Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Question about Universal Players.

First, my setup consisting of M60 mains, HSU VTF-2 Mk2, and a NAD C320BEE integrated is mostly for music, but I do use it to watch the occasional movie just because it is a hell of a lot better than TV stereo. The sub is connected via pre-out/main-in, and I do not have any bass management yet.

My crappy DVD player is on the way out, so I am looking to get a new one. Wondering if I should go with a universal player like the Pioneer DV-578A (which fits my budget nicely), or a more traditional player around the same price range ($200 tops).

The only reason I am even considering a universal player is because I have one SACD that I received as a gift (NIN: The Downward Spiral), and I would also like to get Pink Floyd's DSOTM as well as The Who’s Tommy. Seeing as these are hybrid discs, and I have a basic 2 channel integrated amp, is it worth it to go universal? Will that even work for me?

Thanks for the help,
Jon.

P.S. M60's rock

YOU WILL LOVE SACD.
There are several players out there that will fit the bill.
I have a Phillips 795SA and it does the job very well.
It is a discontinued model, and can be had for ULTRA cheap.
I believe I saw it online somewhere for $99.
I paid over $200 for it just 5-6 months ago.
Only thing is it doesnt play DVD-A. Most of the titles I want are SACD anyway.

I went from a Sony NS-315 (I think ) to a Pioneer 578. The only downside I saw was that the Pioneer was very "slow" to load disks, respond to control commands etc... compared to the Soney -- in all other respects it seems to be as good as or better.

I have a nagging feeling that the Pioneer picture might be a bit softer than the Sony but haven't had a chance to AB and be sure.

There's no question that the Pioneer gives you a lot of benefits (I also picked it up for SACD/DVD-A etc..) with very few drawbacks.

It is a bit over your posted price limit, but the Yamaha DVD-C750 is, in my opinion, an amazing unit.
It, and the Denon 2900, came into my system at the same time, and while the Denon has played about 10 times as many discs as the Yamaha has so far, the Yam is one beautiful player for the money.
One day soon I am going to get the Sweetheart to play along with a blind A/B comparison, and for Redbook CDs, I'm willing to bet that I might not be able to tell much of a difference between the two.
If it for lots of music, and some movies, check this player out.
I brought mine home for $249.

I myself will be buying a new player a month from now and have been looking for an 'all in one', but don't have the money for a Denon 2900.

I was thinking about the pioneer but I find Yamaha makes better products so I'll take a look at theirs.

The Denon would be, by far, my first choice though.

Seabearer,

how quiet does the Yamaha run? Is it as quiet as the Denon?

I hear the Pioneer 578 runs very loudly and you can hear the disc spinning from 8 feet away. I wouldn't be able to tolerate that.

Oh,
By The Way...
I have done a complete 180 on the SACD/DVD-A thing.
I got started on a complete system rebuild to get to the Multi-Channel playback thing in DVD-A & SACD. And while the Surround thing is lots of fun, I have found myself REALLY enjoying the extra audio saturation - head-room, fidelity, whatever you want to call it, that SACD and DVD-A brings to the table in 2 channel stereo.
Do not write off what these formats have to offer in 2 Channel, even if you think you might not be interested in the multi-channel playback.
Tom

"how quiet does the Yamaha run? Is it as quiet as the Denon?"

Silent.

I have never even thought of this issue. That is how quiet each are. I cannot hear either player, and I sit 10 feet away.
And believe me, I am such a pain in the A$$, and such a nit-picker, if either of these players produced any noise at all when playing I would have jumped all over that S**t!
The Yamaha does seem to take a bit longer to load discs than the 2900 though.
But once it gets going, even with 5 discs in and on shuffle play, it moves along just fine. Even with CDs burned on the computer.
It is a nice player.

I think you have convinced me.

I just have to find one cheap enough!

Ravi,
After I posted my last message I went down and put Kind of Blue on the Yamaha.
I LOVE having the kind of player in my system like the 2900.
It IS an amazing machine.
I could afford it, and I got it at a STUPID price.
But every time I put something on the Yamaha I find myself shaking my head at how good it was for the money.
Had I never heard the 2900, the 750 would absolutely be the best player I have ever owned.

Where did you get it for a stupid price?

The cheapest I have seen is about $450 USD at ecost.com

I got both at pretty good prices.
The Denon came out of the Crutchfield Outlet section here in Charlottesville when they were having a big sale on the Outlet stuff (although I had to return the first one as it was not reading Redbook CDs- The second one is working fine)for $349. It was originally in the outlet section for $499.
The Yamaha I got at the same time as the 2500, and the Yam dealer here in Charlottesville sold it to me for $249, (and the 2500 at $950).
So I got good deals on both.
It is nice to have Crutchfield here in town, and just as nice to have a small private shop that is interested in being competitive with Crutchfield.
Tom

OK, seems like getting something that can at least play SACDs is the way to go, haha. I guess I was just concerned that for some reason my sub wouldn't be getting any info, but that must depend on how you connect the player to the amp.

I’ll have to take a look at the Phillips and Yamaha as well.

Thanks for the replies.

You may consider the Toshiba SD-4960 or Samsung HD-841 if you need DVI. These are decent budget DVD/SACD players that you can have modified later when your buget allows for a killer sounding machine. www.tweakaudio.com can do the work on them. I am in no way affiliated with them, it was just what was recomended to me when I asked the same question. Since however I just went with a Usher CD player I plan to have modified and decided to skip the SACD banwagon for now.

I gotta put my .0002 in here.
I have a Harman Kardon DVD47 which is great.
Also, after a bit of hunting it was easy to remove the region lock on it so as to allow it to play worldwide dvd/svcd..... Check it out.

The new Oppo 970 hd looks quite promising. I have one on the way to go with an external VP. Now I just need to figure out what VP to buy....oh the decisions we need to make with this A/V habit...

See the benchmark review (at Secrets). http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/s...-970HD%20(HDMI)