Buyers Remorse........ (1 Viewer)

[Andre D]

While I can't say I was into DVD-Audio or SACD, I do feel once you pass a certain price point you should get your money's worth. With the Sony, I didn't think I was getting my money's worth. I don't believe Sony will be releasing a DVD-Audio player anytime soon. Also, I have a feeling that they will be discontinuing the 999es. It's just a gut feeling.

 

[Stephen M]

5 yr warranties on dvd players are meaningless IMO. Heck, the shelf life of a top dvd player is about 6 months based on rapidly changing technology with blue light laser coming in the next couple of years. Might make a minor difference if you moved the Sony to a secondary system rather than sell/trade, but you can get a very good player at a fraction of the Sony's price for a secondary system.

 

[Andre D]

You're absolutely correct Stephen. The funny thing is that I was always a Sony man, but these days I am beginning to find them inconsistent with their products. They discontinued the DA4ES (my receiver) not long after releasing it. All these issues played a role in me returning the player.

 

[Cliff Olson]

5 yr warranties on dvd players are meaningless IMO.

For you, maybe. But not the average person. I've had my Sony 999ES for almost a year, and I have absolutely no reason to even contemplate an "upgrade". The most annoying thing about the 999ES is the layer change. It has otherwise, been flawless. I have seen the "bug" only on a few rare occasions, and I cannot say for sure if it was the player or the transfer itself.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I have had issues with Sony for years but that is not to say that they are not capible of making a good product. My issue is with there lack of consistancy as you pointed out and there use of poor grade parts in there standard models or non ES models. At on time they where known for there CD players but I think others have steped up and make stuff better than Sony for the most part. I have a Sony DVP-S9000 ES that is very nice and has worked out nicely. Sony will IMHO never come out with DVD-A as it is counter productive for them to do so. As it conflicts with there push to support SACD. As far as Denon goes I have owned a number of there prodcts as well. I have never had an issue with there products as they are built just as good as Sony ES stuff. A matter of fact I still have a Denon DCD-1290 that is over 10 years old and has never been to the shop for anything. The same holds true for my Denon DTR-2000 DAT recorder, I have never had any problems with that ether. IMHO you made a wise choice and should like the performance of the Denon. I think you will find that it should hold up well and run stronger than the Sony. I like Denon and have no problem buying Sony ES if the product meets my standards and does what I need it to do. The same goes for any other brand out there. I look for funtions, upgradeability, build quality and sound. If it meets those requirements and I can afford it then bam, its mine. All we can do is buy the product that meets our requirments and gets the job done and if it doesn't then buy what does.

P.S. Enjoy your Denon's and to you and everyone here at home theater forum. Have a Happy New Year And enjoy your home theater system.

 

[Marvin]

My next move is to sell my DA4ES and get the 3803.

Just curious (not trying to stir up trouble): do most people feel this is an upgrade or a lateral move?

 

[JackS]

As with the DVDP, this is also sideways (4es-3803). Unless there is a feature on the Denon that is a must have which is not available on the Sony. The 3803 is also being replaced by the 3804 so it will also become "passe" using this line of thinking. Trying to keep up with what is perceived to be the latest in technology is a waste of money in most instances. This is the way I think and may not be the way you think. My receiver is 5yrs old. I don't have DPLll, neo-6 or even 6.1 discrete and really don't feel that I'm missing anything. Considering the discounts usually available to the outgoing receiver models, these are actually the ones I'd be looking at. Again, good luck.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I just saw the Demo for the Denon AVR-3803 at the CES show this past week. There is so much packed into this model and with the quality and performance. It is hard to beat this surround reciever for the money. I am seriously looking at this reciever if my budget does not allow for a pre/pro or flagship reciever. The new Denon AVR-3803 has assignable digital inputs, assignable internal amps, auto room setup feature like the Pioneer Elite. But where Denon makes theres diferent is that each source has a seperate memory and can have different setting for each source. The Denon also has a 7 band eq for each channel. At CES, Denon was wired to M&K speakers and sounded like a reciever costing much more than it retail price of $1200. And if I am not mistaken this model can output video to a third zone as well as zone 2. The remote is a rf remote instead of a ir. IMHO the Denon is a solid and better choice over the Sony.

 

[Andre D]

Jack is right. After looking carefully at my system, I decided not to purchase the 3803. While the Denon receiver is in my opinion a better unit, it would not be worthwhile at this point for me to upgrade from the Sony. I decided that I would be better off spending that money upgrading to High Def or upgrading my sub.

 

[Rachael B]

I'm suprised you swapped players Andre. You got a terrific deal on the 999. I don't blame you envying the Denon reciever. I think they do better than Sony's. I think swapping players was rather lateral, but as long as you're happy! Did ya get some hi-rez discs yet? I mostly do SA-CD but I got the Beach Boys on DVD-A this week. It's purr-dy intresting! I'd recommend any of the Mobile Fidelity discs for great stereo. The Kinks and Issac Hayes are righteous. The Suitcase Pimps at CDBaby.com is really nice rock. The Joe Satriani STRANGE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC is atmospheric if you'll accept it's single-layeredness. Colleen Sexton is one of the best new, young artists out on SA-CD. Try her album MY GREATEST FIND. Best wishes!

 

[Andre D]

Thanks for the input Rachael. I will definitely try your suggestions. Actually, I was able to get the Denon for the same price, brand new. The only thing is that I had to pay for shipping to return the Sony. I just like the fact that I now have a universal player. One thing I learned about myself is that once I think twice about something, it will always bother me. That's reason I threw in the towel.

 

[Roger Corman]

I totally fell for the Denon. Everything about it is such high quality, and it sounds so nice. I can't imagine you won't be happy with your decision.

I didn't compare with the too many players (once I saw the Denon and tried it I wanted it) but I was looking at the Pioneer Elite 47ai pretty closely. Street price is a little less than the Denon, and it looks very nice.

A local dealer who I respect (I know they often BS) says that in that price range Denon sells 30x times as many players as Pioneer. For Pioneer the Elite series is a small market, whereas for Denon it is their major market area. Now I am skeptical of the 30x figure, but I do see the point that for one company it is not really their prime market and the other it is. He claims that the added volume allowed Denon to create such a great player at that price. As a software developer, I know that top engineering talent in a company tends to be directed toward a company's major target market. As they try to expand into other markets, they are reluctant to move their most talented engineers to those projects and risk their main products. Just some thoughts. It may apply equally to Sony.

I used the Marantz DV6400 for a couple weeks and don't recommend it.