SACD, DVD-A, mp3, Progressive - $399? (1 Viewer)

[Kelly N]

I was wondering what anyone knows about actual release dates of the Apex AD-7701. It is the first universal player I know of . I realize that Apex makes pretty cheap components, but I have four friends that have purchased other Apex DVD players and only one of them has had any functionality problems. They are not pretty, feel a bit on the flimsy side, and are ergonomically bizarre, but their performance has been acceptable.
I could be wrong here, but it seems to me that the technologies that make up components are so good these days that a piece of equipment that simply performs to the minimums specs set forth by say, Dolby Labs will still sound pretty good. I mean that I haven't heard any demo of properly functioning Dolby Digital equipment that sounded bad. Obviously, better components will sound superior to El-cheapo components. Speaker quality not withstanding, the lowest priced DD setup I've heard sounded better than the best DPL setup I've heard because the underlying technology is better.
O.K. I rambled. I apologize. I'm just thinking that the opportunity for someone on a budget to get their hands on a player that will incorporate the best technologies currently available and do it for less than $400 is pretty cool.
All of that crap having been said, does anyone know anything about this piece? When and where will it really be available ?

 

[John Garcia]

I know a number of people who have Apex players without any issues. My aunt liked her first one so much, she bought a second. The second one would not pass a DD signal, and it was replaced by the store where she purchased it. The new one has had no problems since.
Personally, I thought it was too good to be true for the price, but after checking it out, it does have all the bells and whistles, and does a more than satisfactory job. (non SA, MP3, Progressive)
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[Edited last by John Garcia on August 09, 2001 at 02:46 PM]

 

[JohnFR]

I have been watching for the availability of this player because of its apparant capabilities.
So the other day I sent an email to Apex and got the following reply:

not yet but expect available in oct/nov stores

Build quality and performance will be a big question mark for me, but I'm definitely interested given the advertised features.

 

[Kelly N]

Anybody else have any thoughts on this ?

 

[donovan_chin]

I was pretty excited when I heard that this player was the one that could "do it all". I just hope that Apex proves all of us wrong and finally delivers a quality product. I question the quality of the DACs for DVD-A and SACD. But it should be interesting to see how it performs. I think that it might be an affordable alternative to the better players.

 

[donovan_chin]

One more thing.. it's supposed to ship this month but has anyone heard exactly when and what the street pricing will be?

 

[Dan Hitchman]

If its DACs turn DSD into PCM before doing a D to A conversion then the SACD portion would be useless to me (and that goes for any universal player like that).
Dan
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[KeithH]

Dan, I absolutely agree with you. Still, it would be fun to check out this player. However, I consider $400 too much to spend on an Apex product. Maybe it will be built to a higher standard than other Apex players, but I am skeptical.
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