AUDIO FX BIDI POLAR SURROUNDS
REAR "B" CHANNELS ARE MONITOR AUDIO SILVER 3i (USED FOR LOW VOLUME LISTENING)
SUB WOOFER IS A BOSTON ACOUSTICS VR500
ALL CABLES ARE INTERCONNECT,S

I looked at upgrading to the 7700 for the advantage of DTS but after hearing the diffrence (none) I kept the 7000.

If you can get your hand,s on one of these, it will be money well spent.

Similar Products Used:

NONE

Exceptional picture quality. Japan-only models made with ABS plastic and metal skin has super cool remote with jog and shuttle

Component outputs actually worse than S-video. Try it and you'll see.

My TV is Sony's top of the line Japan-only (100V) 36" 16:9 High Definition digital-ready WEGA KW36HDF9, with built-in DRC (digital reality creation--essentially a line-doubler active with all video inputs).

This is the best CRT money can buy, (except for the NEC monitor but too bad it only comes in 4:3 and the largest is 29") and many use this WEGA model TV (not a monitor) as the reference playback monitor.

I use Cinemaquest (by Audioquest) S-4 S-video (1m) cable and I have yet to see a better performance from anyother set-ups.

Initially, I used the Components thinking it was God-sent, and I spent over US$1000 for the 3 high-caliber cables and discovered the following:

Problem 1: A 2" wide but very very faint grey vertical bar appears center to the right of the screen from top to bottom. Especially prominent when watching space movies like 2001. I called the shop and guess what they told me, "We know, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Problem 2: Darker picture, less sharp, color less rich.
Overall picture quality is absolutely no better than S-video.

Every hi-end home theater stores in Hong Kong discovered this character and subsequently by-passed this component thing totally. Bottom line is, the Component is a joke.

But otherwise, it is a superb machine delivering the best picture on the market.

Similar Products Used:

Many others.

Everything

None

What else can I say - I purchased this when it first came out 2 years ago, and have never had a problem. The S7K works great with my Sony 53" and DA333ES. I just remodeled my theater, installing CSW in wall speakers. The sound improved so much that I will hold off on the 9000ES until next year, and the olny reason would be dts. This unit should have been released with the gold ES from the start.