Denon surprised us this week by releasing two new Blu-ray players. It wasn't so surprising that they had new offerings - just that they were almost value conscience, something Denon Blu-ray players have long been lacking. The BD-Live (Profile 2.0) $500 DBP-1610 and $700 DBP-2010CI sound downright bargain basement compared to the flagship universal $4500 DVD-A1HDCI.
Discuss "Denon New Blu-ray Offerings Almost Affordable" here. Read the article.
Not that I dislike Denon as a brand in the least, but once we've got the Oppo BDP-83? We're done. It's over. That's the most we would ever have to pay for a highest-of-the-high-end Blu-ray player.
Oh sure, there will still be those who swear by the non-existant advantage of $2000+ players - but those people are idiots with more money than sense and a need to justify their stupidly wasteful spending. Most of those sales come via custom installers who know that their clients are rich, but clueless about electronics and all they have to do is say, "well you want 'the best', don't you? Why would you buy some cheap $500 player from a brand you've never heard of when there is this $2000 player? It's a $2000 player! So you KNOW it's better." Just like how $4000/foot speaker wire is better too, right?
Gotta love Oppo though. Man, if only they had somehow snuck HD-DVD playback into that BDP-83 as well! I could have eliminated every black box except my DVR and videogame systems!
"Almost" being the key word here...because I don't see those competing with the lower priced players. Those are MSRP prices, so street price should be lower after a while, certainly by the holidays.
__________________ HT: Marantz SR-8300, 2X Audiosource Amp300, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Oppo BDP-83, RC2000MkII, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, PS3 60G (dead) (250G) + 320G USB
Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, Denon 2900, RC3200 remote
Oh sure, there will still be those who swear by the non-existant advantage of $2000+ players - but those people are idiots with more money than sense and a need to justify their stupidly wasteful spending. Most of those sales come via custom installers who know that their clients are rich, but clueless about electronics and all they have to do is say, "well you want 'the best', don't you? Why would you buy some cheap $500 player from a brand you've never heard of when there is this $2000 player? It's a $2000 player! So you KNOW it's better." Just like how $4000/foot speaker wire is better too, right?
I wouldn't be to sure about these statements. Comparing speaker cables to complex electronics doesn't even qualify as an apples to orange comparison. The same was said about CD players many years ago but the advantages of better CD players is quite apparant with carefully setup listening tests not to mention easily measurable as well.
Now that everything is being transmitted digitally, this may level the playing field a bit but HDMI transmisison thru products is NOT flawless. I have a brand new $40k HDMI Audio Analyzer at my disposal now and you can be assured I will be comparing the $4k Denon to the $500 Oppo blu ray player to determine if there are in fact differences that are measurable.
__________________
Gene DellaSala
President, Audioholics Pursuing the truth in audio & video...
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I have a brand new $40k HDMI Audio Analyzer at my disposal now and you can be assured I will be comparing the $4k Denon to the $500 Oppo blu ray player to determine if there are in fact differences that are measurable.
I would like to see a pic of this $40k analyzer.
__________________ HD Theater: Mitsubishi WD-65908 (Calibrated), Sony BDP-S500, Toshiba HD-XA2, Denon AVR-2807, Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD-DVR, Sony SCD-2000ES, Paradigm 6.1 System, SVS PB10-ISD, Monster Signature HTS7000MKII, Monster HTS-5100MKII
Digital Theater : Sony 40inch 1080P 120Hz LCD TV, Denon AVR-2809CI, Paradigm 5.1 System, SVS PB10-NSD(NEW), Sony BDP-S550, Toshiba HD-A35, Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD-DVR, Sony 5 Disc CD, Sony Dual Cassette Deck, Teac Dual CD Recorder, Monster HTS-3600MKII
That is one test I would like to know the results of. I would also like to see a test of sound quality comparing the $4000 Denon to the $500 dvd players.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gene
I wouldn't be to sure about these statements. Comparing speaker cables to complex electronics doesn't even qualify as an apples to orange comparison. The same was said about CD players many years ago but the advantages of better CD players is quite apparant with carefully setup listening tests not to mention easily measurable as well.
Now that everything is being transmitted digitally, this may level the playing field a bit but HDMI transmisison thru products is NOT flawless. I have a brand new $40k HDMI Audio Analyzer at my disposal now and you can be assured I will be comparing the $4k Denon to the $500 Oppo blu ray player to determine if there are in fact differences that are measurable.
__________________
TV:Mitsubishi WS65813/Receiver:Yamaha RX-V3300/DVD Player: Denon DVD-3910/Multi-CD Player:Sony CA70ES/CD Recorder:Sony RCD-W500C/Turntable:Technics SL-D2 (Modified)/Cassette Player:Nakamichi BX-300/Power Filter:Monster HTS-5100
Speakers: All Klipsch Reference: Mains-RF3-II/Center-RC-35/Surrounds-RS-35/Sub-RSW-10
Speaker Cables: Wireworld Oasis throghout/ Various Interconnets:Audioquest, Cardas, DH Labs, Stereovox, Wireworld, and unfortunately still some Monstercable
Denon New Blu-ray Offerings Almost Affordable
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