Sony 9000es DVD/CD/SACD Player as Transport?

I think the stock Sonys I have are good values and decent, but not great, transports (for the money,I think they're comparable to what you'd get in similar-priced high-end dedicated transports) but they can make excellent transports when modded.

I'd go for a used 7000 or 7700 and get it modded over a stock 9000 or 999 (actually, I did). And Tonnesen, condider keeping your 9000 and getting transport mods done (w/ Bybees). I suspect, based on my 7700 experience, that you'll pay a lot more to get equal performance.

I previously used a stock Sony 7000 as transport(approx equal to my $1700 Micromega--better bass and soundstage, slightly less pure in highs) and now using a Modwright-modded 7700 which is a significant improvement all-around. The 7000 now acts as a transport for a link DAC in another room (I think the 9000 deserves a better DAC than the Link, though).

The 7700 internel DACs are OK by today's CD standards, but my Modwright PT P3-A is much better. It's a great little DAC (modded). And the Link DAC improves upon the 7000 as a player, too. Haven't heard the 9000 in my system.

Zug - thanks for your post above, I've been trying to decide whether to replace my 9000ES, have it modified, or try it with a DAC. Sounds like the DAC with the 9000ES is probably not the way to go.

The original poster is probably long gone but I wanted to post an opinion on this too. The other day I tried my 9000ES as transport driving a Link Dac via an Audio Alchemy DTI Pro (the 9000 directly driving the Link Dac II was not a contender, the jitter reducer was needed). At first blush, I believed that the 9000ES did a great job. The sound seemed fuller, even lush, especially lower, and good detail and good soudnstage -- this when I compared to my usual Proceed PDT3 transport. All of that is true and the 9000ES is unquestionably a good transport, but what I discovered is that after 2 days of listening, I still found myself returning to the PDT3. Musically, the PDT3 gave a more incisive, defined bass and more realistic illusion of a cohesive performance -- it kept my interest level up. Again, this COULD be factors such as digital cables used, compatibility of the various components -- all this possible. But I suspect heavily that the 9000 just has some bargain-grade parts that bring its performance down, especially in that noted bass area.
PLUS, don't forget that the 9000 has only the coaxial output (well, toslink doesn't count period), AND that it has that annoying switching on-off as it auto seeks for the disc type (which plays havoc with my AA DTI Pro). No, although I agree that 9000 is more capable as a transport than as all-in-one player, in my experience you can do *much* better with a used dedicated transport in the $1000 range. It constantly amazes me but transports do make a big diff in sound quality, so don't go cheap on that part of your system.

I'm using the Sony 9000ES with Perpetual Tech P3A/P1A/Monolithic Power Supply, all with Modwright mods, and find it to be significantly better than the 9000ES alone.
The 9000ES is a very good one-box player, on its own, and has the advantage of DVD and SACD playback, but, with the Perpetual Tech stuff, it has truly superior sound at this price point, IMO. I can't, however, comment on how the 9000ES compares to others in this price range. If SACD and DVD aren't important, I would, at least, probably consider the new Musical Fidelity player.

I use mine to drive an external Accuphase DAC with excellent results. Although there are many better transports, having this double as a DVD player in my home theater is currently worth the trade-off.

Using the 9000 with the DAC is clearly superior than as a stand alone Redbook player. Less glare, less HF edge and a more musical presentation. I even use the DAC for DVD soundtrack, utilizing the 5.1 to two channel downmix option. This sends a 16/44.1 signal to the DAC, which is then re-clocked and upsampled.

When my budget allows, I will upgrade my DAC to an Accuphase DP-75V. Then I will have an outstanding Redbook transport and an upsampling DAC. My 9000 will then only be used for DVD video playback.