Pioneer DV 578A-s

[JJMP50]

I probably should have asked this yesterday because I picked up this Pioneer DV 578A-s DVD audio player on my way home from work. I didn't plan on buying it but it was on sale for $108 and I couldn't refuse. It's still in the box so I haven't even tested it out yet. Has anyone had any experience with this unit? It was the cheapest unit I've ever seen that supports SA-CD.

 

[Rob Babcock]

That's a good price. The player itself is pretty nice for the money. It replaced the DV-563A, which I have. I haven't used the new model much, but from what I've seen it's as good in most respects. All Pioneers I've used or seen are very reliable, and work very well with practically all brands of recordable DVDs, if that's an issue for you.

I think you got a very good deal on a nice machine!

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Excellent bang for the buck, but still entry level. For $100 can you really go wrong?? I have a Panasonic F 85 that plays DVDaudio and is a few years old and after reading glowing reviews I bought the Pioneer 578a as it plays SACD.... tried it for a week and took it back as the picture was nowhere near my Panny...was ghosting...flickering on the two movies I tried...it also froze up on a brand new DVD, a copy of Platoon. DVD audio was not as good either. I did like the single player compared to my carousel though...so did the wife..

If you do not have a player now that plays DVD audio it is OK for a cheap price. However, in my case, it was not an upgrade from what I had...and after I saw what was available on SACD, I scrapped it. Sorry, but Pink Floyd DSOTM is not reason enough to get SACD. My CD sounds good enough already ... I would get the Yamaha or Denon models if I was without a DVD player right now. The Denon 2910 would be my first choice..

JC

 

[JJMP50]

Input

Thanks for the input. I set it up Friday afternoon and have been using it all weekend (the weather was crappy). So far I don't have any complaints. I did notice the the picture seems to be a little darker that I'm used to but I can probably mess with that a little and fix it.

I do have one other question. I picked up Clapton's Crossroads Festival DVD set this weekend and about 10 min before the end of the first disc a blue bar appears at the top of my screen with a camera icon in it and I cant get it to go away. It does the at the same place on subsequent replays. Any thoughts?

 

[Rob Babcock]

I've seen goofy stuff like that with several players. I have an anime disc that used to make my older Pioneer Elite DV45-A do that, and another disc that brinds up some weird menu on my Denon.

 

[JVC]

I have gotten the blue band with the camera icon, on some of my homemade backup movies. I've never seen it on a store bought movie.

I think Johnny must have gotten hold of a bad one. I've not heard of the ghosting thing from anyone else that has one.

And, no matter what anyone else says...........Pink Floyd's DSOTM "IS DEFINATELY" reason enough to get sacd! You've never heard DSOTM, until you hear the sacd on a decent system! (of course, this is just my opinion, but an awful lot of other folks agree with me).

Good luck! You should be very happy with the Pioneer.
BTW.......... A friend has the Denon 2200, he bought new. From day one, it won't play a dvd-r, without having big problems with it. For that reason alone, I'll choose Pioneer dvd players over Denon's. My Pioneer plays any and every disc I have ever put in it.....

 

[Rob Babcock]

I have a Denon DVD-2200, and it's not good at all with DVD-Rs, either. The Denon's got a lot better picture than any of the Pioneers I've owned (DV-45A, DV-565, DV-563a, & DV-260S), and it sounds better. So I keep a Pioneer and the Denon both in the rack. Problem solved!

 

[rgriffin25]

I have played quite a few DVD-R on my Denon 2200 and they all have worked fine. (I use TDK media and a Plextor burner.) I have had a couple of CDs not play, it trys to load and then acts as if there isnt a disc in the tray.

I had some problems with the 578a that I owned, but I haven't heard of anyone else complain. Pretty decent machine for the money!