anyone heard sony s9000es

I paid $1300 and I can't find anything close that sounds as good. I read a review that concluded that the CD play of the Pioneer 37 ($1000 list) was but smoother than the CD Sony, but that Pioneer could not match the Sony SACD play. The Pioneer 37 does not have SACD or DVD-Audio.

Yes, but it costs 50% less.

I bought one of these early December, along with the Sony 36XBR400 to replace the Pioneer DV-05 and Sony 36XBR250. Big mistake. The new combination's video is much grainier and can't get rid of the reddish cast on flesh tones without washing out the color. The old combo was spooky in creating a grainless, stunning picture with fabulous color. The Sony s9000es DVD player is frustrating. The faceplate controls sometimes just won't respond. On the positive, the SACD sound and CD sound are superb. CD only is about as good as my Theta gen V processor with digital feed. My advice to the Pioneer owners - stick with your Pioneer DVD player for video (the sound from analog output is mediocre at best, but that doesn't matter if you're using digital outputs to process the sound). Pioneer just can't be beat for video. I'd appreciate any advice on how to correct my picture problems with the new Sony / Sony video combo.