I had the 999. It was an excellent player, however, I let it go because it did not play DVD-A. Not sure if this matters to you. I wound up getting an Integra player and an Oppo.
Are you sure it plays DVD-A? I don't know of any Sony player that plays it because the SACD is Sony's format and DVD-A is their competition. When I say it's a DVD-A, it's a music only disc, and not the audio portion of a DVD-Video disc.