looking to pick up a dvd/cd player to add to my harman kardon avr 325. I am very new to audio and looking for some good advice. A mid level unit would be nice. Any recommendations????

when you say mid-level, what price range do you mean?

The Denon 2200 has been well received and recommended at least a few times on this site. It costs a little over $500.

Welcome,k. Although units are available for under $100, a very good 5-disc player(never overlook the importance of multi-disc capability)is the Panasonic F-85, available for around $130.

I would second pmbuko: the Denon 2200 is supposed to be an awesome DVD player, and will probably be my next big audio purchase. Denon and Yamaha are the main brands I think pay attention to DAC quality, which is the primary concern from a digital source.

Here are the benefits of the Denon unit over most cheap DVD players:
1. Excellent quality progressive scan output if you have an HDTV, and large memory buffer for smooth layer changes on DVDs.

2. DVD-audio and SACD output, with basic bass management at 80Hz. This is important because most receivers cannot process hi-res signals in order to send appropriate bass to the subwoofer. And even if they do allow bass management, it's usually be digitizing, processing, than converting back to analog, which hurts the signal.

3. High quality DACs. While not as good as the DACs in the 2800 model, this unit has Burr brown DACs that will blow away those in almost any DVD player you can buy in a place like Circuit City. The benefits of DACs are:
a) DVD-audio / SACD will sound awesome
b) CDs will sound quite good, especially for a combo DVD / CD player, if routed directly to the receiver via analog connection. I would predict the DACs to be better than those in your receiver, though it's up to your ears.

If DVD-audio & SACD aren't important to you, and you don't have an HDTV, then these benefits will be diminished. Also, this is a single-disc unit. If you opt for a different all-in-one solution, I would definitely recommend Denon. They sell a few DVD carousels.

-Cooper

I have the 2200 and I'm very satisfied w/ it. My plasma is on backorder so I haven't really exercised the video portion, but it's outstanding for 2 ch, DVD-A and SACD. ESPECIALLY w/ my Axioms.

First, I want to point Cooper et al to an interesting post I found about a DIY-er finding a Burr Brown DAC on the inexpensive Panasonic f85:

• Panasonic F85 - Pretty nice DACs

Second: krazy, not to beat a dead horse, but this was a key point from Cooper's post, and since you said you were new to all this, it's worth highlighting:

"If DVD-audio & SACD aren't important to you, and you don't have an HDTV, then these benefits will be diminished. Also, this is a single-disc unit."

That last part is really worth assessing, about the changer. If you really want a decent new CD player with changer that's a very fine DVD player, than the inexpensive Panasonic appears to be able to do the trick, and to my knowledge it is one of the few (if not the only) highly rated, well-reviewed 5-disc changers that gets good marks for audio and video while offering some hi-rez capability (DVD-Audio). You will miss out on SACD (read that forum post linked above) and the Denon has qualities beyond SACD and its DACs to recommend its price differential. I don't know what the bass management is on the Panasonic, but would imagine it's superior on the Denon. The Denon 2200 and 2900 get great reviews for the finer points of DVD playback. But unless you already have HDTV or feel that you know, already, what these finer points are, then this Panasonic appears to be a best-in-class model, and it really may address your overall needs better if you want a changer. Looks like it's DACs are great too. (Great DACs, man.) I anticipate upgrading to an f85 myself soon. Were I tempted to shoot the wad on the Denon (a move I applaud in others), I'd at least force myself to do some home-testing of the two models, given the significant price differences.

Meanwhile we all await a lowering in cost of universal players, which probably is not far off.

Birdman

Wow - this is a pretty awesome page where some dude made a table comparing features on leading DVD players out there right now. Have to scroll down to see it - it's very informative:

• DVD Player Feature Comparison Chart

Looks like only the Denon's have bass management for 6-channel audio, on this chart.

The Birdman of Austin makes some great points.. I would offer up the Samsung SIRT-165.. Single player, but with IEEE 1395 AND DVI ! Best part, it's selling for 250, and/or thereabouts..

Both Pioneer DV563A (about $179) and Sony DVP-NC685V (about $249) have basic bass management for multi-channel high-res audio. You can set subwoofer on/off, each speaker to large/small, and each speaker volume level. You cannot (on the Sony at least) set speaker distance, aka time arrival. Also these two have fixed crossovers at fairly high frequencies, at 120Hz or higher.

The Pioneer is a multiformat player, inc'l both DVD-A and SACD. The Sony is a DVD and SACD 5-disc changer, but won't do DVD-A.

I'd say 120 Hz crossover would be a dealbreaker. Anything about 80 Hz, and I (at least think!) can localize the sub. O' course, I probably can't.

JVC XA SA 600BK CD/DVD Audio/DVD player. AV Guide recommended. $300 reportedly sounds as good as many $1000 CD Players. I like AVG reviews. Panasonic DVD players are great values - excellent picture quality.

some of you should check out the new Yamaha DVD-S1500. MSRP $399us, arrival date 3/04...

I had tried the Pioneer 563, but the 120Hz crossover for SACD and 200Hz crossover for DVD-A just never sounded right with my Axiom/SVS setup.

I switched to the Denon 2200, and what a difference. The 80Hz crossover for both SACD and DVD-A works perfectly. And, the Denon brought a whole new level of performance to SACD, DVD-A, and even CD playback. It is a great player at $500. I got it from Crutchfield scratch and dent, and the player was perfect. Must have just been a returned unit. Anyway, until some of the new universal players come out (which may or may not measure up), I would highly recommend the Denon.