Best sounding Redbook DVD player < $500.00 -- no mods.

albee · « **on:** 11 Jul 2005, 07:01 pm »

I feel the urge to get a new DVD player. I just tried a Panasonic 29S ($69.95) and was shocked at how very, very close to my four year old $500.00 CD player it came. I think I could match the sound for $2-300.00. I lean towards Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo--any better ideas?

mcgsxr · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 07:29 pm »

Were folks not digging that Samsung/Toshiba in stock form? I forget the designation, maybe 4960 for Tosh, and 841 for Samsung?

albee · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 07:45 pm »

All those Toshiba models have had model number changes and such. I've seen a few discussions on the lack of longevity on the so called "budget" players. I think Yamaha still carries a 3 year warranty--which is a glimmer of hope in that area.

tubeytubeamp · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 07:50 pm »

You guys might think I'm crazy, but I have to recommed the JVC xvn322s. The Redbook sound is amazing for $69.95. I really don't miss my Arcam 7se at all. I was listening to Steely Dan's 24k Gaucho this weekend in amazement. It sounds much better than the Pioneer 563a that I parted with. I still have the Arcam btw.

Dennis

albee · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 08:54 pm »

See, TubeyTube, that's exactly what I'm talking about! A $69 Panasonic that was not broken in and had "git ya going" cables attached sounded just too good for what it costs.

tubeytubeamp · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 09:06 pm »

Quote

See, TubeyTube, that's exactly what I'm talking about! A $69 Panasonic that was not broken in and had "git ya going" cables attached sounded just too good for what it costs.

Combined with my Jvc rxes1sl the sound is silly good for the money. Three dimensional, liquid, and musical.

Dennis

tubeytubeamp · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 09:08 pm »

I'm using the Dvd players internal dac. The Receivers digital input is a piece of garbage compared to the discrete DVD multi inputs(analog).

_scotty_ · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 09:43 pm »

I can recommend the entire series of JVC DVD players
XV-N212S
XV-N312S
XV-N412S
XV-N512S includes DVD-A playback capability
Substituting a 10 in the model number gets you the same player in black.
All of the players use an AKM 24-192 DAC. The 510/512 player uses a higher
speced DAC with a separate analogue supply to the DAC. The resolution
is slightly better as a result. At $69 dollars for the 212 to around $120
for the 512 they are very inexpensive for the quality of sound they produce.
They can also be modded with very good results. The stock OP-AMP is replaced with a OPA2134 which has a buffer in it's feedback loop.
Shunt regulation is used on the power supply to the OP-AMP. This is a differential input OP-AMP which works beautifully with the balanced output from the DAC. The DC offset is so low that it can be direct coupled at it's output.
They are above average in stock form and are seriously good modded.
Scotty

albee · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 04:22 am »

Right now I'm trying the Yamaha 5750 (mass merchandiser model number) and really impressed with the picture quality. It has selectable upsampling and really sounds great on 4X when playing CD's. The problem is that I forgot the Yamaha sound: very refined, detailed, but lacking in PRAT! Whereas, my Newcastle CD player would have me toe-tapping and head-bobbing, the Yammie lays me back and washes over me with tone and detail. This may not cut it. I like to feel the music. I'll give it a good run in before hitting the returns counter.

Any suggestions for machines PRAT?

nickspicks · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 11:41 am »

used:

Philips 963sa is hard to beat. easily found around $200
Toshiba SD9200 , though at the top of your price range...is a class A player.

new:

i'm a fan of Sony decks, and some of the newer DVD/SACD players sound quite stunning for redbook. they are all under $250 brand new.

Rivendell61 · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 11:55 am »

Just a bit beyond your target but....
Soundseller has some new Sony DVP-S9000ES for $549.
CD, DVD, SACD--and built like a tank (c. 30lbs).
No CD-R though.
Mark

https://ganymede.cybrzn.com/soundseller/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/277

Dan Driscoll · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 02:40 pm »

Quote from: albee

Any suggestions for machines PRAT?

Naim is supposedly the last word in PRAT. I've never heard a Naim CD player, so I can't comment from personal experience. They are also pretty expensive.

