Great deal on a Pioneer Universal player

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 17 Nov 2003, 09:12 pm »

I was just at Ultimate Electronics a few days ago, and I see they've lowered the price on the Pioneer DV-563A to $155! It plays DVD-A/SACD, CD/CD-R/CD-RW, & MP3's and JPEGs, too. Plus it's pretty compact (only roughly 2.5" or 3" high). I've only listened to it briefly, but it does have a damned nice picture for such a cheapo player.

This would be a great way to get ones feet wet in the hi rez MC thing w/o breaking the bank.

BTW, as for MP3, the Pioneer I have in my bedroom will play anything I've ever thrown at it without a hickup. A very reliable unit.

ABEX · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Nov 2003, 11:00 pm »

Rob:
Not to burst your enthusiasm as I was looking at the same player to purchase as I want a uni-player myself. I recieved the following from a very reliable source that knows more than I about what is out there and what their capabilities are warning me of the pitfalls of such units.
======================
I would not look to Pioneer for a universal player. Their implementation of SACD in not very good. They have more money invested in DVD-A.

The same thing with Panasonic. They are not willing to pay the money to Sony/Phillips for the SACD rights.

I feel, as far as the high-res digital formats go, SACD has a far better selection and pricing on software.

If you are going to look at a new player, the Sony/Philips lines are pretty good. If you buy an inexpensive one, modding it WILL improve it greatly.
=======================
I think I will hold off till I geet confirmation of a unit that is NEAR SOTA for the same price.

Just thought I would tell you what I had been told so you are not disappointed and have to look for another player because it does not perform the way you'd expect.

Good luck!

jqp · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Nov 2003, 11:01 pm »

Is this a progressive scan DVD-player? Does it have optical outs, etc. Guess I should google it, huh?

bubba966 · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Nov 2003, 11:30 pm »

Progessive scan, yes. Optical out, yes.

Full specs can be found here http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_15020669_2046370_tab=B,00.html?compName=PNA_ProductDetailComponent

Interestingly enough, the UE website lists them at $179. Along with virtually no info on specs...

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Nov 2003, 11:41 pm »

To each his own, Abex, but I've found the Pioneer players to sound pretty decent w/SACD. I have a Denon Universal now, but I had a Pioneer Elite DV-45A before, and while the Denon is better, the Pioneer was certainly respectable. Again, I realize mine was an Elite, and several times more expensive than the DV-563A, but as a company I've found their players to be decent (at my place, there are 3 Pioneer DVD players in addition to my Denon...well, actually those and a couple more yet!

)

BTW, I never meant to imply it would be the 'be all, end all" of universal players. Like I said, a good way to see what all the multichannel fuss is about without blowing a lot of coin.

MaxCast · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Nov 2003, 03:22 am »

I have to agree with Rob, for $150 it is a no brainer for someone not wanting to spend a lot of money checking out hi-rez. If the best DVD-A player only costs $200 why can't a good SACD player only cost $200?

Woodsea · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Nov 2003, 03:49 am »

This one may have to get on my x-mas list. Now how do I make all my electronics safe and powered all over the world?
We are moving to D.C. in January, then by the end of the year outside the country.
I think I will start a new thread elsewhere.

bubba966 · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Nov 2003, 06:03 am »

Quote from: Woodsea

Now how do I make all my electronics safe and powered all over the world?

You do so with one of these suckers http://www.voltageconverters.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=VC5000

They do have smaller & larger converters if 5,000w doesn't work for 'ya. (BTW, that's the same place I got my stepdown converter for my Japanese LD player)

Ears · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Nov 2003, 10:12 pm »

Quote from: MaxCast

I have to agree with Rob, for $150 it is a no brainer for someone not wanting to spend a lot of money checking out hi-rez. If the best DVD-A player only costs $200 why can't a good SACD player only cost $200?

Who said the best dvd-a player cost 200.00?
The reason the pioneer sucks at sacd is because it takes the dsd based sacd and converts it to pcm.

MaxCast · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 02:43 pm »

Quote from: Ears

Quote from: MaxCast
I have to agree with Rob, for $150 it is a no brainer for someone not wanting to spend a lot of money checking out hi-rez. If the best DVD-A player only costs $200 why can't a good SACD player only cost $200?

Who said the best dvd-a player cost 200.00?
The reason the pioneer sucks at sacd is because it takes the dsd based sacd and converts it to pcm.

I was speaking in jest. I don't know of many DVD-A players for more than a couple hundred bucks. I'm sure I am wrong as I haven't looked lately. As far as DSD to PCM, there are not many universal players that don't convert. And of those...I'm not sure if anybody knows for sure.

We're only talking about a $150 here.

bubba966 · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 03:01 pm »

Quote from: MaxCast

I don't know of many DVD-A players for more than a couple hundred bucks.

I know of one machine that costs a bit more than a couple hundred bucks.

Can't tell you if the DVD-A or SACD is worth a damn on it though as I've not hooked up the analog outs, nor do I have any discs to test out those functions with. Maybe someday someone will bring over an SACD or DVD-A to try out...

