Decent Blu-Ray DVD player as transport?

MttBsh · « **on:** 4 Sep 2015, 02:08 am »

I recently upgraded to a Yggdrasil DAC and am using a pretty lightweight Sony Blu-Ray (BDP S590) as my transport. I'm sure I'm not alone in really enjoying being able to play concert DVDs and movies through my system in addition to CDs. Some are of the definite opinion that that the quality of the transport can make a huge difference to the sound quality, so I may not be hearing the full potential of my new DAC using the Sony.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a Blu-Ray player that would be considered a high quality transport? Some will likely suggest Oppos but mine broke down after 3 years and the cheap Sony sounds every bit as good. In "Googling" the question I've seen lots of responses, but mostly from 10 years or so ago, where an industrial player like the Pioneer DVD D7400 was considered a giant killer transport. Is there a more modern equivalent?

Thanks so much for any thoughts you may be able to share!

Phil A · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 02:42 am »

I've owned tons of transports (don't use disc playback for the most part now). One of the best (and I still have one) is a Marantz DV9600. It is sitting in a guest bedroom now for once a year disc playback. In my old house, I had more rack space with the old furniture and even though I had a modded Oppo BDP-83, which was pretty good, the Marantz was much better. I still have probably at least 10 transports and DACs in two systems. I used the modded BDP-83 in a secondary system with an HDMI audio de-embedder (convert SACDs to PCM in the Oppo and play it at 24/88.2 to the DAC - but this also just gets used about once a year as I have a music server in there).

MttBsh · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 03:07 am »

Thanks Phil. Seemingly like all other "giant killer" DVD players, the Marantz DV9600 came out about 10 years ago, in 2005. I'm thinking that the move of most audiophiles to servers since that time has killed audio manufacturers' interest in building high quality disc spinners, especially those of the Blu-ray sort.

aldcoll · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 03:58 am »

It would appear that a oppo would be the choice from what is out there now. And some units are comming to the used market if it's just a DVD spinner you want.

MttBsh · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 04:14 am »

The Oppo I used until fairly recently sounded no better as a transport than the inexpensive plastic Sony player I use today. I can't help feeling that the transport makes little difference once the digital out is fed to a high quality DAC, but I know others are adamant that the transport can make a big difference.

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #5 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 05:23 am »

What is the objective of this transport? To play redbook cds or to play a mix of CDs and DVDs? The sad fact is that I feel that if you want a universal player designed to play different formats to do a decent job on redbook CDs, it simply cannot happen. The closest it seems as if you can get to a decent redbook transport is something like this http://sparkler-audio.com/pdf/S303_catalogE.pdf

The next upgrade on that is the 47 Labs Shigaraki transport which is no longer made and is pricey.

These sort of specialized transports are hard to find now.

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #6 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 05:26 am »

Another redbook only transport that was SOTA in its heyday about a decade ago was an Electrocompaniet with a top cover. They appear once in a while for about $2K used.

http://www.electrocompaniet.com/products/classic/digital/emc1_MKIII.html

Phil A · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 02:19 pm »

Quote from: MttBsh on 4 Sep 2015, 03:07 am

Thanks Phil. Seemingly like all other "giant killer" DVD players, the Marantz DV9600 came out about 10 years ago, in 2005. I'm thinking that the move of most audiophiles to servers since that time has killed audio manufacturers' interest in building high quality disc spinners, especially those of the Blu-ray sort.

Except for a Proceed PMDT (which was a DVD transport and silly expensive), which I owned many moons ago, the Marantz DV9600 is the best CD transport (http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/cd-players-and-recorders/marantz-dv9600-281484/review - "Marantz has also designed the chassis to separate the audio, video, transport and PSU stages; with a substantial transport mechanism and large transformer inside, these need to be isolated from the delicate audio and video circuits.") I have had in my systems when I used disc playback system (and right now among my systems I have a dozen transports and when I used disc playback I had a couple of more at least).

Phil A · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 02:24 pm »

I've not tried something like this but if it is only CD transport you are looking at, then it could be the way to go - https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/cx/cxc

If you're looking for a universal player that is a great CD transport, the DV9600 is great. If you want a little better SACD playback then an Oppo 105 may be appropriate (but at probably around $1k more and I doubt it is a better DVD-A player, the Marantz is superb on that and quite decent on SACD).

MttBsh · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 03:25 pm »

Thanks for your suggestions Phil, much appreciated!

Phil A · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Sep 2015, 03:40 pm »

Quote from: MttBsh on 4 Sep 2015, 03:25 pm

Thanks for your suggestions Phil, much appreciated!

No problem - everyone's goals and tastes are different (and that's OK). Before I got into file playback, I could not live (after using the DV9600) with the modded BDP-83 for CD playback so I kept the DV9600 in the rack. I even used an HDMI audio de-embedder to take hi-rez PCM from the Oppo in the DAC and besides the 15 or so transports I owned at the time, my friend had worked at a high end shop and I probably tried another 10 with the DAC. In the main system I keep an Oppo 103D just for video and if I have a Space Coast Audio Society meeting at my place there may be a couple of CDs played in the Oppo. If I upgrade an Oppo in a spare room after new models next year, I may move the other 103D to the master bedroom (which feeds my outdoor speakers) and take the BDP-93 and move that to the upstairs bonus/guest room (with an attached hard drive or read files over the network) and just use that vs. the DV9600 and the Sony Blu-Ray player (up there).

