Crutchfield drops price on Panasonic DVD-RP91 from $700 to $500. (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

I noticed this evening that Crutchfield has dropped the price of the Panasonic DVD-RP91 from $700 to $500. Only the black version is available. Crutchfield's web site says, "While supplies last." Does this mean the 'RP91 is one the way out? Has anyone heard anything? Here is the link on Crutchfield's web site:
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...VDRP91&o=m&a=0

 

[Josh Lowe]

Hopefully it will have a successor based on the FL2300 chip that does scaling and more..

 

[KeithH]

Josh, I haven't heard anything yet. Perhaps there will be an 'RP92.

 

[Ken Custodio]

I have been looking at the prices of an RP91 for awhile now and I have seen places selling it for less that $400 now. So the vendors must know something. Unless everyone on Hometheater forum has one now and no one is buying them anymore
BTW, Keith you have a crap load of CD players! Which is your favorite.

 

[KeithH]

All,
Bill Will recently summarized the contents of a current Panasonic DVD player catalog in a thread here. The 'RP91 was listed and there is no mention of a replacement. I still wonder.
Ken,
My favorite CD player is definitely the Sony SCD-777ES. It is simply the best player I own. After that, I have to go with the Sony SCD-C555ES. It isn't as good as the '777ES, but it is excellent, and it is an excellent value these days. The 'C333ES is very similar in quality to the 'C555ES (though I have never compared them in my better system). The 'C333ES just doesn't play multi-channel SACDs. I felt the 'C333ES was a great value too when I bought it in April 2001.
I do still love the Pioneer Elite PD-65. That's a player I'll never part with simply because it looks so nice. It is an excellent performer too. I was lucky to find a brand new one back in November 2000. It had already been discontinued by that time, and production numbers were relatively low for a long time prior as Pioneer was focusing more and more on DVD players. I found a dealer who could get a brand new PD-65 from Pioneer, and I didn't hesitate to grab one. I bought it to start my second system before I even had an amp or speakers!
The Ah! Njoe Tjoeb is a solid player, but not as good as the 'C555ES or '777ES in the same system. I bought the Ah! to play around with "tube rolling" -- changing tubes to experience sonic differences. Since I upgraded speakers in the main system a year ago, it has become more and more evident that the Ah! is lacking relative to the Sony players. I am holding onto the Ah!, however, because I might continue to tweak it. Aside from trying other tubes, there is a power cord upgrade available that I might try out. Also, Upscale Audio, the US distributor of the Ah!, will have a 24/192 upsampling DAC upgrade available in September for $300 that I might try at some point. I am waiting for a good number of reviews on the upsampling DAC. If the reviews are favorable, I will likely give it a try. I would be interested to see how the Ah! with the upsampling DAC compares to my Sony players.
I use the other players sparingly in comparison to the ones already mentioned. The Denon DCM-370 is used almost exclusively for making mixes on minidiscs from CDs. I use the Sony CDP-CX333ES megachangers for casual listening while I am doing things around the house. They are great in shuffle mode. The two gold Sony players in the second system (CDP-X3000ES and CDP-XA5ES) are more for show than anything else because I think they look cool. Both models were marketed overseas, and I found them cheap on eBay from sellers in the US. They came retrofitted for operation in the US. They are good players. Not good, but great. I rarely use them. As I said, I think they look cool.
Other components that play CDs aren't used for that purpose. The Harman/Kardon CDR 30 is only used for dubbing CDs. The Sony DVP-C670D is only used for DVDs, and the Technics DVD-A10 is only used for DVD-Audio. The Sony MXD-D3 is only used for high-speed recording of CDs to minidiscs.
Whew! By the way, the '777ES is my favorite player.

 

[Joe Cole]

Ah comrade Keith, you have too many "CD" players. The central committee has decided you must share them with your fellow local committee members. Now!
Nice collection is all I really have to say. I'd like to have several my self. comparing is fun. But my XA777 and my Krell 7.1 upgrade has just about finished off my extra funds for a while. Quite a while I am afraid.
Happy listening!

 

[KeithH]

Joe, members of the HTF will be chosen at random to receive my CD players. Not! I do enjoy comparing my players. That doesn't mean that I don't desire adding other players. I'm not buying anything for awhile, but I have ideas!