Pioneer DV-578A (1 Viewer)

[Mike!S]

cool thanks for your help!

does this mean my onkyo won't be able to pick up the DVD audio and SACD audio in 5.1 if I use a digital link or it will just not sound as good?

 

[SamP]

Mike, many of your questions might be answered by reading this article:
dvdangle.com/dvd_audio/upgrading_to_dvda.html

Its worth reading

 

[SamP]

Mike, many of your questions might be answered by reading this article:
dvdangle.com/dvd_audio/upgrading_to_dvda.html

Its worth reading

 

[Mike!S]

holy crap I didn't realize I would need so many cabels to use DVD-A and SACD. My cables will probably be as expensive as my entire system.

So lets see if i have this right.
I'll need the analog chords to hook up my dvd-audio/sacd player
Then I'll need A digital optical cable for the DTS/dobly audio for movies.
Where does the Coaxial cable come in?? Do I need that to?

 

[Mike!S]

holy crap I didn't realize I would need so many cabels to use DVD-A and SACD. My cables will probably be as expensive as my entire system.

So lets see if i have this right.
I'll need the analog chords to hook up my dvd-audio/sacd player
Then I'll need A digital optical cable for the DTS/dobly audio for movies.
Where does the Coaxial cable come in?? Do I need that to?

 

[Rob Kramer]

Mike

You need six (3 pair) just for the audio alone, plus one for the digital coax (for "regular" DVDs), plus three for the component video.

I suggest you hop over to www.partsexpress.com and look at their Dayton Audio or Phoenix Gold cables. Make sure they also send you a catalog.

Just to get you started, here are the links to the audio cables:

The Daytons (at $10.80 per pair):
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=181-650

And the PGs (at $11.45 per pair):
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=263-481

I prefer the PGs, but both brands are good. If you are looking to spend a bit more, www.bluejeanscable.com can give you customized service.

 

[Rob Kramer]

Mike

You need six (3 pair) just for the audio alone, plus one for the digital coax (for "regular" DVDs), plus three for the component video.

I suggest you hop over to www.partsexpress.com and look at their Dayton Audio or Phoenix Gold cables. Make sure they also send you a catalog.

Just to get you started, here are the links to the audio cables:

The Daytons (at $10.80 per pair):
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=181-650

And the PGs (at $11.45 per pair):
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=263-481

I prefer the PGs, but both brands are good. If you are looking to spend a bit more, www.bluejeanscable.com can give you customized service.

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

Its one or the other. They do the same thing.

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

Its one or the other. They do the same thing.

 

[Mike!S]

nevermind.

 

[Mike!S]

nevermind.

 

[SamP]

PIONEER 578A Mini Review

I just got the Pioneer 578A from BestBuy for $141 . It was on sale. I couldn't believe it. BestBuy also has Toshiba SD-6915 for $170 and Samsung HD-841 for $189.

DVD-A/SACD: I have not played any DVD-A or SACD so far. Everyone knows that you dont get pure SACD sound from this player. DSD is converted to PCM because there is only one processing chip instead of two. What can you expect for $141 though?

DVD-Video: Sound clarity is superb with this player hooked up to the Onkyo HT-S770 home theater system. I watched Kill Bill 1 and was blown away by the surround sound. Picture quality via 'interlacing' is good. I don't have a digital TV yet so could not use the progressive scan option. I didn't encounter any skipping/stuttering of the DVD-video. I have to say that the unit is very light and looks cheap...but sounds quite good.

Disc Compatibility: I burned a DVD on Khypermedia 4x DVD-R and Memorex DVD+RW. The Pioneer plays both discs perfectly.

Remote: Remote has "fast scan" only upto 4x which in my opinion is not much.

Speaker Management for DVD-A/SACD: You can select the speaker size and speaker distance when using the 5.1 channel analog outputs. Except for the subwoofer, you can set speaker size to 'large' or 'small'. Speaker distance can be set as follows:
* Front left/right speaker distance can be set from 1 ft. to 30 ft. in 1 ft. increments.
* The center speaker can be set from -7 ft. to 0 ft. relative to the front left/right speakers.
* Surround left/right speakers can be set from -20 ft. to 0 ft. relative to the front left/right speakers.
* You can't set the subwoofer distance.

One point to note is that any change in speaker size/distance for 5.1 multichannel analog outputs will not affect sound from digital output (optical or coaxial).

Bass Management: WHERE IS IT??

MP3: Browsing MP3 files literally sucks with this player. At any given time only six songs are shown on the menu. There is no numbering on the list of songs. So if you have 100 songs on one disc and you want to listen to song #85, then you will have to scroll down one by one till you get to that song. One cannot just press the buttons 8 & 5 on the remote to get to that song (My old DVD player -Daewoo has this function). Scrolling down is not that fast. No support for long file names or random play. The manual specifically mentions that one cannot program or play MP3/WMA discs at random. File/Folder title support is upto 14 characters including spaces. For example:
"DJ Tiesto - Live in Amsterdam" will show as:
"DJ Tiesto - Li"
Having said this, most of the above functions can be done with DVD-video, DVD-A and SACD. WHY NOT MP3 or WMA???