Okanea · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Sep 2018, 08:19 am »

Sorry for bumping...just my two cents...
There are many low cost under $300 portable Blu-ray players on the market with a built in small LCD screen that offers slightly better quality then 480I DVD. People purchasing those portable machines without 720P or 1080P quality are buying them so they can play their Blu-ray disc selection on the go. Some portable Notebook computers with Blu-ray drives offer 1080P quality on the built in screen.

Adding a SD or HD quality LCD screen with a Blu-ray player to the car will help reduce the need for combo Blu-ray/DVD packs. Combo packs increase the price of each title consumers purchase. These portable Blu-ray players and car Blu-ray products are good for the consumer. All or most in dash LCD screens that play movies have a safety feature that will disable the LCD screen unless the vehicle is in park. No one should be watching a Blu-ray movie while driving down the road. The Car Blu-ray players are ideal for backseat passengers with headphones or RV vehicles that can handle 20.1 inch 1080P screens and larger.

johzel · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Sep 2018, 11:46 am »

PS Audio Memory Player. Used ones going from $1,000-$1,200. A bit more than basic transports but a marvelous transport.

rjclaster · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 Sep 2018, 04:59 pm »

Here is another alternative for you. The Nuprime CDT-8 Pro transport new for $795. Very clear sounding.

jonbee · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Sep 2018, 01:52 am »

I use Oppos as transports/video file playback in my 3 systems- 2x103Ds and a 93. I've used various oppos for a dozen years. I can't say they sound much better as transports, but the video is great, and they offer the flexibility and features I want.
Most importantly to me, they are bulletproof on a very long term basis. Well worth the $, IMO. I'm glad I got mine.
I love 'em.

simon wagstaff · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Apr 2019, 10:36 pm »

I think the newer Marantz players are very solid as disc spinners. I recently picked up a UD5007 on ebay, lightly used, for $200. Couldn't be happier.

Freo-1 · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Jul 2019, 10:38 pm »

Here is another suggestion:

I've been using the Sony UPB-X1000ES, which can be had for short money, as it has been replaced by the X1100ES. It's pretty well built, has a separate HDMI out for audio, supports bluetooth, streaming apps, etc. Another interesting feature is that for two channel, there is a feature where it upscales 44/48 KHz to 88/96KHz. This feature works for CD/DVD/and the streaming apps. I've noticed that the X1000ES digital out with those formats actually sound better connected to my D-Premier than the Oppo BD-105.

Oh yes, it also supports all media formats as well.

witchdoctor · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Jul 2019, 02:19 pm »

Quote from: MttBsh on 4 Sep 2015, 02:08 am

I recently upgraded to a Yggdrasil DAC and am using a pretty lightweight Sony Blu-Ray (BDP S590) as my transport. I'm sure I'm not alone in really enjoying being able to play concert DVDs and movies through my system in addition to CDs. Some are of the definite opinion that that the quality of the transport can make a huge difference to the sound quality, so I may not be hearing the full potential of my new DAC using the Sony.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a Blu-Ray player that would be considered a high quality transport? Some will likely suggest Oppos but mine broke down after 3 years and the cheap Sony sounds every bit as good. In "Googling" the question I've seen lots of responses, but mostly from 10 years or so ago, where an industrial player like the Pioneer DVD D7400 was considered a giant killer transport. Is there a more modern equivalent?

Thanks so much for any thoughts you may be able to share!

Go over to Herbies circle here on AC and see what he recommends to use for isolating your Sony BRD, isolation works and is MUCH chaeaper than a new transport.

Freo-1 · « **Reply #18 on:** 19 Jul 2019, 11:42 pm »

I can happily report that both the Sony UDP X-1000 and X-1100 ES make very good transport units. I have a lot SACD discs, and getting them to output at their peak potential is not all that easy, due to copyright issues. As it turns out, the Sony ES units support both bitstream and PCM outputs. So, with a Kanex Pro HDMI audio extractor, SACD PCM is seen as 176.4 KHz to the digital input (in my case, Devialet D-Premier or D-400). Sounds outstanding with this as a transport. It actually is an upgrade over an Oppo BDP-105 in this regard.

The upscale feature of 44/48 KHz to 88/96 KHz also works well. There is a noticeable improvement with standard CD and streaming playback.

In summary, for transport duty, this is a stellar set of options for a reasonable price (especially the X-1000ES on closeout). To me, it's a better option for transport duty over the Pioneer LX500.

A_shah · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Jul 2019, 07:55 am »

Quote from: johzel on 19 Sep 2018, 11:46 am

PS Audio Memory Player. Used ones going from $1,000-$1,200. A bit more than basic transports but a marvelous transport.

Yes but PS audio memory player uses the Oppo transport so why not just get an oppo player that is what ai use for transport with my PS audio DS DAC

Asghar