Hi,

I haven’t posted for a few years…but I’ve lurked occasionally since then.

I was hoping to get some recommendations for a great sounding DVD player for my two-channel music/home theater system.

My current gear is:

Axiom M-60ti’s
Yamaha AX-596 integrated amp
Toshiba 26-inch HDTV (HDMI compatible)
& an older Samsung DVD player (to be replaced)

I watch maybe 2 movies a week but basically I live for music.

If I’m home then my stereo is on. My taste in music is mostly rock with some favorite bands being Gomez, Uncle Tupelo, Spoon, The Replacements, and Radiohead. I’m also a big John Lee Hooker fan. I’m starting to develop an appreciation for jazz too, and have started to get a collection of Miles Davis and John Coltrane discs going.

I guess what I’m looking for ideally is something that has SACD capability, single disc is fine, and HDCD decoding would be a bonus but not a requirement. My current DVD player is OK with regards for sound, but I just feel like I’m missing something. A few years back I had a Cambridge Audio D500SE cd player and I regret selling it.

Obviously something with great DVD picture quality is nice, but my main focus is on the music. I’ve thought about buying a dedicated CD player but I like the idea of having ‘1 box’ to do it all.

Budget wise I’d be looking at staying below $600 and would consider new or used.

Any input is appreciated.

Rusty, all cd players sound alike.
Did you not know that?


Watch this horse get beaten for the 2349th time (this year).

Are you sitting down?

http://us.marantz.com/Products/1178.asp

Hi rusty b and welcome back!!

I don't have much to say beyond "Welcome!" but I do have a 400 disc Sony DVD player with a visible ir window, that also plays SACD. It has reasonably good SQ and PQ for tunes as well as movies, but I have no experience with SACD thru it. (which is really dumb as I've had it for over a year and it's been a good unit)

You may only watch a few DVDs, but it sure can hold lots of SACDs!!

(like I believe that....it's amazing how fast a 400 unit can fill up.....my Wife loves chick flicks!)

Anyway, it's pretty cool and the price is right!!






....oh,....the ir window is an inside joke!!

I agree, if you're using the digital outs pretty much every cd player will sound the same. If you're using the RCA outs then the sound will depend on the DACs in the player, in which case one may sound better than another.

In reply to:

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f you're using the RCA outs then the sound will depend on the DACs in the player, in which case one may sound better than another

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And the horse beating begins... one dead horse for beating please...

That horse looks alive to me.

Are you saying you are trusting your eyes and not your ears again?
Shame on you Peter for using your other senses.

Hello RustyBones

If you are looking for good video and SACD sound, I'd recommend the SONY DVP-NC685V ... its CD performance is reputedly solid but unremarkable. The SONY DVP-CX985V is a 400 disc unit with excellent performance, a great price and a good way to get all your DVD movies and CDs off the floor and into a single unit.

I've gone through many SACD units and the idea that they all sound the same is simply absurd. The best I've ever heard is my (now dead) Philips SACD1000. I've tried some cheap units and they were very disappointing (sound quality) most notably the Pioneer DV 578A which I would stay away from.

Hey 2x6!...the 985V is the one I've got!.....thanx Dude!!

Uh oh! Maybe there's something wrong with mine ... I pulled it out of my system and went with a Sony DVP S7000, a nice $2000 player I picked up for $100. It doesn't have SACD, but most of my music listening is CD and the redbook performance of this old Sony is terrific. Picture looks darn good as well. I hope I didn't recommend the Pioneer, I read some good reviews on it before I picked mine up. Those darn reviewers!

In reply to:

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That horse looks alive to me.

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And it doesn't exactly look like it's waiting to be beaten.

Oh, but it will be. It will be.

/Yoda

Something wrong with the Sony? Da-da-da-de-da-dum-dum no, I'm not listening! Dum de de Dum Dum no, Mine still works fine. De-de-dum-dum-da I can't hear you!! I can't hear you!!

Ignorance is bliss. I use a budget Sony DVP-N325 as well as a DVP-S360 and both sound fine to me. It's amazing the S360 still works, as I bought it years and years ago and everyone else complains about read errors yet mine keeps on chugging along.

Eventually I plan to rip my entire CD collection to Flac and stream it through a Squeezebox, but until then I'm happy as can be with my budget player.

I have have a universal Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi. It scored quite well on the Secret's shootout (using HDMI) and it sounds great with both DVD-A and SACD. There are not many around as it has been replaced by a newer model DV-79AVi, but I found mine at Magnolia for $499.00 with the 2 year warranty.

I just picked up the new Sony DVPNS3100ES All-in-one player. Very disappointed considering its price point. I did a A-B test vs a Rega Planet 2000 CD player vs. CIAudio DAC and both the Rega and CIAudio sounded more open. Had 5 people do a blind test using a passive pre-amp including my wife who has very good hearing and is not too particular about audio. The Sony player was flat sounding and did not present as clear and big soundstage as the other two.

If you think that the Rega Planet sounds good, you should hear it's replacement, the Apollo. I heard one recently playing through a Sim Moon i3 integrated and Spendor speakers (not sure which model). Just beautiful sounding. None of the digital harshness that I dislike. Closest thing to the sound of vinyl I've heard.

I appreciate all the responses. Didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest.

Are you kidding? This forum loves hornet nests.

No it doesn't, you idiot!

For full effect, I imagined you saying that in the voice of Ren, as directed at Stimpy.

YOU EEEEE-DIOT!

Ah, catharsis. Although I usually refrain from calling birthday boys names...