Panny RP-82 is no more (2 Viewers)

[Ralph Summa]

I'm not 100% sure about the definition of bass management. You can go into the player's menu and change the speakers from large to small, and adjust the delay and increase the db level too of all channels. For the sub you can turn it on or off and increase the db level. This is clearly for the analog 6 channel output. I was having some problems with the center channel at first and upped the db level to the maximum . It clearly increased the level and made my center channel crackle. I immediately turned it back to +0 db.

I really like this player. The PQ is as good as the RP-56. It's great to have a changer and I like having DVD-A too. I bought The Doors LA Woman and Queen A Night at the Opera and it was pretty cool. I am going to put the Queen stereo CD into my CD player and do an A/B comparison against the DVD-A version. My first impressions of the DVD-A version were not that great. It worked in places like the operatic strain in Bohemian Rhapsody , but seemed forced in other places, like some spots in The Prophet's Song.

My only complaint is that in DVD-A mode, the player doesn't seem to start up my sub. I have my SVS 25-31PCi set to "Auto on", and even with the DVD player set to +6 db (max) in the menu, it won't start the sub. Dolby digital and DTS modes are fine. I had to play something in DD or DTS to get the sub to fire up, then DVD-A worked fine. I have been listening at lower than normal volume since I was messing around after everyone was in bed. I'll try today to see if the increased volume starts the sub.

 

[KeithH]

Ralph, what is meant by bass management here is that the 'CP72 does not allow you to adjust the crossover frequency. It has a fixed crossover that is probably on the high side. It seems that most components, be they receivers, SACD players, DVD-Audio players, or DVD-Video players, have crossover frequencies fixed too high for many systems (e.g., 80 Hz, 100 Hz, or even 120 Hz).

By the way, where did you go to college? Syracuse?

 

[Trina]

I personally have no problem getting my sub to work with the DVD-A, except with the Doors LA Woman DVD-A. Out of the handful of DVD-A's I own, LA Woman is the only one that I can say sounds 'bad.' I'm not really fond of 5.1 remixes of classic albums. LA Woman is way too center speaker happy for me. I'd suggest you try Frank Zappa's Halloween for some sweet DVD-A splendor.

Y

 

[Ralph Summa]

Keith,

Thanks for clearing that up for me, I was never really sure what was meant by bass management. I guess I'm in a world of no bass management. My Yamaha receiver is fixed at 80Hz too.

Yeah, I went to Syracuse. BLECCCH!!!!

Trina,

I picked us my two DVD-A discs on the way home from work and Halloween and Harvest by Neil Young were the two I was hoping to go home with. I only had a minute and Best Buy was the only place on my way. They had about 20 DVD-As and SCADs combined. Hidden in the Anime section too. Surprise, surprise...I had read that the A Night at the Opera DVD-A was not that great, but I thought it would be cool to A/B compare it with the regular CD. Plus I own ANATO in just about every format but 8-Track! LP, cassette, and CD, so I said why not. I haven't listend to LA Woman yet.

 

[MikeSRC]

Hi Ralph,

To expand on what Keith said, DVD-A sends a full range signal to each of the 5 main speakers (front - left and right, center, rear - left and right). If you had full-range speakers in each position, you wouldn't need bass management. Since most people have smaller surround speakers that can't handle deep bass resulting in either muffled or distorted output, routing that bass to a subwoofer will result in better sound.

The CP-72 (and RP-82 and XP-50) allows you to set your speakers to "Small" to keep the deep bass from going to those speakers, but that only affects the DD and DTS output through the analog outputs. It does not affect the DVD-A output. Hope that helps.

I recommend Steely Dan's Two Against Nature and the Eagles Hotel California for some great DVD-A playback.

 

[KeithH]

Ralph,

No problem. Glad to help.

You said:

I recommend Steely Dan's Two Against Nature and the Eagles Hotel California for some great DVD-A playback.

Excellent recommendations. I couldn't agree more.

 

[Ralph Summa]

Exactly, which is the way I have set up my Yamaha receiver.


I will only be using the 6 channel analog connection for DVD-A playback. I will use optical out for DD and DTS playback. So, the changes I have made in my DVD player's speaker settings are a waste of time, since I am choosing to use the optical out for DD and DTS and letting the receiver's speaker settings do the work. I now understand everyone's overall frustration with this.

Ralph

 

[KennyT]

Thomas_Berg, you bought your CP-72 from Crutchfield Scratch & Dent? Were you able to send in the $30 rebate from Panasonic? Did the unit come packaged with the UPC code?

