While I was doing the annual mad mind scramble to purchase something for my sons for Christmas, I discovered the Toshiba sd-6915, which is a multidisc, universal dvd player. I bought the last one at BB for my college student son who couldn't care less about sacd. He only wanted something which would play his burned cd's. I thought he would think it was cool. I listened to a cd on it in 2 channel mode, and it sounded pretty darn good. But, it got me to wondering. It plays just about anything you would want and does it pretty well. This question arised in my puny, little brain. Why would anyone buy a $1000 dvd player when this thing performs similarly for $120? Talk amongst yourselves. I need to refill my coffee cup.
>>Why would anyone buy a $1000 dvd player when this thing performs similarly for $120?
I think the quick answer is that the $1000 players sound even better. I'm just starting to understand the issues but it sounds as if the less expensive universal players cut some corners (related to the fact that different audio standards have different sampling rates) which results in loosing a bit of detail and sometimes adding a bit of "harshness" to the sound.
Having said all that, the Toshiba and Pioneer universals sound like real bargains. I think the Toshiba is pretty new so not much press yet but not 100% sure about that.
http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=5823&goto=nextnewest
There are really five things that determine the price of DVD players:
1) Build quality (frame, power supply, other "guts")
2) Universal capability(CD and SACD), including CD-rs, MP3, ec. playability
3) Features (more features - more cost)
4) Audio DACS (more robust = more expense)
5) The crown jewel - the audio chip. Better chips = better PQ= more expense.
Throw those into your blender, add a dash of marketing hype and a tablespoon of testosterone and you end up with your DVD player.
On number 5, Ray means video chip.
On that Toshiba player, how's the bass management, etc?
Toshibas new DVD/VCR player won the most recent secrets shootout. Which means it has, after rigorous testing, the best picture quality of any player they have reviewed. Quite interesting results.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=121
However, it is unlikely that anyone of us would notice a difference, these people test with magnifying glasses and crazy test patterns. And most people just want their DVDs to look good on their screen.
I don't know if it has bass management. It is being used as a straight 2 channel cd player and once in awhile dvd player. I listened to it once and thought it did an excellent job as a cd player.
Eh, heck, I've got an H/K, so I've got bass management on my analog ins. Just no center channel yet, so I'm just barely looking at my options as far as universals go.
I've only been disappointed by a DVD player as CD player once, and that was a Zenith running analog outputs. Had some bass problems.
Stop messing around with DVD players and get yourself a center channel. Maybe a single M3 inverted ? Having the RIGHT center channel makes an incredible difference...
I'll get there. Trust me, that's the next purchase. Well, after the new gaming rig... I haven't really been considering DVD players except in the back of my head. Sort of like the new sub and/or the Behringer Feedback Destroyer.
so, where on the list is saving for a house?
That's entirely separate-not out of my account. Don't worry, it's happening... Remember, we're DINKs... el-disposable income!
I guess the Toshiba has something called "digital bass management."