Sony DVP-S9000ES vs Tosh SD-9200... (1 Viewer)

[Mike_Reznik]

I'm looking to upgrate my Pro-Scan DVD player and am trying to decide between the Sony DVP-S9000ES and the Toshiba SD-9200.
Both are very highly regarded Progressive Scan DVD Players. The Sony plays SACD but is also about $400 more expensive.
Does anyone have any opinion on which player would be better?
Thanks!
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[Michael Lee]

In the realm of progressive scan DVD players, these two players are veritable dinosaurs. Please do not eliminate the possibility of looking into the newer players. Panasonic has two solid players (RP-91 and RP-56) out that use different chipsets, but both good performers. Philips has a Q50 player that I saw at CEDIA that was also impressive. I have heard many good things about Skyworth and Malata players also. If scaling is a desired feature, then the Malata and the Panasonic RP-91 are the two to look at.
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[Mike_Reznik]

Michael,
I looked at your Equipment List and notice that you have an SD-9200. It appears that it is no longer in your home theater. Is there any particular reason that you no longer like it and/or use it? Did you have any problems with it? Why do you like the Panasonic better?
I'm definately open to new players... I've just heard a lot of great things about those two players. And the prices are starting to come down as well.
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[Michael Lee]

Mike-
The 9200 was the first progressive scan DVD player I owned, and I had a couple of Toshs that I was extremely happy with prior. I was happy with its performance in video and DVD-Audio...until other prog. scan players came out. The older Genesis chipset(in the 9200) combed more frequently and I became very sensitive to it. The newer players comb much less and are less quirky. The 9200 is a tank and is very elegant-looking. The nested-menus I need to navigate through for DVD-Audio on the 9200 was a pain also...now popping in a DVD-Audio disc is an effortless task.
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[Kwang Suh]

Mike, go here:
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[Mike Knapp]

quote: , these two players are veritable dinosaurs. [/quote]
In reference to the Sony, if you are meaning that dinosaurs are a large, powerful animal that swallows less significant animals for lunch, then that would be a proper analogy!
The Sony exhibits the chroma bug (which seems to be a bug up more peoples asses than it is a legitimate problem) so slightly that people who are well aware of this problem can barely see it on my Mitsubishi 65" set. Those that know nothing of it never do see it...often even when it is pointed out ti them and even then it is only visible on 3-4 movies out of my 700 disc collection. To resist this player for that reason is a poor decision in my opinion.
I will also tell you that the Sony blows any other DVD transport I have heard out of the water when it comes to audio reproduction, and that is without taking SACD into account...it is that good. In fact, I would repurchase the unit at it's given price point, even if it didnt play movies OR SACD's.
I have seen the Panasonic player (RP91) and it is nice. The scaling feature is a wonderful thing if you have a lot of letterboxed (not anamorphic) discs....I have about 5 of them and I dont think many (if any) are being made anymore.
The Sony is built like a tank and has some video features that enable you to save settings for individual discs that the player will recall autmatically. It outputs 24/96 bitstream from it's digital ports (for the 12 24/96 discs I own ) and has a really slick blue light on the face.
I love mine.....dinosaur or not but if movies are your only concern you could do as well for less money.
Mike
[Edited last by Mike Knapp on October 01, 2001 at 05:37 AM]

 

[Kwang Suh]

The Sony probably doesn't have the chroma bug nearly as bad as say, the Toshiba players. On my SD-5109 the chroma bug is so bad that it looks like color bleeding on an old 70s set.

 

[Rob Roth]

I concur with Mike. I have been absolutely pleased with my 9000ES from day one. I believe it is a great all in one unit- though each of its individual capabilities ( Redbook, SACD, DVD) are also rated highly. In fact, I'm doing much more 2 channel critical listening via the 9000's outputs through analog bypass on my receiver. The quality of the music is much much better than using a digital signal going through receiver processing. The use of a quality player and analog bypass enables one to have a good 2 channel system at the heart of a versatile surround system.
Of course the 9000 does not do 6 channel SACD. At this point I am unconvinced about that format's future. The great virtue of SCAD is its ability to rseolve nuance and subtlety; these attributes can be lost in a multichannel setup unless speakers are very carefully positioned. Doing so may well entail sacrificing optimal positioning for film material. In addition, it is very unclear that the recording technologies and engineering have caught up to the promise of multichannel SACD. There are a handful of discs which are generally thought to be well engineered. Lastly, there is the considerable expense of 6 quality interconnects required for multi-SACD. These are, I believe, in addition to the 2 interconnects required for 2 channel.
The 9000 allows me to enjoy SACD today while waiting for the format to mature.

