I have a Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY 50" plasma display and a Yamaha RX-V2500 AVR ordered and on the way. I am now looking for CD/DVD player or players. I am willing to spend between $500 and say $800. Here are my requirements, in priority order: (1) I would like a changer (at least 5-disc) that plays both SACD and DVD-Audio at the highest audio quality possible. (2) I would DVD video player that will upscale to 720P, preferably via component (so I can switch through the AVR), and preferably without the Faroudja chip (and the associated macroblocking issues).
At first, I thought the Yamaha DVD-C950 ($499) was a great all-in-one solution, but there are a couple of problems. The upscaling is only available through the HDMI output. This is OK, as I could get an HDMI input for the display. However, it appears that on the DVD-C950, you can either output HDMI or digital audio, but not both at the same time. Therefore, if I use the HDMI output for the video, I would have to use the analog outputs for the audio. It also would mean that there would have to be a lot of switching on various components, which would make the system hard for the family to use. In addition, I believe the C950 has the Faroudja chip.
My next idea is to get the Yamaha DVD-C750 ($299) as my audio changer (I read the AH review, and it seems to be a great universal changer for audio), and then also get the NeuNeo HVD2085 ($250) as my video player. This combo seems to meet all of my requirements, all at the lower end of my price range.
Are there any other SACD/DVD-Audio changers that might cost a little more, but offer superior sound quality to the Yamaha C750?
Also, does anyone have the NeuNeo HVD2085, and how do you like it? Does it contain the Faroudja chip? Are there any other upscaling DVD players (via component) that I should look at?
Thanks in advance.
