DVD-Audio/SACD player with headphone jack?

[Henrik Nordberg]

I am looking for a (hopefully) cheap DVD-Audio/SACD player to use at work. Does anyone know one that has a headphone jack?

The only one I have found is the Marantz DV-9500, but it is a bit expensive. I am hoping to spend less than $200 - $300.

Currently I am listening using the Sennheiser HD-600 connected to a Creative Audigy 2 sound card. But Creative's media player doesn't always find the stereo tracks (and the surround tracks sound a bit funny) and only plays DVD-Audio.

Your help is much appreciated!

- Henrik

 

[Nick250]

HD 600s need a fair amount of umph to drive them or they sound muddy. Even if you do find a CD player with a headphone out I would test it with the 600s to make sure it drives them ok.

 

[Henrik Nordberg]

Thanks for the reply, Nick. That is worth considering.

Another possibility that I was thinking of, was to buy a player without a headphone jack, and plug the line outs into a headphone amp. Would that be a better plan?

Also, for disks that lack a high-res stereo track, do SACD and DVD-Audio players have any down-mixing capabilities?

Thanks!
- Henrik

 

[jaxvon]

Actually, I think the headphone amp route would be the way to go. Most decent players will have have a downmix capability as well. I was thinking something along the lines of a Pioneer DV-578AS (plays anything) and a decent headphone amp, like something from Musician's Friend. This would probably run you around $200, or maybe less if you can find an inexpensive headphone amp. I don't really shop for headphone amps that much, so I don't know where to find deals on them. A single channel amp would be great, but most of those are "audiophile" amps and cost way too much money.

 

[Nick250]

I agree that using a headphone amp would be a good sulution. I have one at the office that works very well. I can not think of the brand at the moment. I will try to remember to post it later on.

 

[Ax-man]

I use a Creek OBH-11 headphone amplifier to power my Sennheiser headphones and it does a good job.

 

[Nick250]

I use a Creek OBH-11 headphone amplifier to power my Sennheiser headphones and it does a good job.

I second the Creek. I have one at the office and it handles my Senns HD
580s just fine. And as we know the 580 is almost the same thing as the 600 so it should work well.

Nick

 

[j_garcia]

You wouldn't need to downmix anything, nearly all DVDs have a stereo track, and the vast majority of all SACDs and DVD-As also have a stereo track. Headphone amp is the way I would go too.

 

[Henrik Nordberg]

Thanks for all replies.

My options after doing some research are:

Pioneer DV-588A-S $120
Pros: Plays both SACD and DVD-Audio, Cheap, newer
Cons: Quality of SACD not that good (down converted)?, low quality?

Pioneer Elite DV-45A $350
Pros: Plays both SACD and DVD-Audio, excellent build quality
Cons: Expensive, older technology

Sony SCD-C595 $127
Pros: high quality SACD, cheap, 5-disc changer
Cons: no DVD-Audio playback

Sony SCD-C2000ES $300
Pros: even higher quality SACD?, 5-disc changer, headphone jack, 5 year warranty, excellent build quality
Cons: no DVD-Audio playback, expensive

I am leaning most towards either the Pioneer 588 or the Sony ES. The question is how large the difference in quality is between those two. With the 588 I would get a headphone amp ($200).

I am not too worried by the Sony being SACD only. I can still play DVD-Audio on the computer and most of what I listen to is available in SACD format. I would get the Dylan box and a bunch of classical discs (and Minimum-Maximum -- keep hoping...).

What do you think? Any other suggestions?

Thanks!
- Henrik

 

[j_garcia]

SCD-2000ES is a CD/SACD player only, it does not play DVDs at all. There are NO Sony players that play DVD-A. The 2000 is the new version of the 222ES, which is an excellent SACD player. Of those you listed, it would be my choice. If you are looking for DVD playback also, there is the new 3100ES.

If quality playback is what you're after, inexpensive isn't going to be the way to go. If you are just looking for playback, any of the players you listed will work.