 

[Michael Lee]

Audio-wise, there is no doubt that the 9000ES is a great player. I would never deny that. My concerns are of a video nature. This player uses the older Genesis chipset, and there is no getting around the problems that this chipset has. It combs and it does it frequently...there are times where it falters and it is obvious to me. It is just a matter of the newer players employ newer technology and, hence, improves the performance.
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[Trevor Schell]

I have the Toshiba SD-9200 and am very happy with it. It is an excellent DVD player as well as a solid CD transport.
Built like a tank and easy on the eyes.
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Trevor..

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[Mike_Reznik]

OK, so it sounds like the sony and the tosh are using out-dated chipsets... so what are some good new pro-scan DVD players asside from the Panasonic? Kepping in mind that I will be using it as an audio(cd) transport as well.
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[Tim Flemke]

I had the Sony and loved it. The CD player is awesome. I did sell it and buy a Theater vision P from EAD. The video performance is second to none. The audio is excellent. If you look at audiogon.com there may be one for sale. Going price is around $1700.00. When I first hooked up the TVP the picture had a 3D effect. Just love that EAD stuff.
Tim

 

[Justin Doring]

"In the realm of progressive scan DVD players, these two players are veritable dinosaurs."
Um...okay. I own a DVP-9000ES, and I absolutely love it. The chroma bug is blown WAY out of proportion by a handful of fanatics. I've only seen it on two DVDs and if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't even see it. It may not have the absolute best picture on the market, but it's definately in the top 5, and when you consider what this player brings to the table for a $1200 street price, it's THE DVD player in my eyes.
First, I think the 9000ES has the best build qualty of virtually any DVD player out there. The Toshiba 9200 is much more cheaply built in comparison, and the new Panasonic is laugable as far as build quality is concerned. As a CD player, the 9000ES is fiercely competitive with $1500 and under CD only players, and SACD is sublime. No, it's not going to replace my SCD-1 for music listening, but it sounds good enough for all but the very best systems. The 9000ES is the last DVD player I'm going to buy for a very long time. Also, for what it's worth, Widescreen review uses the 9000ES as their reference DVD player in their state of the art theater. Dinosaur? I think not.
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[Kwang Suh]

The chroma bug is blown WAY out of proportion by a handful of fanatics.

Not. Some players have it REAL bad. And after owning an player that has it REAL bad, you never EVER want to see it again. I finally got to see how Jean Grey's dress actually looked like for the first time yesterday on my RP-56.

 

[Mike Knapp]

The chroma bug on the 9000ES is damn near non-existant.
A good metaphor would be a fly on an elephants ass.
I have seen the RP91 (it is a great unit) and many others....I would still buy the Sony again. No other player offers what it does in all-around performance. To dismiss is because it has a miniscule flaw which is only noticable by trained eyes on 3-4 discs when it does everything else flawlessly and miles beyond the competition seems a shame to me.
Mike

 

[Mike_Reznik]

I appreciate all of the replies so far, Thanks!
I know that some people feel pretty strongly about their equiptment, ie sony 9000ES & panasonic RP-56... and I appreciate all the feedback.
But beside these players, is there anything else really good out there? I read the link that Kwang Suh posted and that was a really good review but I was left a little unclear as to what dvd players they were recommending. It sounded like the denon was pretty high on their list... anyone have that player?
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[KeithH]

So, Mike Knapp, what are you trying to say? Do you like the 'S9000ES or not?

Seriously, I appreciate your views on the 'S9000ES and the chorma bug, as they serve to balance this discussion. I don't proclaim to be a progressive scan expert, but I have been very impressed with the 'S9000ES from what I have seen in stores. That's not the same as living with it, but it is a great machine and deserves serious consideration from those in the market for a progressive-scan player. If I were looking for one now, I'd have the 'S9000ES at the top of my list.
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