Sony 9000 ES SACD output stage cold

Darrell, I believe that Stan Warren does an extensive mod for this player. Simontju was having it done to his player, but I haven't seen any posts from him on the results, or if it's back yet. I think that Great Northern Sound is or at some point will be doing them as well. Jerry Ozment bypassed the output of my 777ES and attached the Audio Logic's tubed analog stage to the unit, with a separate power supply, with outstanding results, but I don't think he's doing that anymore (wouldn't hurt to call him, though). Let's face it, the output stage of the Sonys, except perhaps the SCD-1, is built to a price point, certainly not to perfectionist audiophile standards, and a well-designed outboard DAC with its own power supply should be able to outperform it handily on Redbook CDs. But for its price and compared to similar one-box players, from the posts I've been seeing, it's not bad, and you get a DVD player and SACD as well.

I have the Sony 333ES (similar audio to the 9000). Neither Sony play is a state of the art 44.1 CD player. I would rate the 333ES as a good player. It does nothing really wrong and gets most of what is on the disc to sound like music. At an $800 street price it's a reasonable value. SACDs thru the 333ES are a whole other game. They sound superb. In fact, they sound better than any digital playback I have ever heard. I'll qualify the last statement by admitting that I only have direct experience with sub $5k digital. I only have 10 SACD discs and there is a variation in sound quality, but the best (T. Monk - Straigt, No Chaser) is fully comparable to my analog rig (RPM/Benz/Rowland). What's amazing is that this sound quality is coming from a mass produced $1,200 MSRP unit. Imagine what would be possible with a full "audiophile" design? SACD is still in its infancy, but most who have heard it think it's a beautiful baby.

My 9000ES is still with Stan Warren (phone: 541/ 344 - 3696). He is investigationg this unit, now so nothing to report. People discussed MSB Link and there is relevant info. Stan developed mods for MSB Link over an year. I had his modifien MSB, its first class DAC, one of the best I ever heard. So, stan'r opinion on 9000ES sonics that SACD is clearly the best (I suspect, that someone got lemon). next is 9000ES transport/MSB link RedBook and worst os 9000ES as a CD Player. From my experience, I agree with him.
When I will get my player mdified I will post my opinion here or on AusioAsylum - Simon

I got a similar problem with my 9000ES. I have burn in my player for 200+ hours with SACD. However, they still do not sound as good as my XRCDs. In some cases, my audiophile normal CDs sound better than the SACDs that I bought (including the SACD sampler).

The system I use are Plinius CD-LAD, Plinius SA-250, Harmonic Tech ic, MIT MH-750 shotgun speaker cables, PSB stratus speakers and Synergistic reference and AC master coupler power cords.

The only conclusion I can draw is that 9000ES is designed to be a top of the line DVD player from Sony with the option to play SACD. When come to playing SACD, it is nowhere near Sony SCD-1 or SCD-777.

Since I have not tried either of these players, I'm not sure if it is true. Any comments?

I received my 9000es from Stan Warren (541/344 - 3696) a couple months ago and posted results. In brief, Stan substantially improved detail, size of the soundstage, imaging. Better midrange and bass. Mod costs $250 plus shipping.