SONY DVP-NC650v SACD/dvd player (1 Viewer)

[peter m. wilson]

Greetings from Toronto,
I purchased this discontinued 5 disc demo unit from the Sony store and use it strictly for sacd playback through my Denon 5800/03.
I don't know whether to credit the player or the Denon and my Totem speakers for the sound reproduction but i'm very impressed.

That said, "i must be the only one" not that i've heard anything bad but i haven't heard anything.
Many Sony players are mentioned in different forums but this one never seems to come up. It is strictly an interlaced dvdplayer but i use the panny rp82 for dvd and dvd-a, ( god bless Denon for the 2 sets of analogue inputs)

Anywho, if anyone out there has this player your opinion on it would be appreciated and also the equipment your using it with.

Thanks,
Peter m.

 

[Philip Hamm]

My brother has this player and I have the single disc version the 500. They're great SACD players, not so great DVD players. His skips to the beginning of a chapter in the middle of "The Fellowship Of The Ring", and I've had mine skip to the next chapter in "Fargo". I no longer use it as a DVD player since I have a Technics DVD-A10 which is far superior in every way but doesn't play SACDs.

 

[KeithH]

Peter, the 'NC650V is a solid audio component. It doesn't stack up with the more expensive Sony ES models, but it is very good considering the price. Sony has done a great job with its non-ES SACD players.

By the way, which Totem speakers are you using? I use the Arro in my main stereo system. Totem makes an excellent speaker, but most people have never heard of them.

 

[Mark All]

I also bought an NC650V on closeout, but from a local Best Buy store quite a long time ago. I don't use it as a DVD player at all now, but found it to be a good one. It has a large front panel display, eliminating the need to have it hooked up for video display when it's used for SACD playback only. My Pioneer 533HD5 rear projection monitor has an internal line doubler, so the DVD picture from the Sony can actually be made "progressive" with results approaching the best available from progressive scan models out about three years ago.

The SACD sound quality is good with very noticeable improvements in clarity from CD on most SACDs I have. I haven't compared it to Sony's stand-alone SACD players or to a DVD/SACD player in the $1000 price range, so I can't comment on how much better one of those might sound. As a bargain price introduction to SACD playback though it's hard to beat. It will be interesting to see what Sony comes out with for its next range of low-cost SACD capable players.

The NC650V does lack the ability to turn off the video circuitry and front panel display, and doesn't have gold plated jacks, which are usually features found on a higher cost player. The Panasonic RP82 and CP72 are similar in these respects for DVD-A. In my opinion, any of these models are good for an introduction to high-resolution audio, and were a real bargain when they were available.

 

[peter m. wilson]

Hi Guys
Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to hear your pleased with the sacd performance. Whenever i'm playing either dvd-a through the rp82 which is also sdi modded and used with the HOLO3D vid scaler, or sacds, i put on the "pure direct" mode of the Denon which shuts down any video and digital circuits and gives all its' attention to the analogues.

Regarding the Totem Speakers, i use 2 pair of Model 1 for music. The front pair are "signatures" the rear pair are bi-wirable but are not signatures.

I have just in the last 6 months started to invest in the audio portion of my system and i am far from an expert on speakers but i could not ignore the reviews these speakers were getting and it didn't hurt that they are made in Montreal my former hometown.

I also use "for movies" a pair of Axiom qs4's dipoles and a pair of Monitor Audio bronse 4si's as effects. My center and sub "which i will be switching for Totems as soon as i can afford are PMC tb1 biwireable and a Paradigm pdr 8.

Anyway i really hope these 2 new music formats make it because i'm totally hooked.

Peter m.