PHILIPS DVD795SA 5-Disc DVD / SACD Changer

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 31 Mar 2004, 06:07 am »

Has anyone here used the PHILIPS DVD795SA 5-Disc DVD / SACD Changer? I'm curious if it's any good. To anyone who has, I have a few questions:

1) How quickly does it skip from disc to disc as a CD player?
2) How much noise does the changer mechanism make?
3) How long does it take to recognize a CD, read the TOC & start to play?
4) Does it sound decent as a CD player?
5) Is the CD upsampling variable/defeatable?
6) Is the upsampled digital signal output thru the Coaxial Digital output?

Thanks for any input you can give. I'm looking for a new changer (in my house, I need to have one to keep the peace!

) and I've liked the ergonomics of Philips players in the past.

The sound just has to be acceptable for casual listening. If anyone has any other suggestion for a CHANGER under $300, I'd be interested in hearing it.

mjosef · « **Reply #1 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 08:02 am »

I got mine about a month ago, intended as a replacement for an older Philips Bitstream CDC915, right off I was disappointed with the response time it takes to recognize cds. They both took about 2 second or less to switch between discs, but the 795 takes about 5-6 seconds to 'read' the disc, turning off Upsampling and setting the outputs to PCM did not improve response time. The older 915 took about a second to start playing a disc.
Changer mechanism makes about the same amount of noise as the older one, I can hear it from 20' away, but its below 60db. The build looks and feels solid. You cannot change any disc while one plays, the tray comes out almost all the way, unlike the older 915. It sounds pretty good as a cd player, I have not directly compared the digital output vs the analog, but you get output from both at the same time. CDupsampling is variable(none, 48khz, 96khz? and 176khz) and defeatable. I think the upsampling works in all modes, I can hear the difference via the analog outs.
The video quality is very good too. Although layer changes provokes a weird sound and video smearing. All the RCA outputs are gold plated. But you might be turned off by the long delay with recognizing discs, its the same with cds or dvds.
I have only been casually listenning to it the past month so cannot pinpoint its sound character in any detail, plus the rest of my system are undergoing lots of changes at this time. I find I am still using my older 915 for continuous music. I did have my eye on the Denon 380 changer, but its harder to find. I paid 199. , missed the 50$ rebate period by a couple weeks.
Hope this helps...

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #2 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 08:23 am »

Wow! Very thorough. You exactly answered my questions, thanks. I in fact have a DCM-380 that I bought refurbed pretty cheap. It's starting to flake out on occasion, sometimes not recognizing a disc. I like Denon stuff, but there's a few things about the 380 that drive me nuts. It too is pretty slow to recognize a disc and start playing, a 'problem' that's becoming all too common as CD players started to think they're computers. It's a real hassle to change discs while one is playing. And the changer mechanism is very noisy, issuing lots of clunks and chunks. Every Denon changer I've ever heard does this, whether DVD or CD, at all price points.

I've considered getting an HK, Onkyo or Sony (although I'm not much of a fan of Sony stuff). It's disheartening to hear how slow the Philips is to read a disc, and it's annoying not to be able to change one while others play. Video performance wouldn't matter to me as it would be used exclusively as a CD player, with perhaps some "DVD-M" discs being spun (that's my term for the DVDs of upsampled WAV. files done with the Eximius DVD+A software). I have a Denon DVD-2200 for the video chores.

Are you happy overall with the Philips machine? It's cheap enough that it still may be an option. Otherwise I might have to go to Ultimate and look at Sony's (sigh...

).

mjosef · « **Reply #3 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 06:57 pm »

Yes, I would say I am satisfied overall with the unit, I like the sparse faceplate, not a lot of knobs/buttons. I should clarify my listenning habit though, I usually initiate random play mode among the 5-discs, so the time delay is accentuated, if you normally just just play your disc in order, then the time delay may not be so noticable. If I had to buy again? I am not sure, since I use it for video, the layer change issue might steer me away. I did see a technics cd changer real cheap, just over a hundred bucks, didn't know anything about it. CD changers are being phased out, replaced by DVD/CD changers.
The sound of the 795 certainly beats my older 915. Maybe you should just try it, you can always return it if it doesn't do it for you.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 10:29 pm »

You can't change any disc while one plays? That'd be annoying, but I guess maybe I could live with it. Just to be clear, if the upsampling is turned on, will the machine output it's 24/96 signal thru the digital outputs?

My Denon has an 8 MB memory buffer, so layer changes are completely seemless. The Philips would strictly be my "party & house cleaning" changer.

mjosef · « **Reply #5 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 11:40 pm »

Correction of earlier posting: CDupsampling settings are, off...88.2Khz, 24-bit...176.4khz, 24-bit...A friend of mine has one of those Panasonic XR45digital receivers which verified that the 795 was outputting a 176.4khz signal via its digital output. At least the LED window on the receiver said 176.4Khz when the 795 was hooked up to it.
Hitting the open button stops play and the drawer opens revealing all the discs.
If you wish I can send you the manual in pdf file.

WerTicus · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Apr 2004, 11:13 am »

its a wonder you have not yet commited suicide over the extra 3-5 seconds it takes to play!

Its probably nessasary given it has to decide if its sa, dvd, cd, hd, video (or whatever) before it can try to play it. And with blue ray coming and no doubt universal players for blue and red rays it will probably take even longer then!

mjosef · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Apr 2004, 11:17 pm »

I did try to 'help' it decide by selecting PCM output, but that didn't make any difference...I think it might be the way Philips implemented the technology, because I just had to get one of those Toshiba3950 players thats touted over at AA, and this player immediately plays cd after about a second or so. Sounds good too, real cheap @ $50, after a rebate. Granted it does not do SACD or DVDA...but the Philips delay is way too long...say no to suicide, and yes to drugs...lol.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 May 2004, 02:47 am »

It looks like this model is being replaced with a new line, so the price of this one has really dropped. J&R is blowing 'em out at $130. At that price I figured I'd give it a shot, so I placed my order today. We'll see how it works in a week or two.

Thanks for the info, everyone. I'll post my impressions once I use it.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 May 2004, 08:38 am »

Just got my shipping confirmation, so at least they have it! Should have it by the end of next week.

jgubman · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Jun 2004, 12:21 am »

Rob, how'd the 795SA work out for you?

Audio Advisor has them for $179 + free shipping, thinking about pulling the trigger.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Jun 2004, 02:26 am »

Well, it's a mixed bag. The machine sounds pretty good with the upsampling engaged, but pretty poor with it turned off. The change is not subtle, which strikes me as strange. My main complaints with the unit are that it's very slow to initially recognize/read the disc, and it's not very compatible with DVD-R/+R discs. Admittedly, the latter wouldn't be a big deal to most people, but I like to burn music to DVDs, so I'm bummed that I can't load it up with burned discs. Works perfectly with CD-Rs, however.

Also, typical of all Philips DVDs I've used, the onscreen menus use weird hyrogliphics-looking symbols which makes it not the most intuitive to use. Still, the machine is pretty solid for the price.

avalon65 · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Jun 2004, 01:22 pm »

I've been following this post and have similiar disc reading issues with my Phillips all-in-one. One qustion comes to mind on the changer. If in random mode and after the player has had a chance to read/play a track on all five discs, does it still take 5+ seconds to read/recognize a disc when shuffling through them?

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Jun 2004, 08:23 pm »

Funny thing is that these quirks were present in a Phillips machine I bought over 5 years ago, too! Don't these guys pay any attention to feedback?

Still a solid machine for the money.