As far as 5.1 multichannel cables go, I was lucky to find Monster (THX certified) stereo analog cables for $7.50 a pair on sale at Media Play. I could get only 4 cables though. The other two I had to buy were of a different brand...Philips for $12.99. So in total I spent $28 for the cables needed to hear DVD-A/SACD. Not bad at all, considering that 5.1 multichannel interconnects in a single package (Monster brand) are for $149 at BestBuy.

More thoughts on the Pioneer coming soon. If any questions or comments, please shoot!

 

[SamP]

PIONEER 578A Mini Review

I just got the Pioneer 578A from BestBuy for $141 . It was on sale. I couldn't believe it. BestBuy also has Toshiba SD-6915 for $170 and Samsung HD-841 for $189.

DVD-A/SACD: I have not played any DVD-A or SACD so far. Everyone knows that you dont get pure SACD sound from this player. DSD is converted to PCM because there is only one processing chip instead of two. What can you expect for $141 though?

DVD-Video: Sound clarity is superb with this player hooked up to the Onkyo HT-S770 home theater system. I watched Kill Bill 1 and was blown away by the surround sound. Picture quality via 'interlacing' is good. I don't have a digital TV yet so could not use the progressive scan option. I didn't encounter any skipping/stuttering of the DVD-video. I have to say that the unit is very light and looks cheap...but sounds quite good.

Disc Compatibility: I burned a DVD on Khypermedia 4x DVD-R and Memorex DVD+RW. The Pioneer plays both discs perfectly.

Remote: Remote has "fast scan" only upto 4x which in my opinion is not much.

Speaker Management for DVD-A/SACD: You can select the speaker size and speaker distance when using the 5.1 channel analog outputs. Except for the subwoofer, you can set speaker size to 'large' or 'small'. Speaker distance can be set as follows:
* Front left/right speaker distance can be set from 1 ft. to 30 ft. in 1 ft. increments.
* The center speaker can be set from -7 ft. to 0 ft. relative to the front left/right speakers.
* Surround left/right speakers can be set from -20 ft. to 0 ft. relative to the front left/right speakers.
* You can't set the subwoofer distance.

One point to note is that any change in speaker size/distance for 5.1 multichannel analog outputs will not affect sound from digital output (optical or coaxial).

Bass Management: WHERE IS IT??

MP3: Browsing MP3 files literally sucks with this player. At any given time only six songs are shown on the menu. There is no numbering on the list of songs. So if you have 100 songs on one disc and you want to listen to song #85, then you will have to scroll down one by one till you get to that song. One cannot just press the buttons 8 & 5 on the remote to get to that song (My old DVD player -Daewoo has this function). Scrolling down is not that fast. No support for long file names or random play. The manual specifically mentions that one cannot program or play MP3/WMA discs at random. File/Folder title support is upto 14 characters including spaces. For example:
"DJ Tiesto - Live in Amsterdam" will show as:
"DJ Tiesto - Li"
Having said this, most of the above functions can be done with DVD-video, DVD-A and SACD. WHY NOT MP3 or WMA???

As far as 5.1 multichannel cables go, I was lucky to find Monster (THX certified) stereo analog cables for $7.50 a pair on sale at Media Play. I could get only 4 cables though. The other two I had to buy were of a different brand...Philips for $12.99. So in total I spent $28 for the cables needed to hear DVD-A/SACD. Not bad at all, considering that 5.1 multichannel interconnects in a single package (Monster brand) are for $149 at BestBuy.

More thoughts on the Pioneer coming soon. If any questions or comments, please shoot!

 

[Rob Kramer]

message removed

[not really important]

 

[Rob Kramer]

message removed

[not really important]

 

[Mike!S]

thanks for the review, let us know how the SACD and DVD-audio sound when you hear them. Im most likely picking this player up when I get a chance. how does the video look? have you had any skipping or playback problems. That stinks regarding MP3's but I don't think I would ever use MP3 on my home theater.

 

[Mike!S]

thanks for the review, let us know how the SACD and DVD-audio sound when you hear them. Im most likely picking this player up when I get a chance. how does the video look? have you had any skipping or playback problems. That stinks regarding MP3's but I don't think I would ever use MP3 on my home theater.

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

Are you sure about this?
I have the 563A and several high bit-rate DVD +RW MP3 discs
and the 563A will random play them, either by group or the complete disc.
It would be difficult to understand why they would omit this feature from the new model.
Sometimes its nice to use a mp3 disc for background music in random mode.

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

Are you sure about this?
I have the 563A and several high bit-rate DVD +RW MP3 discs
and the 563A will random play them, either by group or the complete disc.
It would be difficult to understand why they would omit this feature from the new model.
Sometimes its nice to use a mp3 disc for background music in random mode.

 

[SamP]

Mike & Jerry,

To answer your questions, I have updated the review slightly in the DVD-Video and MP3 sections.