Sony UBP-X1000ES: The Audiophile’s Universal Media Player

One of the best 4K blu ray players and hi-res audio players available

The Sony UBP-X1000ES is the step-up from the Sony UBP-X800 4K blu ray player; the main difference being the built-in 32bit DAC with analogue outputs and a display on the front of the player. Having owned both players, both produce outstanding picture quality, the main reason I upgraded from the X800 to the X1000ES was for the DAC so it could be used with my stereo amplifier for better music quality.

Build Quality 8/10

The build quality of the UBP-X1000ES is almost identical to the UBP-X800, both are very well made and heavy. There are very few high-end 4K blu ray players available on the market, the only two that spring to mind are the Panasonic DP-UB9000 and the Pioneer UDP-LX500, both of which are built better than the Sony, however they are also more expensive. Sony uses a beam frame design which reduces vibration and improves rigidity, this can be seen when you open the disc tray which is smooth, quick and quiet. When the player is being used it is almost silent, compared to other blu ray players such as the PS4 Pro, you can barely hear the disc spinning. The front of the player is very minimal with a power button, eject button, USB port and display.

The rear has the AC adapter, Ethernet 100 port, two HDMI outputs (one for video/audio and one for audio-only if you are using a legacy AV receiver or want to separate the video and audio signals), coaxial digital output, optical digital output, RC-232C port, IR remote port and analogue audio outputs.

Possible improvements: Full metal build like the Panasonic and Pioneer players

Features 7/10

The UBP-X1000ES supports pretty much any audio format, including DSD, FLAC, MP3, LPCM, ALAC, WAV and AAC. The player also allows you to output audio over Bluetooth to a wireless speaker or headphones using LDAC for superior Bluetooth quality. Video formats supported include AVCHD, MP4 and HEVC. Videos, music and photos can be played through the USB port or over the network from a media server (a post will be coming soon on how to set up a home media server). The player can play UHD blu rays, blu rays (including 3D blu rays), DVD audio, DVD video, Super Audio CD and CDs. The onboard streaming apps include Netflix, Amazon Prime and in the UK, BBC iPlayer however streaming services will vary depending on your region.

Possible improvements: Bluetooth receiver function, more streaming apps for Tidal and Amazon HD music, faster at going through long lists in menus.

Video Quality 10/10

The video quality on the Sony player is simply outstanding; images are spectacularly clear and colours look vibrant without being overly saturated. The player supports HDR10 and HLG for HDR, unfortunately it does not support Dolby Vision, however the newer UBP-X1100ES and UBP-X800M2 do both support Dolby Vision. Depending on your TV this may not matter very much; I have a Sony ZF9 and due to the X1 Ultimate processor and the high peak brightness of the TV, I don’t think Dolby Vision is necessary as the ZF9 does not need to tone map (more of this will come in the ZF9 review).

With UHD blu rays, I cannot fault the picture quality of the player as everything is extremely sharp and accurate with almost no noise. I found the UBP-X1000ES to produce a slightly cleaner image than the UBP-X800 when watching Mortal Engines on 4K blu ray, however both players are excellent.

When watching 1080p blu rays the player does an excellent job of upscaling, so good in fact that many titles looked like they were actually in 4K without HDR. However, I found that when using a Sony TV with an X1 ultimate processor such as the ZF9, the upscaling is better on the TV as it produces a clearer image. (I will go through the settings on my player in another article.)

The Sony player has an excellent feature which matches the framerate of the source content when playing files such as blu ray rips, this means that files will be played at 24p which eliminates juddering in the video and the same goes for streaming apps. When it comes to streaming the player does a great job, both Amazon Prime and Netflix apps support 4K HDR. Pretty much all video files work just fine on the player via USB and a home media server, however MKV files with Dolby True HD audio are not compatible with the player, M2TS files will however work.

Audio 10/10

The audio quality on this player is just as good as the video quality making it an excellent choice for audiophiles who want the best of both in one player. Starting with audio quality over HDMI, when I first got the UBP-X800 I was more blown away with how much better the audio quality was than the video when compared to the PS4 Pro for blu rays. Both the X1000ES and X800 have two HDMI outputs which is a feature most high-end blu ray players have. The audio on both players over HDMI is incredibly detailed and powerful, nothing is lacking in the way of audio when watching blu rays. The player can send both DTS X and Dolby Atmos to your AV receiver, however some settings that may need changing which I will go through in another article.

Where this player really shines compared the X800 is when listening to music using the built-in DAC. Sony has not released the specifications of the DAC; however, it is a 32bit DAC. The player will send audio via HDMI to your AV receiver as well as to the analogue outputs. In my set up I have the HDMI going to a Sony STR-DH790 AV receiver and the analogue outputs going to a Technics stereo amplifier. I find most AV receivers don’t have quite the same impact when playing music compared to a dedicated stereo amplifier. The X1000ES will play pretty much any music format you throw at it. For low quality sources, the player has DSEE HX which upscales the quality to nearly high res audio and it makes a huge difference to the sound quality. DSD files are the highest quality audio files for consumers and the UBP-X1000ES does an excellent job of playing them. The digital to analogue conversion will please most audiophiles, the presentation is clean and the bass has a lot of impact. The player has Spotify built-in, however other music streaming services will need to be played via a UPnP controller (an article in how to do this will be uploaded soon). Anything you play on this player will sound excellent which is why I use it as a blu ray player and high res audio player.

Conclusion 9/10

Overall, this player is perfect for me as it does exactly what I need it to. The UBP-X800 might be better suited to those who do not need analogue audio outputs as it is significantly cheaper. The Panasonic player also has features such as HDR optimiser which might be of use to people with TVs with lower peak brightness that require the blu ray player to tone map. This player is for someone looking for an excellent universal media player. Those who want Dolby Vision should consider the Sony UBP-X800M2, UBP-X1100ES or the Panasonic or Pioneer players. For those who don’t quite need such high-end features or without dedicated AV systems, the UBP-X700 is also a great option as the video quality is not too far off, however sound quality will not be as good.

The Amazon.co.uk links in this post for the UBP-X1000ES are linked to its successor the UBP-1100ES as they are very similar and the 1000ES is no longer available. If you have any questions please contact us on Instagram or sent an email.