If you are willing to give Yamaha another shot, the DVD-C750 universal 5 disc changer (aka DV-C6770) has gotten outstanding reviews for its Redbook performance and also very good reviews for DVD-A, SACD and video performance, for less than $300.

ohenry · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 06:47 pm »

Quote from: Dan Driscoll

Quote from: albee
Any suggestions for machines PRAT?

Naim is supposedly the last word in PRAT. I've never heard a Naim CD player, so I can't comment from personal experience. They are also pretty expensive.

If you are willing to give Yamaha another shot, the DVD-C750 universal 5 disc changer (aka DV-C6770) has gotten outstanding reviews for its Redbook performance and also very good reviews for DVD-A, SACD and video performance, for less than $300.

Are there any issues with the Yamaha? Seems like I read that it reverts back to the factory default settings that may not be optimal for 2-channel play after each disc, resulting in the need to reset it each time. Does that ring a bell with anyone?

jcoat007 · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 07:29 pm »

How about a nOrh CD-1:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1126140718

I used to have one. I thought it was a great unit and it was fun to tube roll with it.

albee · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 07:52 pm »

Dan, the link to the review was good. Unless I missed it, he didn't address the PRAT issue. The Yammie sounds great--but there's no life to it.

I'll know tonight if this one resets itself to default--I'll check it first thing.

I know the Panasonic had good PRAT. What about SONY and Philips?

avalon65 · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Jul 2005, 09:16 pm »

Quote from: albee

... I'll know tonight if this one resets itself to default--I'll check it first thing.

Albee,

I'm looking forward to your results and any other comments about the yammie changer. I've been eyeballing it too as an all-in-one replacement to my seldom used DVD player and CD changer that takes up too much space.

LJ

Dan Driscoll · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Jul 2005, 02:30 pm »

Quote from: albee

Dan, the link to the review was good. Unless I missed it, he didn't address the PRAT issue. The Yammie sounds great--but there's no life to it.

PRAT is extremely subjective and some people don't even consider it a distinct characteristic, but rather feel that PRAT will be good as long as everything else is good.

Dan Driscoll · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Jul 2005, 02:33 pm »

Quote from: ohenry

Are there any issues with the Yamaha? Seems like I read that it reverts back to the factory default settings that may not be optimal for 2-channel play after each disc, resulting in the need to reset it each time. Does that ring a bell with anyone?

The main issues I've heard about the 750 have been that the disc switching time is very slow, 15-20 seconds. Also, the turntable doesn't turn when the tray is out, so it is awkward to get discs into and out of the rear spaces.

I did hear something about default settings, but I thought that had to do with movies, not music discs. I may be wrong on that.

avalon65 · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Jul 2005, 03:19 pm »

Quote from: Dan Driscoll

The main issues I've heard about the 750 have been that the disc switching time is very slow, 15-20 seconds. Also, the turntable doesn't turn when the tray is out, so it is awkward to get discs into and out of the rear spaces.

I d ...

Dan

The specs on the 750 states it has "PlayXchange" which allows the turntable to move while the drawer is open. My 10 year old Yamaha CD changer has the PlayXchange feature and it works great. I can swap out four CDs while the fifth CD is still playing. I think Yamaha is the best at this.

However, I am concerned about 15-20 second delay in disk changing. I often put 5 CDs in and hit the random feature to play all disks to get 3-4 hours of shuffled music. There is very little if any delay with my CD changer. If there really is that big of a delay with the 750, I'd be very disappointed. Can anyone verify if this is the case and if so does it occur when there is just redbook CDs in the changer or a mix of CDs/SACD/DVD-A. If it's a mix of formats I can understand a slight delay, but 15-20 seconds is unacceptable.

Hanx!

albee · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Jul 2005, 09:01 pm »

Last night I had no problems with the 5750 resetting itself. All my chosen defaults were in tact. It does have a rather irritating remote and the player is short of features one would expect, such as programming CD play. Other than Repeat there is no flexibility in hearing the songs you want other than to have the remote handy at all times. One other negative is the time it takes to change tracks while playing CD's. Quite slow. This player does have great video and the sound on CD's may please many unless you have a tendancy to wanna rock--then it does fall short.

Some other advice I've read is that if you want good CD sound to stay with Denon. I've read that SONY can be a tad relaxed similar to Yamaha. I used to have a 63SE which had plenty of PRAT but that doesn't mean the current Marantz DVD players have it too.

Any more suggestions?