Kenwood DV-5050M anyone? (1 Viewer)

[Lane Denson]

I saw one of these bad boys in the latest Crutchfield, and it seems to be the DVD megachanger I've been looking for. Does anyone have any experience with one of these?

 

[Lane Denson]

*bump*

Anyone?

 

[Lane Denson]

Well, it's very new, so that probably accounts for the lack of reviews and availability.

 

[JonDeutsch]

You can read a lot about the new Kenwood DVD players (5900M, 5050M, 5700M) in avsforum.com's DVD board.

In any case, I have a 5900M (the souped-up version of the 5050, with DVD-Audio support and Faroudja progressive processing.

All in all, I like the changer a lot. It supports almost every format (sans SACD), reads CD-R/RW, some DVD-R, MP3 discs, etc. It has an OK user interface, but it does connect to the Internet for automatic naming of discs you put into the changer (nice!).

It's kinda slow, has a less-than-optimal UI, and is huge. But, it is my database of all media, and I like everything being in one spot. And the unit looks very attractive, IMHO.

 

[Rob W]

I also have the 5900 and I love it. Home Theatre Magazine reviews it in the February issue and calls the picture quality "simply stunning" on progressive scan output. I don't have a TV with component inputs (yet) and the picture is still fantastic in interlaced mode. If you like to watch bits & pieces of your favorite films sometimes and don't want to have to constantly change discs then this is the machine for you.

 

[JonDeutsch]

I would like to add that it's a fine CD changer as well. As a matter of fact, mine has 300 CDs and 30 DVDs. CDs can be categorized by music type (genre) and up to 8 custom filter types.

 

[Lane Denson]

Sweet - thanks for the feedback... I'll be sure to check out avsforum.

 

[AndrewW]

I received the 5900 for Christmas. I returned it. It was too big, too slow, and I didn't notice ANY difference in picture quality over my Toshiba. I do not have prog. scan capapbility though...did I mention it was WAY too expensive??

 

[JonDeutsch]

It IS expensive. You know why? It has no peer. There is no direct competition to this unit. Not even close. I was able to get it retail for close to $1200, however, which is downright reasonable if you look at the price of Integra's DVD units (arguably a quality peer of the Sovereign line from Kenwood).

So, yup, it's kinda slow. Yup, it's big. Picture quality is very good -- even though I too use the interlaced output (goes through an iScan Pro).

However, if you want a mega changer that supports some of the newest technology out there, nothing comes even close to the 5900M. Not even close. If I were Kenwood, I'd maximize my margins on this unit too, until someone comes out with a competing product.

THAT SAID, I sure wish Kenwood would release ROM upgrades to fix some of the UI issues.