DVD-A / SACD combo players

Brian Magnuson · 04-17-2005, 05:31 PM

I'm still seeking out a halfway decent performance-wise player for the DVD-A / SACD format and still find the players haven't come down in price. So much for these formats reaching wider audiences. I consider myself an medium-level audiophile and the Yamaha C750 is still around $280. No wonder the format isn't blazing a trail in the consumer market. At this point I've only been able to enjoy the Steely Dan/Blue Man Group 5.1 mixes in the Dolby Digital/DTS formats. But I love the difference in the sound with Gabriel PLAY DVD in DTS 96/24 and I can only imagine playing the tracks from those other discs in true hi-rez format, uncompressed.

But after everything else I have going on my life that costs money, motorcycling and musical instrument/recording stuff, I'm finding it difficult to pony up for another $300 or so to enjoy the hi-rez music format. Are there any players worth buying out there that cost less than the Yamaha C750? If there's one out there, I haven't seen it yet. It seems like to get a full-on, multi-combo player that plays EVERYTHING, they're like around $600-$1200 (or even $1500 for the Denon player). THESE HOBBIES ARE TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE!!!!

Especially the motorcycle one...

Bobby T · 04-17-2005, 05:48 PM

Just go for the Yamaha

gene c · 04-17-2005, 07:46 PM

I just upgraded from a Pioneer 563 to a Yamaha 6770, which I think is identical to the 750, and it was worth the investment. While the sound is smooth and clear, the big improvement was in picture quality. DVD's that looked great on the 563 still look great, but ones that looked grainy, like ELO's "Zoom" concert dvd, now look much clearer on the 6770. There are some issues however. The setup menu is confusing and the remote is not back-lit and seems as though it came from a much cheaper model. Also, there isn't direct disc access, only a "skip disc" button on the remote. On the front panel, there isn't a skip disc button and since the tray is in the upper half it covers up the buttons underneath when in the open position. But if you can get past these little things the performance is worth the price. Home Theater Magazine feels the same way. There is a review of the 750 in the May issue.

PaulDA · 04-17-2005, 09:03 PM

I don't think 300$ is asking too much for a universal player that gives "decent" performance. While one does not need to spend 1000$+ to get great audio, I think we've become spoiled by 39$ players at Walmart. My first CD player cost 350$, in 1986. In today's dollars, it would be around 800$. It had no oversampling, a single beam pickup and it couldn't scan into a song. No random or programmable playback. It still works (my friend has it in his living room system, along with my old receiver and speakers from the same era). Granted, today's players are cheaper because the technology has matured, but if I wanted relatively equivalent performance today from my CD player (which I have) it would still cost me 350$. For the added benefit of hi-res playback, I don't think 300$ is too much to ask.

I'm not trying to be a snob and say "well, if you don't buy such and such and spend $$$$, you can't expect to enjoy it". I'm simply pointing out that, if we want more than basic functionality with all sources, 300$ is not unreasonable. Besides, if we do the calculation in reverse, the 300$ player costs 180$ in 1986 dollars and it has all the excellent features of a universal player. Minimally 3 times better (CD/DVD-A/SACD) for half the price in real dollars. Not a bad deal.

Will_B · 04-17-2005, 11:24 PM

When the Pioneer DV-588A-S comes out later this month, I'll be checking out the reviews and tests to see if they've improved over the earlier universal players, since this would be their third incarnation. Retail is expected to be $200, likely less.

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Dan Driscoll · 04-18-2005, 09:16 AM

I would certainly consider $280 for a good quality universal changer to be an excellent price, much better than the $500+ it would have cost 12-18 months ago. If the Yamaha 750 is still too much, there's always the Pioneer 578a, for less than half that, or a used Pio 563a, for even less.

Mark Danner · 04-18-2005, 03:06 PM

Isnt the Samsung DVD HD950 coming out next month? I think its supposed to be under $200 and it plays both formats.

TimMc · 04-21-2005, 09:26 PM

If $280 or $200 or whatever is more than you wanna spend after feeding your motorcycle, you might still be able to hop on that hog, head to BestBuy, and score a Samsung HD841 for $85-$90. They're (still) clearing them out and I recently snagged one to try SACD in the den. It does both SACD & DVD-A, seems to work OK, and gave me a MC player for under $90. No, it's obviously not a Denon, but then I can't detail all it's inadequacies 'cause I wasn't able to A/B it w/ a 2910 and more importantly you can't get a Denon for $85. It's sure not perfect, but it's really not bad and most of all it was a freakin' $85...

What the heck - SACD is probably dead or dying, so how much do you go & throw after a "dead format walking"?

Dan Driscoll · 04-22-2005, 09:34 AM

Contrary to popular opinion, SACD is not a dead or dying format. Boutique houses and re-release publishers will continue to issue music in the format because there is a market for hi-rez music. It is possible that in the not so distant future you may only be able to find SACD on-line or in high-end specialty stores, but that's the case with vinyl already. And despite repeated attempts to declare it dead, vinyl sales have actually been increasing the past few years. The same applies for DVD-Audio, DAD and HDAD.

Danny Tse · 04-22-2005, 12:25 PM

You guys didn't hear Dire Strait's "Brothers In Arms" will be arriving on multi-channel SACD next month?