Video Asylum

Posted by vulcanman (A) on July 19, 2002 at 11:47:57

In Reply to: Re: Sony TAE9000ES still in production posted by Daleda on July 02, 2002 at 07:22:21:

If you are very passionate about your 9000ES ... you might want to skip this post.

I used to own this preamp and was a frequent visitor to the ezboard site.

That was six months ago ... I have since sold the unit.

So what do I have now ? Here is how it all started ...

By sheer accident I reviewed a 2 Channel Steve McCormack passive preamp ... never realized how musical the rest of my system was. I promptly sold the Sony. Needless to say I realized that the 2 channel setup was not going to replace the DD / DTS stuff that the Sony had. It took me another two days to get a Denon 2802 (yes! it has preamp outputs for all channels). I have it set up where the Front out from the Denon go into one of the inputs in the McCormack. The hirez audio sources go directly in the McCormack. When listening to DVD I preset the level on the McCormack so that I can use the Denon as a master control.

On a side note, dont use the power amp section of the Denon ... get a real power amp. No receiver can rival pre/power sonics.

Ok ... so its not the most elegant setup. But if you think the Sony (yes! I had the latest firmware upgrade+remote) has good sonics ... you dont know what you are missing.

The Denon(new) + McCormack(used) cost me $100 more than the Sony.

And folks who think Dolby Prologic II is bullshit ... would'nt know 'shit' if it hit them on the face :-) It makes a HUGE difference when watching movies on cable (95% of which are not in Dolby Digital)

But ... dont take my word for it ... stack up and decent preamp against the Sony and you will be in for a surprise !!

So what is the 9000ES good for ? Hmmm ... it does look like a work of art. You can wow the 20-something folks by showing off the huge LCD remote (don't forget to dust it first :-) ).

Sadly, technology has gone way ahead of the 9000ES.