I currently have M60s powered by a NAD C320BEE hooked up to a 14yr old Sony CD player, 5yr old Hitachi VCR and 14yr old 20" Mitsubishi TV. I like to listen to music or watch videos while running on the treadmill sometimes or just vegitate on the couch and smile at all the detail of the M60s. Amazingly enough, the M60's even make the videos sound great in 2 channels! The Sony CDP is getting a little long in the tooth and starting to act up a bit so I would like to replace it with a combo DVD/CD player. Since I am not running a hi-tech set-up and don't plan to upgrade the TV, I am more interested in how well the CD's sound on a new machine as I am sure any DVD player will smoke the VCR picture. Not quite sure where to start...I have read a bit about Denons and HK and also considered NAD, however, I am not sure what would be the optimal bang for my buck considering my set-up. Ideally, I would like something with great CD sound that does a decent job of playing DVD's on my old TV. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Curtis

Sony DVP 755V. It also plays SACD's. Or the newer 685V. Its a five disc changer.

you might wanna look at the pioneer 563A. it can play sacd's/dvd-a's if those are ever in your future, and the picture and sound quality are very good. it is only a single disc, so that might not be what you are looking for. you can find it online for around $150-$170 bucks. i thinks its one of the better bang for buck values out there.

bigjohn

If you're going to hook up your DVD/CD player to your receiver via the digital output, then the internal DAC's (Digital - Analog Converter) on the DVD/CD will not be used. You'll get your direct PCM/Digital stream straight into the receiver as well. Assuming that you tv doesn't have component inputsd or even s-video, then you will be using the DVD's video DACs.

Therefore - don't go too pricey on the CD half of the player - unless you'd like to go SACD (which I havfe no experience with), because the digital stream from any cd player - whether it'a $50 or $1000 will sound identical - unless you use the cd player's internal DAC's, in which case the $1000 CDP will probably sound better. In re: the DVD player, since you're TV ain't that great, you won't need a super high end player. You're not going to get progressive output from it anyway.

Check out a bargain bin 5 disc DVD/CD player with some sort of digital audi output (optical or coaxial are both fine - just remember that you can hook the digital coaxial signal up with regular, well shielded analog RCA cables). The video section of the DVD player will probably just be a standard yellow RCA cable.

Don't spend a tremendous amount of money on this, though. In this case, the component will only need to be purely functional, as the work will really de done by your receiver.

If you're not thinking about upgrading any other parts of your system (TV being the most obvious part), then the solution above woudl be fine. If you are thinking abou upgrading to a new set, then consider getting a DVD player with progressive scan so that you don't have to run out and buy a new one along with your new TV. The difference in price really should be minimal.

CRT,

If all you want is a DVD/CD player for a 2-channel system, then you can not beat the HK DVD22 retail for about $200 to $250. I brought one of those for my brother and it is awesome (sound and picture). It has Wolfson DAC wich will help because you will be connecting it through the analog out to the NAD C320BEE.

CRT,

About 6 months ago, I returned a DVD player, with the intention of waiting for some new models to come out. To tide me over until they were released I picked up a refubished Onkyo DV-CP701 from eCOST.com. It's now down to $109. When I bought mine, it was $30 more. It has performed flawlessly, and I couldn't be happier with it.

When I do get the new DVD player, I will be using this one for playing multiple CDs randomly. Something I like, very much, to do.

It's turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made.

Thanks for all the responses. I can't see myself adding to my current 2 channel set-up for a long time...as I'm pretty low-tech in general and am quite happy with the way the M60s sound alone. After doing a bit of reading and starting to look around I am sure that I don't need the added expense of SACD and DVD-A. I am leaning towards a multi-disk player for convenience because sometimes I end up doing my weekly long run on my treadmill if my running partner is unavailable. One CD or DVD isn't usually long enough so I usually have to hop off and change a disk which is an pain. Also, can always have a disc or two loaded for my kids so they wouldn't have to fiddle with them. So far, I have liked the Panasonic DVD-F87S 5-disc player. It plays most disc formats except for SACD and DVD-A and is $179 CAD at the local stereo store. Sony had a similarly priced unit, think it was the 675. Any other suggestions for decent multi-disc players?

I also have the NAD C320BEE with the
m22's. If you want a "great bargain" yet high quality DVD/CD/SACD playback look for a Sony DVPNS500V. It was highly praised by audiophiles when it came out and can be found for around
$100-$125 on audiogon or ebay.I use it with my setup and think it is the best bang for the buck purchase I've ever made.