Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Best DVD player for PQ & CD AQ?

I posted this on AVS...but since you guys know EVERYTHING. I figured I should post it here as well...


My HT is nearly complete. Over the past 6+ months I've upgraded all my components, speakers, amps, etc. The last two remaining upgrades are a TV and DVD player.

Here's what I have now:

Rotel RSP-1066
Rotel RB-1070 (130x2 amp)
Rotel RMB-1075 (120x5 amp)
Pioneer 656A - DVD/DVD-A player
Axiom M60ti - mains
Axiom VP150 - center
Axiom QS8 - surrounds
Axiom M2i - rears
Hsu VTF-2 - subwoofer
JVC 32" TV

The obvious weak link in my setup is the Pioneer 656A - and the TV, but that's another story.

What I'd like to do is get the best possible (<$1000) DVD player that will provide me with the best DVD picture quality, but also superb CD audio playback. DVD-A and SACD would be nice, but not at the cost of PQ or regular CD playback. Am I asking too much from one unit? If not, what do you suggest?

If so, what are some of the best DVD players for PQ and CD players for AQ. How much more is it going to cost to go the separate route?

As you can tell from my gear, I'm very big on "Bang-For-Your-Buck" performance. Both Rotel and Axiom make amazing products for reasonable prices. I'm a cheap SOB...I want the best, but at FAIR prices!

Here's what I've been considering...am I off track?

Rotel RDV-1060 (DVD/DVD-A) (it would certainly be nice to keep everything Rotel)
Denon DVD-2900 (Univeral)
Yamaha DVC-6480 (DVD/DVD-A) <---- I had never heard of this player, but from what I've read it's a hell of a unit for a terrific price.

One last thought...should I just keep the 656 and wait for HD-DVD, or is that still too far off?


Thanks for the help.

CD players are pretty mature. I find the stand alone gives the best sound. SACD may sound nice but music sounds real in 2 stereo mode not in surround. And did you see the prices for SACD and DVD-A media. DVD-A are in a lot of DVD players now
cdp - Cary Audio CD 308 - highly recommended as good or better and cheaper than the Musical Fidility triVista cdp. Try your best source..audiogon

dvd - techonology will change in 2-3 yrs..maybe to HD DVD...quality in PQ is very close between highend and lowend. Get anything in the recommend list.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=5
If you were going FP the best PQ is HTPC with DVD software where your source resolution is sync-ed with your FP.

Given the rapidly increasing number of titles released already (I am obviously biased for classical music titles, though), I don't think that SACD is going to be an interim/transitory media format; it will be here to stay. The media price is another matter, but if I see an SACD title of my favorite artists/pieces with supposedly spectacular recording quality, I would certainly wish to get it sooner than later.

So, if it were me, I would definitely narrow my choice down to universal players. Personally, I am waiting to see how the prices of the upcoming FireWire/i.Link-savvy models shake down -- when an affordably priced model is out, I will seriously consider upgrading both my player and receiver.

Hey Craig given that Sushi favours SACD universal player, these players where the cheapest decent sound quality of the lot. Music quality is good. The only issue I have is in QA. Some units I have heard have come DOA but if the player runs fine for the 1st couple of weeks the player will last. Listened to one critically on Triangle speakers.

http://www.sacd.philips.com/p_compare.php
DVD963SA
Philips transports have been used on high end players.

I still think though my old Marantz 63 Special Edition sounds better.
Another cdp that has great reviews is njoe tjoeb 4000 cd player which is a modified Marantz player.

This is the difficult situation that most home theater lovers are going through at the moment.

If you want great Audio/Video, I would say the Rotel and Denon would most definitely deliver. Especially if you want High Res music, which I think is more than worth it because it is the ultimate way to really showcase your Axiom system. I have and love DVD Audio and wish I could get a SACD player, but here comes the rub...

For the ultimate in Picture quality on a HDTV, the way to go is a dvd player with DVI-HDCP or HDMI outputs. These players, instead of only outputting dvds in 480p resolution, output in either 480p, 720p, or 1080i resolution. So a player like the Samsung Hd391 ($300) would produce better picture quality than the Denon or Rotel on a screen bigger than 36".

So there are two answers here, either way they are expensive:

Answer 1: Buy a Denon 2900 ($800) for CD and High Res Music and Buy a Samsung HD391 ($300) for movie watching. ($1100)

Answer 2: Buy a Denon 5900 ($1200-$2000?) and have a dvd player that has the best picture on the market with DVI and has great sound for High Res music and even has a digital link so that high res music can be passed to a reciever digitally instead of six seperate analog cables.

Dark Horse:
Buy the Rotel and have a great looking group of products with great quality.

In reply to:

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Dark Horse:
Buy the Rotel and have a great looking group of products with great quality.

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Yeah, that's going to be very high on the ownership pride/satisfaction scale, which I always respect as an important factor.

Craig, why don't you wait till Rotel comes up with a universal player?

I'm considering "settling" for the Denon 2900. That will give me what most people consider a really good unit for all things audio. Then when HD-DVD finally arrives, I'll see what Rotel puts out for a DVD only player. Do you know anything about the Denon 2200? Where did they skimp to bring the price down to $629?


fyi...if you look hard enough and are willing to be on a wait list, Denon 2900's can be bought as B-Stock from authorized dealers, with full warrantees for under $700.

If you know you are going to upgrade fairly soon, I would just settle on the cheap Pioneer 563a.

That's what I have done, I just want to get about a year out of it. Then when I go hi-def, I will look for a universal that supports the newer connections to my big screen.

Then again, if your Rotel preamp does not do bass management on the 5.1 analog inputs, you are going to want a uni with good bass management.


-curtis

I would not worry too much about HDDVD. It will not come out for a very long time. At least 2 more years.
So I think the best bet is to get the 2900 now, and when you get a new TV, you will want to get a player with DVi or HDMI for video. But those run cheap because you will be using it completely for movies. Since the connection will be all digital, the build quality of the player is not as important.
There does not seem to be any difference between the 2200 and 2900. But I think, like you said, it is probably worth the extra money if you can get it from PCMall or CLubMAc for $549. Considering I can only find the 2200 for $495 at the cheapest, I think the 2900 is the best bet.

I'm still kicking this idea around in my head.

I think it's making more and more sense to have a separate CD(SACD/DVD-A) player that will give me the best audio quality. That is something that I'll be able to keep for a long, long time. In the meanwhile I'll just keep using my little Pioneer 656A for DVD playback. Once HD-DVD hits, I'll grab a nice DVD only player.

The question is what cd/sacd player to get? Is SACD really that much better than CD? There are more and more SACD titles being released that I like. (DVD-A seems to be dying a slow ugly death.) If SACD isn't all that much better than standard CD, wouldn't I be better off getting a really nice CD only player? Oye...too many technologies.