Looking for a DVD-A player (1 Viewer)

I made a huge mistake and sold my rock solid 2 year old "made in japan" interlaced Panny DVD-A player- ra60....Any recomendations on anything below $200 ?....I'm more intrested in the audio portion than video.

I'm looking for a player similar to this one:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-pNap6HP...133DVDA60S&s=0

Panasonic makes several models with DVD-A that fit your budget. There are also the Pioneer 578a or Samsung (don't know the model number) in your price range--and they are universal players. As for "rock-solid" made in Japan, you may be out of luck in your budget.

At 389$ retail, my Cambridge Audio 540D is "rock solid", though not made in Japan, and is a phenomenal audio performer. It's so good with redbook CD playback that I bought it just for that purpose (I already have a universal player for hi-res duties). The 540D also plays DVD-A (though I haven't tried it yet, stuff is storage for the move) and I can't imagine it would be less good with that than with CDs. It is, of course, beyond your budget, but I think it's likely the least expensive (streets for 10-15% less) "rock solid" player out there (I'm assuming by this you mean some sort of heft and beefy power supply and etc.)

Thanks Paul, I look into the Cambridge Audio unit.

I was going to post a thread on the subject, but you seem to have beaten me to it

I'm also looking for a DVD-A player, with the restriction that it must at least a 5-disc changer. Video section isn't important to me either, but I'd prefer it to be reasonable (it will probably be used for TV-on-DVD duty as well). Some type of reasonable bass-management is a big plus also.

So far the only thing I've found for my budget (under $200) is the Panasonic F87, but I don't know much about it's BM capabilities. As I can get it for under $130 easily,

Anyone have any other alternatives, perhaps something coming out in the near future?

-- Dave

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=384593

$199, kenwood DV5700 nib. MSRP is $950.

*scratches head* Something seems alittle fishy about all that. Probably doesn't help that I don't consider e-cost the most reliable etailer in the world (not horrible, but they're no newegg).

I also couldn't find any mention of BM capabilities in the DV5700 manual. The F87K seems to have a fixed 100Hz crossover for small speakers which is livable, if not ideal.

Thanks for the heads-up, though!
-- Dave

nothing fishy.. i just got mine yesterday. I Dont understand what you want when you say "bass management". It has built in test tones and the ability to adjust speaker levels, including the sub.. That model has been out for 3 years fyi. Kenwood has not updated its soverign line since then. I love this player. Its new in box with a 2 year manufacturers warranty. Ecost is an authorized Kenwood dealer.

Make sure the bass management system ALSO manages the dvd-audio signals.

Jimi,
It's good to hear that you got yours without problem, but if it's 2 years old it likely doesn't have the features I want. By bass management I mean routing signals below some crossover frequency to the subwoofer. For instance if the right from speaker has a 40Hz component to it's signal I would prefer that to be sent to my subwoofer which is much better at LF reproduction. Normally my receiver would perform that function on digital signals, but since DVD-A players would interface by 6 analog cables it's got to happen in the player instead. I consider time-alignment part of the same feature, as it almost always comes along for the ride if BM is available.


Quite right, I forgot to think about that. Alot of players in the past have also done BM incorrectly, making it essentially useless.

Does anyone have any info on how well the F87 does BM, if there is anything broken about it?

Also remember that with SACD, time alignment is almost ALWAYS unavailable, though bass management often applies.

You should make a thread specific to that player.. i know alot of people here have owned this player in the past.. im sure somebody around here can answer your bass management question.

The DV-5700 does have bass management on the analog outputs, which really isn't too surprising since it does have DD/DTS decoders built in. The frequency is 100Hz, though I can't find a mention of what crossover slopes are used. As for eCost, I had no problems with them, and they shipped the same day. I'd buy from them again. Anyone interested in the DV-5700 should check out this article, it has a wealth of information, including Bass Management:

http://www.guidetohometheater.com/dv.../24/index.html


Aaron Gilbert

JVC XV-SA602SL

I've enjoyed this player for it's DVD-A capability and I haven't used it for anything else. It was < $100 at Crutchfield. Got a great write-up in the Absolute Sound...

John