Well my week long testing of components and speakers is finally over.
First up, the dvd players i bought. The Hitachi 725U and Panasonic CV52 from Future Shop ($290 and $350 respectively).
Info on each player can be found at the following links:
www.hitachi.com/tv/browse/dvd-vcr-play/dvd/dvp725u.shtml
Panasonic cv52
When you look at the specs for the 2 players, they both have advantages and disadvantages. THeir audio DACs look very similar (both 24bit/192khz) but the Panasonic can reproduce a slightly wider frequency range (albeit below the 20Hz and above the 22khz level).
The Hitachi seems to have a better video DAC (10bit/54mhz vs 10bit/27mhz). This is most likely due to the progressive scan capability of the Hitachi. Since my tv is not an HDTV i could not try out this option. Hence, the video quality of both players was very indistinguishable. The setup options and onscreen GUIs were both decent and very equivalent but the Hitachi has more international language options for those that require this feature.
Although the audio DACs look similar there were distinct differences in audio playback. The Panasonic seemed to reproduce the clearest sound although coupled with the Axiom speakers my fiance thought this to be somewhat bright/harsh in the upper range. The Hitachi played the music much softer but i personally felt it was actually muted or being filtered. In tuning down the treble ONE notch on the Onkyo receiver, we could reproduce the same sound as the Hitachi but while using the Panasonic. It is hard to say how these units may be tuned at the factory but the Hitachi definitely sounded like it was tweaked for softer or filtered playback.
Other than that one general difference in sound, the Hitachi had the following advantages: progressive scan, silver in colour, slightly cheaper.
Since cost is not much of a concern and since our other units are all black, then the only advantage the Hitachi has is progressive scan. I don't have a tv capable of using this feature and may not for several years yet so the Hitachi never really had any advantages at all. I was also warned away by a friend from buying low cost progressive scan dvd players. Soon enough the scan feature may get cheaper but i can't honestly believe there is a good quality p.scan unit yet for less than $300 Cdn.
The Panasonics advantages: 5 disc tray, easier buttons, more standard user functions, ''clearer' sound reproduction, slightly wider frequency response, slightly higher S/N ratio, more picture controls.
I think it is pretty clear already as to why i selected the Panasonic over the Hitachi. Although some aspects of the Hitachi playback may seem better, i personally preferred the sound reproduction from the Panasonic and could make my fiance happy with a single treble adjustment. Besides that, the Panasonic was more user friendly. The Hitachi had options, buttons that i found annoying. Even the unit itself was smaller and lighter so much so that bumping it with my elbow sent it spinning 90 degrees. I would hate to think what it would do if i pulled the entertainment unit out from the wall with any amount of shaking. My opinionis that the Panasonic was overall of higher build quality.
The 5 disc player aspect was TRULY enjoyable. Think about this, testing 2 dvd/cd players, using 2 music test discs and a third dvd test disc. Do you realize how often you have to change around banana plugs into different speakers for comparisions let alone how many times you have to switch your cds/dvds for those comparisons as well?
Damn i tell you that being able to leave all 3 discs in the Panasonic was a mental blessing after the first 2 trials. I kept on having to get out of my seat to change the Hitachi discs and i was once again getting annoyed.
So that was the end of it. The Hitachi went back.
Is it still a good player? Yes, i still believe the Hitachi is fine and perfectly suited for someone whose budget is extremely important and who may have use for a cheap progressive scan function.
Beyond that, my personal selection was for the Panasonic CV52.