ABEX · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 04:07 pm »

Hey:
I still might get one after more than over flowing references I heard from others. Not that I expect Jimi to come out of the speakers using a $200 player,but I do want to make sure I get what I am looking for in playback.

There are a few other machines I am looking at also.

Thing I read with all the players ,no matter the cost level is that they are hit or miss for quality.

Cannot have everything.

Ears · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 09:17 pm »

Denon, Sony,Phillips and Marantz as well as any audiophool approved sacd capable players from many hi end names such as Krell,Teac estoric,Linn,Musical fidelity, Consanance,Jolida ect ect all have dsd based sacd whith no conversion of the signal to pcm.

Pioneer is one of the only ones that converts dsd to pcm.

ABEX · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 09:54 pm »

EARS:
So what is your choice in this big shootout os multi Format Players?

Just trying to get advice and I see where you are coming from. What I see is that everthing is a coin toss as far as getting a player that is going to be reliable. If you read owners reviews at places like AR it's enough to say I'll stick with Redbook!

Any suggestions for an afordable multi format machine?

I also take it that the Lic. agreement is going to push the cost of the machines up.Phillips does not have many choices and Sony has to many I think.

ABEX

Ears · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 10:30 pm »

I have tried 6 players whith sacd/cd and 5 of them dvd as well as two whith dvd-a and by far the best bang for the buck is the Phillips 963sa but it has no dvd-a so it is not really universal.

I have the Denon 1600 for dvd-a and both machines retailed for 500.00 and can be bought for 300.00 for the 1600 and 350.00 for the 963sa.

The difference is the Denon is about whjat you would expect for 500.00 and the Phillips has the sonics and video you would expect from a 1k player.

The 2K Denon 5900 only offered sonics that were in the 1200.00 range imo and first rate video except for the rediculous macro blocking in dark scenes.

Also, the Phillips 963sa whith a single ps cap upgrade is about equal to the 2k Denons sonics whith better soundstaging for less that 380.00 including the 23.00 cap.

Ears · « **Reply #15 on:** 19 Nov 2003, 10:52 pm »

As far as defects, my Sony 9000 es stock and modified, two different 963sa's, stock and modified and a higher end Sony 777 had no problems.

The Denon 1600 has had an ho2 code and refused two play the second day but lately it seems to work ok. The 2k 5900 had macro blocking and one time refused to open and had a loud grinding transport gear noise which never repeated itself during my my two week in home trial.

I could probably swing[good WAF] an upscale universal but whith ever changing digital, I have found some of the cheaper players to sound sooo good after mods that I can't justify loosing thousands after a year or so on a 4-5k universal such as the Krell ,MF or Teac dv-50.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 Nov 2003, 12:22 am »

Was the Denon you had a refurb or A-stock? I've owned a lot of Denon gear over the years and I've found them to be extremely solid and reliable. Denon transports (esp changers) are a bit noisy in operation, but they do seem to last and function well.

This whole thing is sorta drifting off tangent, which is certainly okay, yet the point here is that the Pioneer isn't too bad a machine, and it doesn't have any competition at that price. It's a good way to see if you like MC, and that's a pretty nice deal on a player even if you don't plan to listen to SACD or DVD-A. Pioneer's reading of MP3, WMA, & JPEG discs seems to be completely bulletproof, as reliable as I've experienced.

If a person wants to spend the money, the Denons sound great, IMO. To get your feet wet, the Pioneer is a good budget machine. That's all it is, but in the context of this discussion, I think that's good enough.

ABEX · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 Nov 2003, 04:33 am »

I have heard if you have to choose between SACD and DVD-A it's SACD all the way!

Seeing that I have a good Redbook Transport and I want something that plays DVD Videos I am kinda caught up here. Then there us the question of cost.

I think your opinions are sound EAR and I might wait to see if they have a closeout on the 963,but I see Robs point also with the cost of the Pi player being less than 1/2 that of the Philly.

Thanks for the info and I read the post about the Phillips upsamplling into the Panny XR45. The Panny is just an outstanding machine for the $$ in my system. Was what I was looking for to downsize.

ABEX

Ears · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 Nov 2003, 03:09 pm »

Rob, you are right on in that the Pioneer is a great cheaper way to check out hi rez whithout spending a lot of money.
I recently spent over 12k to give hi rez a fair shot but found out that I prefer 2 channel on most material.

The Denons both came from an authorized local dealer whith the 1600 being a demo for 325.00

I f you check out the avs forums, you will find that many owners have had problems whith the Denon 5900 reading discs, locking up and the infamous macro blocking.

These were the very first 5900's and if they get the bugs worked out, I would definitly consider buying another one as it is an outstanding bargain at 2k.....but not whith the bugs and/or macro blocking.

MaxCast · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Nov 2003, 07:53 pm »

Be sure to look at the software available if you do not choose a universal.
The reason I went with the Pioneer vs. a 2900 is because I couldn't justify the $$ at this time with BM, digital outs, "sony pulling the plug on SACD", DSD>PCM issues.

How about the Denon 2200?