Panasonic F85 vs Pioneer 563A - No brainer? (1 Viewer)

[DavidK]

I'm looking for an all around "good" quality player (not audio/videophile quality) for bedroom use...I know that the F85 does not have SACD like 563A (Although 563A does a DSD to PCM conversion) but F85 does have 5 disk carousel.

So, what's the consensus on this forum?
THX

 

[Brian L]

The 563A is an unknown quantity, so it is impossible to say how it will measure up. There is a lot of interest, since its a low price universal, but at this point no one knows anything other than what is on the spec sheet.

And if you do not feel the need for audiophile/videophile quality, why do you care if the 563 converts to PCM from DSD? Has anyone shown this to degrade the sound in players where there is a conversion?

There has never been a clear answer about that regarding the Pioneer 45A and 47Ai. FWIW, I have a 45A, and am very happy with the sound of all formats, as are most other owners.

Anyway, bottom line is, no one can tell you anything about a player that no one has ever touched. Of course, that will not prevent anyone from puking out opinions, but you ought to filter them until real data is available.

For the price, I think it will sell like lemonade in August, and get people to look at SACD and DVD-A, even if the player does have some flaws.

BGL

 

[DavidK]

BGL,
Thanks for your reply...

"And if you do not feel the need for audiophile/videophile quality, why do you care if the 563 converts to PCM from DSD?"

I listed these features so that posters would not waste time mentioning these featrues since I was already aware of them.

"Has anyone shown this to degrade the sound in players where there is a conversion? "

Not specifically for the 563A...but I'm sure are/will be many on both sides this touchy issue. Some DSD recording are made from PCM sources....hopefully there will be very little apparent degradation due to the conversion.

Glad to hear that you are happy with your 45A...hopefully the 563A will be at least as good...both audio & vido wise.
David

 

[Brian L]

Glad to hear that you are happy with your 45A...hopefully the 563A will be at least as good...both audio & vido wise.

Actually, I hope it sucks on both counts, having spent almost three times the price for the 45A

BGL

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Pioneer has said that the 45a and 47ai do not do any type of DSD to PCM conversion, so at least by that measure, I would still expect the 45a to outperform the 563a. A DSD-to-PCM conversion can only degrade the sound, as it does require a reclocking of the digital bitstream. But obviously the questions remains: can anyone hear that effect? Plus, the 45a is *still* an Pioneer Elite product, the light weight notwithstanding. The 563A is just a "normal" Pioneer product, so I would still expect upgraded video and audio (digital and analog) components in the 45a...

We all know that old adage: you get what you pay for, right? Even though the 563a is a new product...

 

[KeithH]

I would like to hear how the 'F85 and '563A compare with DVD-Audio.

As for the PCM-to-DSD conversion, it's been said that the '563A converts to 24/384 PCM. Perhaps at the high sampling rate, one would not detect degradation. The problem is that the '563A is a budget player, so if one detects an issue with the sound, it may have nothing to do withe DSD-to-PCM conversion. I would want to compare the '563A to a higher-end player (e.g., $1000 price point) that did DSD-to-PCM conversion to get an idea if the conversion could be done right. Of course, the more expensive players generally, if not always, stay in the DSD domain.