To DV-47Ai or not to DV-47Ai? (1 Viewer)

There is several DVD players which do DVD-audio and SACD, but with the exception of Yamaha S2300, they all have really weak points. If I can, I would wait another half a year or more for new models. Unfortunately it seems that I have to make my move right now. There are really good deals on Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai, but again 47A and 45A models were really trashed in many reviews. Hence, my question to all people with wisdom:

Is DV-47Ai as bad as other Pioneer Elite universal player?

I have to add that I made and audition of DV-45A and Ireally liked the sound on DVD and DVD-audio. I liked the picture quality, which at the moment is secondary to me. I can set all my five speakers to large, hence bm seems not to be a big problem for me. Thanks for info

Krzysztof

Dude i think your post tells you what to do, get the yamaha, it may be a few dollars more, but it cant be much more.

Krzysztof:

Since you are asking about players Denon is coming out with the 2900 towards the end of the month in the $900 list range so it will probably street for a few hundred less. At any rate it will do DVD A, SACD and no chroma bug in the video.

A lot of people here on the forum are waiting for this unit to be released. I would hold off for now on the Pioneer unit until you see what the Denon is capable of.

On the other hand if you don't want to spend that kind of money then I have several friends that have the 45A and they love it for DVD A and SACD. They are only using S Video and not the progressive outputs but they say the video end looks great. It can be had for around $375 too.

Decisions. Decisions. I am going to wait around to see the reviews of the 2900 before making my jump to a new player.

Parker

Information on the 2900 is now available on Denon's website here: DVD-2900

The Yamaha was reviewed in S&V a few issues back. The audio was measured to be noisy, except for SACD. Might depend on how much audio vs home theater you enjoy.

The 47ai is *not* the 47a. It has better (but still not complete bass management, but neither does the Yamaha, so...), and they replaced the (wanting) Crystal/Cirrus DACs of the 47a with much better Burr Browns in the 47ai.

Marantz also has the successor of the 8300, the 8400 coming too.

Hi Guys

thanks for all comments. I just want you to know that I have just ordered Yamaha S2300 and I am really happy about that.
I guess I hoped that you might push me towards one of the Pioneer Elite units, which were a little bit less (47Ai) or substantially less (45A) expensive, but after reading your posts and studying related threads I am really happy about my Yamaha

Once again

Thanks

Krzysztof

So you ordered the Yamaha huh. Definately not a bad decision but why didn't you hold out for the Denon 2900?I am in the same boat right now as far as a new dvd player and was almost sold on the Yamaha, but the reported noise problems with dvd-audio playback scared me away from the Yamaha. I really want to wait and see how this Denon performs, it looks very nice. And a question for Parker, where did you hear or see that the new Denon has no chroma problem? That is a big issue for me. Thanks.

Jeff Talmadge, Denon's product manager, has stated on a thread on AVSForum that the 2900 will not have the chroma bug and will pass every Shootout test. The 2900 is using a Mitsubushi MPEG decoder (which in the past have had the bug), but this one will not.

Hi Jeff

I simply had to spent money on the gear rather soon. If I want to wait for Denon it would take much more than a month. The player probably will show up in late May and then it will take another month or two to get a reliable review. On the other hand Yamaha was discussed here and at the AVS Forum. I had spent limited time on the audition and than did not have another chance. I liked it very much, but was not sure if Pioneer wouldn't do. Now all this is over and I am really happy. The player will be here Wednesday or Thursday, hence another crazy weekend full of music and movies is ahead. Life is good. Thanks again for sharing the wisdom

Krzysztof

I own the Yamaha and am very pleased. I have the Anthem /Paradigm setup and don't find noise to be a problem at all. I don't have a lab in my listening room though. Enjoy.

Yea, I have heard really good things about the Yamaha and owners of the S-2300 seem to be very very happy with the unit. I'm still going to hold out though and see how well the Denon performs. If the Denon does not perform as good as the Yamaha on video, then I am going to get the Yamaha. My main use for the player will be for video so that is where all my focus is, but of course having a combo dvd-audio/sacd player is also a plus.

Hi

my Yamaha S2300 player arrived today and I have to tell you that I am really happy with the video quality and I enjoy sound. I have Def Tech BP 3000TL as mains, CLR 2002 center (soon to become 3000) and BP 2006TL as surrounds so everything is setup as large and DVD-audio and SACD sound just spectacular. I will play more with the set-up over the weekend, but I see know that I made the right choice. The only thing I am worry about is that due to the lack of the space on the rack I put my satellite receiver DishPVR on top of Yamaha. Is it really bad? Anyway I will try to reshuffle stuff during the weekend

Krzysztof

Krzysztof, I have a vcr and my PS2 sitting on top f this player, and I ahve absolutely no worries about it, granted both units are quite light, but the Yamaha is very well built and it can take the weight of one or two minor components on it, i would not put more than 5 pounds or so on top of it though.

Krzysztof, Glad to hear you like it. What kind of tv do you have it hooked up to? Is it a 16x9 hdtv? Are you using the progressive scan mode?

I have a standard 32inch Panasonic, hence I cannot add anything really constructive to the discussion on the video quality. I am waiting for the plasma prices to drop. I may take Yamaha to my friend over the weekend and then I will make some comments about video quality. As far as I can tell it is great. I spent evening listening either to jazz (there is a wonderful CD which you may get if you order "Lost light" by M. Connely on line), or trying to decide if I like better LOTR sound in 7 channel (via optical cable to my Rotel processor) or in 5 channel (through analogue output). I am not sure. I try both DD-EX and DTS-ES. Actually the winner may be DTS-ES track. What do you think? I also noticed that machine was warming up and that sound was getting better and better. Well, one more piece from the recent Tom Waits and I am on my way to bed.

Here some info for aficionados of detective Harry Bosch:



Dark Sacred Night, The Music Of Harry Bosch


This CD was created to be a giveaway on Michael Connelly's LOST LIGHT book tour. The CD will not be for sale anywhere. It will be free while supplies last with the purchase of LOST LIGHT at a variety of participating bookstores.

Krzysztof

Jeff:

Sorry for the late answer but I have read from Denon themselves that the 2900 does not have the chroma bug without any question. Now it remains to be seen if this is true or not. I tend to believe them that it doesn't though as they have made it a point to state so publicly.

Parker

Thanks Parker. I can't wait to see some real tests on it.

I haven't come across any universal players that aren't compromised in some respects. And at the current price-point ($1200 seems to be the threshhold), it strikes me that you get better value for your money going with separates: an SACD/CD player and a DVD-V/DVD-A player plus a Radio Shack switcher (or other comparable device). A slightly bigger rat's nest of cables, but for better quality components IMO. Something to consider if you're in the market...

BTW, Stereophile-GTHT reviewed the Integra universal player in the May edition, comparing it to the Marantz and Pioneer. Doesn't seem to be an improvement on either, and of course has it's share of compromises and limitations.

*Someday* someone will get a universal player "right." I'm actually more curious about the bass management on the Denon, with all the issues on the Pioneer (based) players and the Yamaha...

BTW, the Integra is based on the 47a anway.

"Issues'' with the Yamaha, Kevin? Pray tell.

I grabbed this today at Magnolia HiFi. They're closing out their Yamaha line because they won't be allowed to compete against parent Best Buy. Perfect looking demo for $750. I read the trumped-up assumption that the unit is "noisy.'' I don't know what that means, but it seems to be working just fine in my system. I listend to Dark Side of the Moon multi-channel SACD tonight and actually shouted "Wow'' a few times during the course of the CD. I have 30 days to decide if I want to keep it.

So far, I'm very impressed.