Well, I probably have only 175-200 hours on the SACD side of my 9000ES, but right out of the box it was warmer, smoother than redbook cd's thru my PT P1A/P3A (with Dan Wright mods). Have Llano Design Trinity 200 hybrid amp, and have used both my SF Line 2 SE and Proceed AVP as preamp. I wonder if you got a lemon?
Sony 9000 ES SACD output stage cold
Ok you guys, I've now got OVER 300 hours on my SACD section and the sound STILL is not as good as the digital output decoded with my MSB link dac 2! I even bought 2 more SACD's to see if they were any better than the Sony sampler, no improvement! Unless there is something wrong with my 9000ES the SACD quality is a joke!! Any Ideas? I'm using Harmonic Technology interconnects & digital cable feeding a VAC Standard ltd. ed. preamp driving a VAC PA 100/100 all tube power amp connected to Von Schweikert VR5 speakers.