New SACD player from Denon: DCD-SA10! (1 Viewer)

[Robert A. Willis Jr.]

KeithH,
I think Denon did the right thing. I bought a 9000 and never did see the chroma bug. The upgrade was a confidence builder for me. Had the 9000 been delayed, I would have dug deep into my pockets and went elsewhere. The problem was minor and was fixed in a very easy and professional manner.
A more serious issue for me is that CD playback is a bit hard and not really first rate. It is very good but doesn't quite make the music "magical". I will either replace it or get a CD dedicated transport or player. DVDA's sound wonderful and it will be with some regret that I trade up.
Did you have troubles with your update or was the chroma bug on your unit so bad that the two or three week delay in getting the upgrade was more than a mild annoyance. I am really interested in finding out how videophile (I am an audiophile first and foremost) owners weathered the period before the upgrade.
Just think, I almost bought a Proceed DVD transport.... You know I am counting my blessings.
rw

 

[KeithH]

Robert, as always, there are two sides to every story. Ideally, Denon should not have announced a street date for the '3800 or '9000 until they were sure they had all their ducks in a row. If you don't make an annoucement, no one is expecting anything, so you don't have to worry about disappointing anyone. Had the '3800 and '9000 come out two months later, there still would have been buyers.
I read a review of the UK version of the '9000 (DVD-A1) in one of the British magazines a few months back (Hi-Fi Choice or What Hi*Fi?), and they complained a bit about the CD playback quality. They loved the build quality, video quality, and the sound with DVD-Audio discs, though. Basically, they found the 'A1 to be lacking as a CD player relative to comparably priced dedicated CD players. I am not at all surprised. That's not a knock against Denon, mind you. I have just never found a DVD player to sound as good with CDs as comparably priced dedicated CD players.

Did you have troubles with your update or was the chroma bug on your unit so bad that the two or three week delay in getting the upgrade was more than a mild annoyance.

I have never owned the '3800 or '9000. When the '3800 first appeared on the scene, I considered getting one to replace my Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player. However, I decided not to spend the $1200 when I heard of the chroma bug. Now, I do not have an HDTV, and I am not a videophile either. I would have used the '3800 primarily for DVD-Audio, but I did not like the idea of shelling out $1200 for a player with a known flaw that could have been addressed prior to the player's release (this was before the firmware upgrade became available). For now, I have a small DVD-Audio collection, and I am perfectly happy with the 'A10. Should the DVD-Audio catalog grow significantly with titles that interest me, I will revisit a hardware upgrade.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Keith,
Thanks for the thread. Somehow I missed this. Very interesting for a huge DVDA supporter to create an SACD player.
John,
Apologies for my numbers of SACD players in HiRez Comparison now being low by one.

 

[Robert A. Willis Jr.]

Keith,

I agree with you concerning not making the announcement. I can only speculate that the announcement was distributed before they found the chroma bug.

I have just never found a DVD player to sound as good with CDs as comparably priced dedicated CD players.

I really liked the CD quality of my Cal-Audio CL-20. It sounded better (to me) than the Theta Pearl that it replaced. If fact, I was waiting for their new DVDA player (which was in the works according to one source at Cal-Audio) when they were absorbed and have since disappeared. In comparing the CL-20 to the Denon, I find that the Denon doesn't obscure the details of the music but tends to be hard in the upper range of the female voice and certain types of percussion. Since I am a Jazz lover and tend to enjoy vocalists such as Oleta Adams and Rachelle Ferrell..... Overall, I give the nod to the Denon.

 

[KeithH]

Lee,
No problem. I am very glad to see Denon releasing an SACD player, but very disappointed to hear that it will not be available in the US. I would be very curious to compare the Denon unit to the Sony 'XA777ES or my '777ES.
Robert,
What happened with Cal Audio is a real shame, as they made some excellent products. I'm sure a Cal Audio DVD-Audio player would have been a sweet machine.
Thanks for sharing your observations with those high-end players. Those are some nice components.

 

[Joe Cole]

If fact, I was waiting for their new DVDA player (which was in the works according to one source at Cal-Audio) when they were absorbed and have since disappeared

Robert, who absorbed Cal-Audio? Maybe its fine engineers will continue for the new company.

 

[KeithH]

Joe, I'm not Robert (I don't even play him on TV ), but I too wonder what happened to Cal Audio. I remember them being part of Go Video, and Go Video is now part of Sonic Blue (Rio and ReplayTV). However, there is no mention of anything related to high-end audio on the Sonic Blue web site, with or without the Cal Audio name.
The MSN Search function listed the following for calaudio.com:

Information about the hi-fi company's line of A/V components and video projectors. Site also features warranty registration and a list of authorized dealers.

When I clicked on calaudio.com I was redirected to www.buydomain.com , where I was given the option to buy the domain name. I decided to pass.