does anyone know of one? I don't care if it doesn't play dvd video, just the audio. It would save on cables and having to buy seperate players !

You're looking for what is often called a "universal player". There are quite a few of them around these days. The Denon 2900 is one example (at the more expensive end of the scale) but I believe a few people on this board have the 2900 and are really happy with it.

I think you can get universal players as low as a couple of hundred $$ but don't remember any specifics right now.

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/DenonDVD-2900-reviewp1.html

[edit] Ahh, here we go. Pioneer 563A and Denon 2200 are more affordable and seem to be well regarded. I have no personal experience with any of these units other than wondering if I should go out and buy one

hi brigman

i had seen the denon - VERY pricey.

the pioneer looks good but no HDCD. Oh well, not big loss, i only have 1 hdcd.

i'll keep looking

ravi- take a look at pioneer's 578a-s. i got one a little while back for ~$120 at crutchfields retail store. its not a super fancy lookin player, but it does all the formats, sounds really good, and puts out a good picture (at least on s-video, i got an old p.o.s. tv that doesnt have component!)

looks like a good intro player, i may pick one up next month.

i wish there was a cheap one with HDCD as well, then it would be complete

I have the Pioneer 563A and it did do a fine job with everything I have thrown at it, until now. Apparently, there are a few DVD Audio discs it will not play, and I received one of these discs as a Christmas present. If you have this player you might want to check online for a list of these before you go out and buy any DVD audio discs. I know it will not play Neil Young's Greendale.

Is that one of those silly dualdiscs? If so, not much WILL play them, from what I've read (since they're too thick.)

The 578 is being discontinued at Best Buy. I got one for $95, so jump on it if your local store still has any.

Ravi - Any chance you'll be playing around w/ a HTPC in proximity to this setup? If so, you can handle the HDCD requirement via the PC. WMP9 & 10 support HDCD playback via the analog outputs to your receiver. Just a thought to ease your concerns about HDCD capability....

I don't know if it is a dual disc. It is a DVD video/Dvd audio disc if that is what dual disc means. I tried it on a cheapo Apex in my teenage son's room which is seeing duty as a cd player, and it plays the audio on that just fine. I guess it's not the end of the world.

Nah, a dual disc is a DVD-A/CD. Try it in a CD player and see if it does anything. It would also prominently say it on the package, as far as I know.

HTPC? not likely, I own a laptop I think it has a SPDIF out capability though...


Question:

If my laptop will play the HDCD can I send it through SPDIF to my receiver and it will play it in HDCD? Or just regular CD?

Ravi, as you may know, it's rather controversial whether HDCD actually has any advantage. Alan has some replies here expressing doubts(e.g. "lot of hokum")which you can search. However, whatever value it might have would require a HDCD decoder in either the player or the receiver. If neither your laptop nor receiver has such a decoder, the CD would still be a CD.

true enough

the pioneer looks good

i should pick one up on my return

I would think that it needs to be sent to the receiver via analog outs since the HDCD decoding takes place in software (WMP) prior to the soundcard. The digital (SPDIF) is for carrying undecoded pass-through signals.

Someone correct me if I'm off on this....

Nah, it's not that. Tried that. I have found online discussions that name this disc as unplayable in the 563a.

HDCD has to be decoded in the first conversion from digital to analog, once it is analog the extra information is lost. So either your CD/DVD player can decode it and you listen via the analog output from it, or you pass it via digital (TOSLink or Coax) to a receiver that has an HDCD decoder in it.

I think a well mastered HDCD disk sounds a little better, and I know a lot of people making DVD-A and SACD discs use HDCD in the process.

Hi,

Some of the current H/K A/V receivers have built-in HDCD decoders. In my tests of HDCD, there is an increase in dynamic range over non-HDCD playback. I would argue that HDCD in some ways is less accurate, because it depends on a certain degree of dynamic range expansion with correct decoding. My point is that the dynamic range of conventional CDs already permits accurate reproduction of real-life dynamic range. Indeed, it's often too great for home playback as the usual assortment of household noises (refrigerator hum, furnace fans, AC fans, etc.) will obsure the quitetest portions of music. If you turn it up to compensate, then the loudest portions are too loud. Anyone who listens to CDs of jazz or classical in a good car system is very familiar with this phenomenon. The quiet portions become buried in road noise.

However, if you have a really quiet listening room in the middle of the woods, you will hear a difference with an HDCD recording properly decoded.

Regards,

>>However, if you have a really quiet listening room in the middle of the woods, you will hear a difference with an HDCD recording properly decoded.

Like this ? Dang, guess I'm going to have to upgrade again

Upgrade to a complete house..........................................or new handwarmers. One of the two.

I thought about that... but then I need to worry about reflections, resonances, all that bad stuff. I figure if I just build a big fire I should be OK.

LOL! Good point!

I've seen what happens to electronics that are not intended for outside when used in an essentially outside environment. No thanks!

I think it will depend on the acoustical quality of the snow and how long it takes for the snow to break in.

Speakers should be no problem -- aluminum and titanium both resist the elements pretty well, and I figure the vinyl covering is there for a reason.

Good point about the electronics though.

The particular device I'm thinking of recently won my coveted "Filthiest, Most Disgusting Piece of Equipment I've Ever Had to Work On" title. It was a network switch racked in the basement of a school, almost directly underneath an air opening (I hesitate to call it a vent, lest you think there might be a grill or louvres on it) that opened onto what I think was the parking lot. There were also some windows with screens/louvres, but no glass. The air inlets on the side of the switch were black. The air vents on the back were black. The blades were filthy. Inside, I discovered at least 2 dead bugs, as well as several layers of dust. Mmm. Yummy. Needless to say, we had to replace the whole thing, save one blade.


EDIT:
Oh yeah, since the switch was a recent model, I would estimate that it has not been down there for more than a year. 2 years, tops.

Previous winners of this award have exclusively been computers owned/operated by smokers in a non-smoke free environment.

Alan, good point on nuances being lost.

I find I hear certain things on headphones that are very soft that I wouldn't hear through speakers. I assume this is the same effect you mentioned: less noise outside = more detail in sound.

On the high end of the scale, Sony invited Linn to partner on a universal player, and gave Linn access to their proprietary technology. The Linn Unidsk was the result, and Sony realized that even their vaunted engineering force could not create such an astounding machine.....

Keep in mind that this amazing piece - one of the most amazing sources I have ever heard - alas costs upwards of $15k!. I was at a local shop a friend owns, and he asked me to listen to this " new basic player from a little company", without revealing anything about it, or allowing me to see the piece. I was floored at the sound.

I will admit the rest of the system was up to the same level of performance....and cost!!!

considering my economic state of affairs, the pioneer seems like an ideal choice

but thanks for the tip!

I hear you...but aspire to have the beast someday!!!

Whether that will ever happen depends on the lottery numbers falling my way!!!

I just bought a Denon DVD-2200 from www.clubmac.com . It only cost me $206. And considering that clubmac is an authorized Denon dealer. That seems like a pretty good deal to me.