 

[Henrik Nordberg]

SCD-2000ES is a CD/SACD player only, it does not play DVDs at all. There are NO Sony players that play DVD-A. The 2000 is the new version of the 222ES, which is an excellent SACD player. Of those you listed, it would be my choice. If you are looking for DVD playback also, there is the new 3100ES.

I would not mind SACD only. Most of the music I like that is available in hi-res, is on SACD. Having said that, I have ordered the Pioneer 588 and it shipped today. If it doesn't measure up, then I might get the C2000ES. I got a great quote from Oade Brothers.

Here're the reasons that I went with the 588:

• Price
• Sony approved HDMI 1.2 for SACD, so the next Sony ES player will likely support HDMI
• I realized I can use my old Adcom preamp ($2k) as a "headphone amp", until I buy a proper one
• DVD-Audio support is a nice bonus

I also placed orders for some great music:
Here's my order from yourmusic.com:

• Billy Joel -- The Stranger (Remastered) $5.99
• Billy Joel -- An Innocent Man (Remastered) $5.99
• Arcadi Volodos -- Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Rachmaninoff: Solo
• Piano Works (SACD Hybrid) $5.99
• Fritz Reiner -- Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra (SACD Hybrid) $5.99
• Fritz Reiner -- Bartók, Concerto For Orchestra (SACD Hybrid) $5.99
• Mstislav Rostropovich -- Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 (SACD Hybrid) $5.99
• Bob Dylan -- The Limited Edition SACD Hybrid Set $95.84

and here is my order from cduniverse.com:

• Bpo / Karajan / Mozart Mozart: Requiem / Karajan, Tomowa-Sintow, Baltsa, et al $15.65
• Brahms / Cso / Heifetz / Reiner / Tchaikovsky Brahms, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos / Heifetz, Reiner $10.45
• Bso / Munch / Ravel Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe Complete / Munch, Boston Symphony $9.79
• Evans, Bill Waltz For Debby $21.19
• Fischer / Rachmaninoff Rachmaninov: Symphony no 2, Vocalise / Iván Fischer, et al $20.09
• Jarvi / Nielsen / Stravinsky Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Nielsen: Symphony 5 / Järvi $15.79
• Bach: Goldberg Variations / Glenn Gould $16.65
• Joel, Billy 52nd Street $17.39

A $120 player with $250 worth of music. Hmm...

Thanks for your help.

- Henrik

 

[Nick250]

It would seem to me that with the Adcomp preamp you would not need a "proper" headphone amp. Infact I suspect it would be hard to beat. Unless it is a size/space issue in which case the deminutive Creek could fill the bill.

 

[jaxvon]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the Pioneer. It has a TON of features for the price. If you're a rock fan at all (as in some of the harder stuff), I highly suggest Porcupine Tree's In Absentia. It's AMAZING in 5.1 DTS, but even in stereo with headphones, the sound is great, as is the diversity of the music. For rock, the fidelity is excellent. Obviously it's compressed, but that's the recording style often associated with the genre.

If you're looking for some awesome jazz or acoustic stuff, check out the CDs from MapleShapde. They use bare-bones audiophile-style recording for a very realistic sound. Just make sure that you're only shopping for music there, as they sell magic cables and metal feet there too

 

[j_garcia]

I highly suggest Porcupine Tree's In Absentia. It's AMAZING in 5.1 DTS, but even in stereo with headphones, the sound is great, as is the diversity of the music.

I'll second that one. It's very well mixed and the DVD-A tracks sound pretty darn amazing. I'm not crazy about every song, but the sound is excellent and I like the disc overall. (Thanks Ron )

Jazz - Patricia Barber Cafe Blue, or Companion. Excellent MoFi recordings and they really show how good SACD can sound (2ch only, hybrid).

 

[Henrik Nordberg]

Thanks for the recommendations! I will consider them for my next order.
But now I will enjoy the 30-some SACDs on the way to my door.

- Henrik