Sony TA-E9000ES & TA-N9000ES (1 Viewer)

[Brian Kleinke]

This is for all you separate lovers out there
My local HT Store has a floor model Sony TA-E9000ES pre/pro and TA-N9000ES amplifier that the sales guy said he'd give me a good deal on. My question to you guys is is it worth it? I notice the combo is 3 years old, and new stuff is coming out. It only does 5.1, but that isn't a huge deal for me, I need to buy more speakers and I want to upgrade my current setup first so it will be a while before I have the money for 7 speakers and I could always buy two monoblocks and a new pre/pro then....
How good is the upgradeability of this pre/pro? And lastly how much should I be willing to pay for these floor models? They list for 1700 and 1300.
And If I don't buy them both I'm thinking perhaps I should just get the amp if he'll give me a good discount.
Any help/ideas would be appreciated
Brian

 

[Razvan V]

I bought a TA-N9000ES demo from Good Guys in Southern California for $499. I also bought, and returned, a TA-E9000ES demo for $650, no remote or manual. I returned the TA-E preamp because it didn't have 5.1 inputs for DVD-Audio or SACD. I figured out that I should wait for the new Outlaw preamp instead of buying something dated. But I kept the amp which is quite nice for the price. I'm going to use the TA-N9000ES with the new Outlaw preamp, it should be a nice combo.
Razvan

 

[Shade Watson]

I think that the Pre/Pro is the more desirable of the two products. For a 5.1 processor, it may not be able to be beat for it's price. It regularly goes for $999 new on eBay.
You may also want to wait for the Outlaw 950 to come out. It will have DPLII and analog bypass that the E9000ES lacks. Not to mention all the 6.1 channel formats that you will not need at first.
The Sony has had several software updates already. I don't think it will ever be upgradable to DPLII or the 6.1 formats however.
You may also want to check out the Harman Kardon Signature 2.0. Refurbished units are available from www.jandr.com for $399. This is a 5.1 DD and DTS Pre/Pro. I just received mine yesterday. I've been setting it up today. I like it so far. I would have rather bought the Sony or Outlaw, but for half the price I think the HK is a great deal.
For the price of the Sony amp, I think you could do better. Especially if you don't mind buying used equipment.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Does anybody know about the supposed heat issues I read about on AudioReview and a Sony specific forum. And how about the upgradability? Is it easy?
The new outlaw pre/pro looks nice, but I don't need the 6.1 or pre-inputs for a while. I'm guessing in 2+ years something better will be out. My living room isn't exactly able to support a rear center.
Razvan, I doubt I can get them to go that low, but perhaps ;-) The TA-E9000ES has a remote, but I don't think I'd use it since I have a pronto. It looks like this reciever would be a good deal for $800 if I don't care about 6.1 or inputs. After this I'm going to upgrade my speakers but the M&Ks I have my eyes on (S-150thx) are 1750 a pair. So it will be a while
Brian

 

[ThomasW]

You might want to ask your question and do a little look around on this forum
Link Removed

 

[Razvan V]

Brian,
The Sony 9000ES preamp has a high failure rate, if you read the message board dedicated to it you'll see that many Sony preamp owners had a lot of problems with it. And, yes, it runs extremely hot, you can easily cook on it. That's another reason why I didn't keep it.
The amp on the other hand is very good and reliable. I used mine with various receivers and preamps and it worked exceptionally well.
I will buy the Outlaw preamp and use the Sony/Outlaw combo for stereo and 5-channel stuff. If you're ready to pay $800 for the Sony preamp better add $100 and get the Outlaw + the Sony amp.
The dealer cost on the amp is about $650, another dealer was ready to sell the amp to me for $599, if you can get the amp for around $600, that's a good deal.
Razvan

 

[ThomasW]

And, yes, it runs extremely hot, you can easily cook on it.

Again a bit exaggerated. My Class "A" power amps run hot, and my 9000ES pre-amp runs warm.

 

[Razvan V]

My Sony 9000ES preamp got really, really hot. I have had first hand experience with the Sony technicians at the Sony service center in Irvine Calif. as I took my 777Es receiver in 3 times and they had absolutely no clue how to fix it. Their technicians are no good, period. There's a guy on the 9000Es forum who's had his preamp at the Sony service center for months waiting for it to be fixed and as far as I know he's still waiting for his unit. Knowing this and considering that the preamp is obviously dated who would buy one? Besides, the Outlaw preamp will be available in less than 2 months at a reasonable price.
Razvan

 

[Les Holt]

To answer your question:
Someone might buy the TA-E9000ES because it can be had for a reasonable price ($500 - 600 used or demo), new for under $1,000, and in Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro-Logic it offer some of the best home theater sound around for less than $5000.
I own one and I'm generally not a fan of Sony equipment. This unit, however, offers tremendous performance for the money.
One of its benefits is the ability to be upgraded via firmware updates that can be uploaded to the unit via the user's PC. There have been several updates over the past few years that have significantly improved its performance.
Its major weakness is the inability to handle 6 channel analog pass through for DVD-Audio or SACD - however, Sony will soon be offering an outboard product that will add that capability.
Of course, it does not handle the newest surround formats (e.g. Prologic II, DTS-ES) that are just starting to come onto the market. However, there are few if any sources for those new formats at this time and it will be years before they become prominent.
I have compared this "outdated" unit to several newer pre-pro's selling for around $2,000 to $3,000, and the Sony 9000 sounded smoother, cleaner and more musical.
Les
[Edited last by Les Holt on August 19, 2001 at 04:29 PM]

