What to look for when upgrading DVD player? Is it worth it? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Miles]

Currently I have a Sony NS700P DVD player. I am very happy with the unit but don't have any previous experience to compare it too. Before getting into home theater I had a 15+ year old Denon connected to a RX-9/7 (??) Yamaha receiver which is now in the boys room. I have listened to less than 6 music only CD's since owning the Sony over the past year.

My question is: What is out there that will have a definite improvement in video and surround sound quality? I have read alot about the new Marantz 8300 series, Pioneer Elite 47a and the new Yamaha (model number escapes me). However it looks like these units are on a par so to speak video wise (better than my Sony?) however thier claim to fame as being "universal players" for DVD, CD, MP3, DVD-A and SACD.

I was wondering as these new digital music sources evolve (not much source material at present) would it be best to buy a better video device now and wait for an audio only unit in the future? My thinking is like this and maybe, probably it is a bit stupid but... why not pay say $1500 for dvd video unit and another $1500 for an audio only so to speak and get a better products versus buying an all-in-one for $1500 - $2400? Am I way off base here?

I obviously don't know. What would you do?

My second posting...

Regards,
Mike

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Mike,

You do not mention what type of television you are currently using. If you have not upgraded to a HD-ready TV of some sort, you will not gain any improvement in video performance by upgrading your Sony player. I'm not familiar with that particular model, but if it is not a progressive scan player you would gain some improvement in video quality when you do finally move to an HD-ready display.

As for the newer audio formats, such as DVD-Audio and SACD, personally my strategy has been to not upgrade to these formats for the sole sake of those formats. I let each come naturally into my system when I upgraded components for other reasons. For example, I added DVD-Audio to my system when I upgraded to a Panasonic RP-91 DVD player for its improved progressive scan capability and built-in video scaler. I added SACD support when I decided to improve my standard CD playback performance by upgrading to a Sony 555ES CD/SACD player.