How About $1K - $2K DVD Players for a Change? (1 Viewer)

[ReggieW]

David,

I agree. Look at Denon (who's considered mass market) who replaced last years $1200 Denon DVD-3800 with the $2000 DVD-5900. The $849 DVD-2800 MkII was replaced with the $1000 DVD-2900. Word is that the new flagship player could cost $1000 more than the $3500 Denon DVD-9000 did since Denon will be marketing it to go along with it's soon to be announced pre/pro/amp separates. So while the number of manufactuers (panasonic and Toshiba for example) producing mega-bucks players has decreased, there is always a void in the market to fill for those who simply don't want mass market products.

Reg

 

[Lewis Besze]

The question is, did they get what they paid for?

 

[ReggieW]

Lewis,

That is ultimately for them to decide. I know some who feel that got what they paid for (try finding an unhappy Meridian owner), and some who didn't.

-Reg

 

[Mike_Pal]

How about a $1,300.00 player (worth even more in my opinion...) for around $450.00??? Refurbished Denon DVD3800's are going for around that...I just got one, and it is the best DVD player between $400.00 - $3,000.00 in my opinion. I am no expert, sampling 100s of machines to find the "perfect beast".....all I can say is: the Denon DVD3800 is that beast! Really won't need to replace this player for quite a while....
The future???
Who knows what is right around the corner or what the future will be......all I know is that this players picture will satisfy for a long, long time. An incredible machine.....with an even more unbelievable picture!!! Even with the few bugs this player has had, once you get them ironed out (Denon will do you right) the picture will take your breath away. DVD-Audio too........
Does it sound like I think this player is the best in the
$1K - $2K range??
IT IS!!!!!! Probably have to spend thousands more to get anything close.....
my 2 cents........

 

[Lewis Besze]

That is ultimately for them to decide. I know some who feel that got what they paid for (try finding an unhappy Meridian owner), and some who didn't.

Sure.
I do know a guy who has an all Meridian set up minus the DVD player,he felt that an HTPC would serv him better for less,and money wasn't an issue believe me,he also opted for a DIY sub over the maga buck Velodyne for the same reason.
When it comes to digital technology in order to command much higher price,brand recognition,marketing,adding weight[some confuses this with better built quality],and status quo, will take the "front seat" while value[price performance ratio]will take the "back seat".

 

[david stark]

while value[price performance ratio]will take the "back seat".

I think if price:performance ratio always took the front seat then everyone would end up with a dvd player of about $400 to $500. It really deplends how much money you have to spend because that skews the price:performance ratio.

As a general rule I believe the quality of most AV equipment increases with price, there are obviously exceptions, but this is a reasonable rule of thumb. I agree that as you spend more on equipment the relative gains in preformance decrease - eg. a dvd player costing $500 may be 10 times better than one costing $100, while one costing $1000 may only 3 times better than one costing $500, but the $1000 one is better.

For someone who is soley interested in performance of the equipment (funds allowing of course) will take the $1k player becasue it is better, it doesn't matter that it is only fractionally better than one half the price.

 

[ReggieW]

Lewis,

You just clarified my point. I said that it was ultimately for that person to decide his/her needs, and this guy you know obviously made his. We all have our own demands in our systems, and obviously he did what worked best for him. Someone else in a similar financial position might decide otherwise and do things differently, meaning, he/she might prefer the Meridian or Krell. For example, I am not interested in the Bravo D1 you mentioned despite it being a steal for DVI input at that price, simply because with the exception of DVI, from what I've read the player bites. I would rather wait a few months down the road for a player to surface for a little more money which does DVD-A and/or SACD, looks good with component and S-video, and doesn't have the build quality of a Mintek. The D1 is obviosuly good for a lot of people....I'm just not one of them.

David,

I agree that there does appear to be a performance decrease after a certain price point. As a rule of thumb, I probably would never spend over $1500 on a DVD player because technology is just moving so fast. As bad as I want a Denon 5900, I will opt for the 2900 because I don't want to pick up something that will probably have all of the features (firewire and DVI) of the 5900 in a year for a fraction of the price.

Reg

 

[Lewis Besze]

it was ultimately for that person to decide his/her needs, and this guy you know obviously made his

Yes, smart man.

 

[Dave Milne]

This is a great thread... a bit OT at times... but great.

I am also interested in $1-2K DVD players (or slightly higher). I have a Sony 9000ES ($1800 MSRP) which does a superb job with DVD (fed to a CRT FP), SACD, and Redbook. However, it doesn't "do" multichannel SACD. I'd like a machine that has the build quality and other features of the 9000ES but with multichannel SACD.

I believe I heard that Sony was coming out with such a machine --but at a price point on the far side of $2K (?)
Is this machine out yet? I don't see anything on Sony's website.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Dave,
You may want to wait on the new Sony ES SACD flagships. There is a $3K model the 9000ES and a less expensive 3000ES. That may be in your price range.
Also, the new Arcam DV-27 (I think?) is around $2.5K but has more updated circuitry and video. The Pioneer DV59 is coming out soon at around $1,500 with great video chips and full universal capability.
Sony, Arcam, Pioneer - all nice neighborhoods for great sound and film quality.

 

[ReggieW]

..Don't forget the Denon 5900.

-R

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Yes, the Denon 5900 should be on the list.

 

[Levesque]

To get back to the original subject of this thread, I,m having a different position... I buy a good 1000$ and over every year ...
I think we see more post on 500$ DVD-players because people are buying a DVD-player more for the image quality then the sound quality... If you want good picture AND good sound, you have to pay a little more... I know it,s a rough generalization, but a RP-91 or a DVD-1600 will give you an awesome near DVD-3800 PQ, but will never give you the same sound quality...
I will probably buy the new DVD-5900 from Denon next month, and will probably change it in 6 to 8 months.
BTW, I,m not interested in full BM in a DVD, but really prefer the implementation at the receiver level. I don,t use my Denon DVD-3800 BM, but use the Anthem AVM20 for this instead.
If you buy only for PQ, then changing evey year a "cheap" DVD-player will do the trick, but if you are planning using it for serious CD listening and DVD-A or SACD, you will have to go deeper in your pockets...

 

[Doug_B]

If you buy only for PQ, then changing evey year a "cheap" DVD-player will do the trick, but if you are planning using it for serious CD listening and DVD-A or SACD, you will have to go deeper in your pockets...

If audio is a priority, I think a player that is audio modded is a viable alternative solution, because the care taken for the audio section of a stock unit is usually compromised quite a bit (at this price level) due to the dual nature of DVD players. I am thus currently considering this option.

Doug

 

[Dave Milne]

I,m not interested in full BM in a DVD, but really prefer the implementation at the receiver level.

I'm not interested in BM in a DVD, either; my Lexicon MC-12 does a pretty good job with this. However, until it's "legal" to output SACD in digital format... and Pre/pro's have the corresponding input (FireWire?)... were' stuck.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

To get back to the original subject of this thread, I,m having a different position... I buy a good 1000$ and over every year

Uh, I thought the thread was about $1-2K DVD players.
Seriously, I think you can do okay buying a new $1K player every year, but the audio will have to suffer some. I would step into the $2K range and then trade every two years. You spend the same money but get a much better product.