 

[Brian Kleinke]

I'm leaning towards this if I can get it for about $500 since that would be a lot less the new outlaw preamp. But where do I get the 2.01 update, I'll try and have the place I'm buying it from upgrade it for me, but in case they can't / won't how would I do it my self (IE where do I DL the update?)
I'm not getting a SACD or DVD-A for some time, nor do I care about DTS ES or the like for now. After this upgrade I plan to buy new speakers all around and then in the future (2+ years) add a rear surround and likely buy a new pre/pro.
Brian

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I have also had the TA-E9000ES for a while (Nov '98!).
It doesn't run any hotter than any other component I've had.
You can put it on top of other components, but I wouldn't stack anything on top of it, in that in my experience, *that's* what causes it to heat up.
I've done all 3 software upgrades myself. I like that Sony is continuing to support software releases on it. Not many other manufacturers do.
Downsides do include no DPL II, no 5.1 analog inputs (although Sony is re-releasing the TA-P9000ES pre amp that takes care of this), and no THX EX/DTS-ES support. The latest software rev does include support for "virtual" 6.1 processing using 5.1 speakers which isn't too bad actually. You can always do a "homebrew" THX EX/DTS-ES system by simply adding an old DPL processor or receiver.
As far as the amp goes: pass. It is underpowered. That's why people like to buy more than 1 of them and "bridge" it. But bridging is dangerous in that if you have low efficiency speakers, the speakers can draw too much current and fry the output stages on the amp.
I like the pre/pro so much, that I'm toying with the idea of selling mine used, and getting a later rev model, just in case I'm missing any "under the hood" improvements!
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[Brian Kleinke]

Would it be underpowered for bookshelf speakers? I'm running Polk RT25i's right now and I really like them. It will be a while before I upgrade, but I don't think I could get a 5 channel amp for this price (~$500-700) and it has to be better then any amp in a $1000-$2000 reciever....
Brian

 

[Tony Lai]

>As far as the amp goes: pass. It is underpowered. That's why people like to buy more than 1 of them and "bridge" it.
It's not exactly underpowered. It just has a transformer that is not up to the current (pun intended) standards of other poweramps.
Compare it to similar price ranged 5 channel poweramps and it'll be comparable in performance.
It's no Bryston 9B-ST but I hope you weren't expecting that.
Still two of 'em is still of reasonable buy and there are MANY on the TA-E9000es forum who swear by it.
T.

 

[Shanthi]

I am relatively new here and I have question on the combo, I am planning to upgrade my components and looking to buy
these one of these combo's.
New Sony STR-DA5ES/TA-N9000ES.
New TA-P9000ES/TA-N900ES
http://64.35.93.160/pressrelease/874
Can anybody make some suggestion on which combo is better
is a better combo.
Thanks

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Shanthi- The TA-P9000ES is an analog 5.1 pre amp. It does not do Dolby Digital/DTS/Dolby Pro Logic processing. It only adds 5.1 channel input to an already existing DD/DTS/DPL set up. (For SACD/DVD-A compatibility.)
The DA5ES is a receiver. If you'd buy that plus the N9000ES amp, why not just get the TA-E9000ES preamp/processor with the amp instead?
Then you're not "wasting" the amplification inside the receiver.
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[Shanthi]

Does the E9000ES has tuner and all the feature like the reciver has expect for amplificaton?
I looked at the sony site and could not figure that out.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Shanthi,
The E9000ES doesn't have a tuner, you need to buy it separately new for $600 list.
Brian

 

[Kevin C Brown]

>>>
The E9000ES doesn't have a tuner, you need to buy it separately new for $600 list.

 

[Tom Boucher]

I've had the Sony TA-E9000ES/TA-N9000ES since I joined the forum (note date, 3-2-99)
I've had one problem with it. The TOSLink Input for DVD failed. It was reparied at my local Sony Service Center, with a few issues (cust sat, not repair) but came back good as new.
With DD 5.1 and dts 5.1 and Klipsch Reference series the only reason I would upgrade is because I have a case of versionitis (IE, must have latest/best/kewlest feature), not because it doesn't do what I want.
Everyone that's heard it drools, if I were to do any upgrade i'd get three Marantz Monoblock 250W for the fronts & run the rears on the N. But I have no money, and when I do I see an LCD projector & screen with 6 or so Berkline Cinema Series Chairs first before th monoblocks.
Tom
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[Razvan V]

The open box TA-E9000ES that I returned had the same problem: the optical input for DVD was kind of loose and didn't work.
Razvan