Hi everybody!
Any opinions about Pioneer 563A for DVD-Audio/SACD only?(I can get one from eBay for $45plus $33 shipping to Canada)

Thank you!
Regards,
Octavian

It's a basic model, but it's likely the cheapest way to get playback of all the media types. I never had an issue with mine.

Thank you Spiff!
I know it's a basic player, but I'm interested in DVD Audio and SACD only and I've heard that it is difficult to get the latest firmware in Canada.Also,the quality is not so good (from a lot of forums and reviews).
Did you compare its Hi-Rez sound with other players?

Best regards,

Octavian

Being able to playback 5.1 mixes in both DVD-A and SACD alone make purchasing that unit worth it. Unless you're going to lay down $500 or so, it's your best bet.

Octavian, I was considering the Samsung DVD-HD841 for not only SACD & DVD-A, but because it also up-converts video. That was until I read all the bad reviews regarding breakdowns. I think for the money, the Pioneer is the best bet.

Shawn

As a side note, those links are from TigerDirect.ca. I've purchased from them numerous times and always had excellent service.

I have been using the 563A since April of last year mostly for movies and CD's. I only have 1 SACD and no DVD-A's, so my intention of having those never happened. The bass management is seriously lacking, so if your receiver or pre-pro does not handle bass management on the direct inputs, you will probably need an I.C.B.M. from Outlaw.

Thank you Spiff,I think you're right,for 75 CDN(shipping included)it could be a reasonable start (DVD-A/SACD).

Thank you for your help Shawn!
The Samsung is not my choice (I'm looking to get a LG or NeuNeo-upconverting through component,for my Sony HDTV ready).
Regarding the cables-I am still confused...what cables from Tiger should I buy?
With no offence intended...a set of Axiom DVD-A/SACD is 167CDN, as compared to 2-3 CDN for a no name cable X 6...is the difference relevant in terms of audio?

Regards,

Octavian

Thanks,Eddy!

I hope my HK 7300 will accomplish this task.

Regards,

Octavian

I've had the player and compared it to a NAD 541 and saw no noticable difference. You can probably search and find it. I like the SACD playback and DVD-A. It is better than a redbook CD and you can hear a difference. It has a 24bit Burr-Brown chip in it I believe. It is hard to find much better at that price range. I learned my lessons about CD players......... I think the sound is great with my 60's.

I have a slightly newer DV-578 model which probably flushed a few earlier problems. I got it for only $67 CAD open box at Best Buy. At those prices you cannot possibly go wong - this is a price of _cheap_ surround analog 6 channel cable after all. I find video quality quite good, the only thing I know it fails on is darker than black test. The picture is noticably better than 5-disk Pannasonic F87 changer For a piece this cheap grievances are really minor:
+ Slow to open (1.5 or so seconds rather than immediate)
+ Position of captions not adjustable
+ Disk spinning mechanically audible at extremely low volumes or in complete silence.
+ After setting the display to be off the unit wakes up next time from standby showing crap on screen - have to cycle the display dimmer level again to turn it on or off properly.

Still for a universal SACD / DVD-A it is a steal and when you hear some of the surround music it will make you forget you only have a cheap unit. Enjoy.

M60 x 2
QS8 x 4
VP150
HSU STF2
Panasonic LT500U
Marantz 7400
Panasonic DVD-F87 (used for CD / Stereo)
Pioneer DV-578 (DVD-A / SACD)

The 563a was a product of the year in one of the british hifi magazines. I read one review that said you had to get up to the 500+ models to really see any improvement. Their are a lot of mods you can do to that player too. For sacd/dvd audio, I know of nothing better under 250.

One thing you need to be aware of with the 563 is that it needs a firmware update to be compatible with several newer DVD-A. Audioasylum has a bunch of threads on this. Do a search for "Pioneer 563".

I have one that wouldn't play "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" no matter what I did. You'll need to call Pioneer and get an authorization for the update, take it to a service center or ship it to Pioneer. Once I got the update done it worked fine.