 

[Steve_Ko]

I found the CP72 in silver at www.crutchfield.com for $229. I hate silver, but wanted a Panny with the Faroujda chipset. The new ones don't have it. I used the send a friend code, p5kjt-i8w21-51qc3 for another $20 off and there's a $30 rebate if you buy before 3/31. When all is said and done, $220 shipped - $30 rebate = $190 total.

I just picked up the silver CP72 new @ crutchfield, used the above send a friend code and the $20 mastercard discount available on coupon sites, deal came to $170 total shipped after the $30 rebate. Good deal, even if it isn't black

 

[KennyT]

On which site can I get the Mastercard discount?

 

[Steve_Ko]

On which site can I get the Mastercard discount?

Do a search on these forums. There's a post by Bill Geiger that has a link in it that claims only good thru 2/25 or so. I used that & it still went thru. My receipt from Crutchfield shows both discounts applied.

 

[EdR]

I read somewhere else that the RP82 will be replaced by a model called the RP85. I don't recall where I read this, but it wasn't anything more than a rumor.

Just thought some of you might want to wait and see what happens.

 

[LanceJ]

Regarding that A Night At The Opera dvd-audio: the first version of this dvd-audio WAS lousy: many preview copies were distributed to magazines, audio websites, etc. and it was pretty much universally disliked. So disliked in fact DTS Entertainment (it's maker) remixed it. But from what I understand, quite a few of the bad versions were sold commercially. There is a way to tell from the packaging which version is which (I think "KeithH" knows).

Here's a review of the "ANATO" dvd-audio and more about the mxing controversy.

And that bass management thing: if a player has no b.m. for dvd-AUDIO, there is not even a filter for the sub. We are relying on the mixing engineer for whatever goes into the sub. And more importantly, what goes into the other five main channels. In my own little experiments, sometimes there IS "lowish" bass in the rear channels, enough to make the woofer visibly move. The center channel? On my Linkin Park dvd-audio, there is full-blown LOW bass there, enough to overload an Infinity bookshelf with a 6.5" woofer at "11:00" on my volume control. So people with small sats & centers: be careful!

LJ

 

[PS Nystrom]

This code is invalid now, any idea where I can get a new one? I'd like to get the Panny CP72.

 

[Ralph Summa]

p5kjt-i8w21-51qc3 should work. You just have to use it in the field that appears at the very end of the billing process. I think it's even after you put your credit card info in. It doesn't work in the field at the beginning. I had the same problem. You can call the 1-800 # too as a last resort.

Ralph

 

[PS Nystrom]

Ah-ha, now I see. Thanks. It said if my # was correct I would be notified in my second order status e-mail. Sound familiar?

Another Q: my TV forces everything progressive into full screen mode - and my current player, the JVC XV65GD - does a great job of scaling stuff like non-anamorphic or 4:3 material. Does the CP72 do the same? If not, what is the work-around for watching non-anamorphic videos on a widescreen set? Do I just turn off progressive scan and watch it interlaced?

Pieter

 

[Ralph Summa]

Ah-ha, now I see. Thanks. It said if my # was correct I would be notified in my second order status e-mail. Sound familiar?

Yep, sounds like what I got. I saw the $20 discount in a confirming email.

As far as scaling goes, my Mits TV does not lock into "Full" mode, so I use the TV to vertically stretch non-anamorphic widescreen material. I also use the TV's narrow mode for 4:3 material like my Nine Inch Nails concert DVD. I threw the features of the Panny RP-56 and the JVC XP75 around too and decided to go with the best video chipset (Faroujda). I use the RP-56 in the basement and the CP72 in the living room.

Ralph

 

[Dalton]

Another player to look at is the Yamaha DVD C920. It's a multi disc changer made by Panasonic for Yamaha. It has the same Mpeg decoder and Faroudja de-interlacer as the Rp82. It also does DVD-A and has Burr Brown dacs. I tested it against the rp82 and found the cd playback superior on the Yamaha. The 920 can still be found at Tweeter for $399 and i'm sure they will go lower if you haggle. I have had it for 6 months and find it to be an excellent performer.

 

[PS Nystrom]

Decided on a Scratch and Dent model from Crutchfield. The code seems to have worked, so thanks for the $20 Ralph. I owe ya. I'm guessing the mail-in rebate will work as well - didn't see any disclaimers why it wouldn't - so I'm happy. Got it shipped and all for $156.48. Now who wants to buy a used JVC XV65GD? Just kidding. It'll find a new home in the bedroom.

Pieter

 

[Ralph Summa]

I read somewhere that the rebate with a scratch and dent model worked fine.

$156 is great! I ended up at $170 and I'm pretty happy about that.