the best sacd player for the money.

[naisphoo]

In your opinion which is the best sacd player around for the money. Ok I'm an idiot and I did something to my denon 2910 and i don't think it will be covered by their warranty. I just want a sacd player, cheap but the best one I can get for as little money as possible.

 

[j_garcia]

Really cheap, I'd say look at the Sony SCD-C595 at around $150. Not the best, but it will work. If you're looking for something better for just a bit more, I'd opt for the SCD-C2000ES, which I believe is can be found for around $200-300.

 

[naisphoo]

thanks i'll look into those

 

[tomd51]

Samsung DVD-HD950

The Samsung DVD-HD950 can be found at Amazon for ~160.00 here.

Just got it last week and it's pretty versatile, plays both DVD-A and SACD. It's also an HD upconversion player via HDMI, but can also perform HD upconversion via component with a remote hack. Don't notice a big difference on well mastered DVDs from a visual aspect from my Panasonic DVD-F87, but hopefully when HD-DVDs start rolling off the press, I'll be able to see a noticable difference then... -TD

 

[j_garcia]

but hopefully when HD-DVDs start rolling off the press, I'll be able to see a noticable difference then... -TD

?? This is not an HD-DVD player so it won't play HD-DVDs, AFAIK.

 

[tomd51]

I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that existing DVD players will be able to play the HD-DVD formatted DVDs. I thought that was one of the selling points of HD-DVD, but given the information/misinformation on HD-DVD, I could be (and likely am) wrong... -TD

 

[goodman]

I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that existing DVD players will be able to play the HD-DVD formatted DVDs. I thought that was one of the selling points of HD-DVD, but given the information/misinformation on HD-DVD, I could be (and likely am) wrong... -TD

I think it's the other way around. The new-format HD-DVD and Blu Ray players will be backwards compatible to play old-fashioned DVDs.

 

[tomd51]

Uh... yeah, that's what I mean't... sorta...

I think it's the other way around. The new-format HD-DVD and Blu Ray players will be backwards compatible to play old-fashioned DVDs.

That makes more sense. Doesn't matter too much, I still needed a DVD player when I bought it and it was pretty inexpensive for a multi-format, hi-res player.

From what I've read (to this point in time), HD-DVD players are being engineered to be backwards compatible with current DVDs, as are the Blu-Ray players. However I have yet to read of any player capable of playing both new formats.

Then again, it's still early... -TD

 

[j_garcia]

Samsung made an announcement about mid last year stating that if both formats come to market, they would sell a player that played both

 

[Xsound]

Pioneer DV-588 is a pretty highly regarded player in terms of video quality and sound quality. Can be had for less than $150.

 

[stanrozenfeld]

If you can spend more money, Sony dvp-ns9100ES sounds beautiful! It also seems to be the new darling of modders who can't say enough good things about it. At any rate, I've decided to keep it even after I buy high-def dvd player, just for sacd/cd playback.

 

[j_garcia]

OK, most people are recommending players that are under $500. "More money" is another ~$700? I like Sony, but I wouldn't spend $1200 on a player that doesn't do DVD-A...

 

[stanrozenfeld]

I got it for a lot less $1200, but it was more than $500. Yes, lack of dvd-audio is a negative for some, but I can live without dvd-audio, so it wasn't an issue for me, and the person who started the thread did mention sacd as the main point.

 

[j_garcia]

OT: How's the video portion? It seems that video is not the strongest point for Sony players in my experience, but that seems to be with their "normal" players and this one is a bit more up-market than the those. In it's price bracket, I'd say it has some stiff competition between the Denon 2910 and 3910. He also said "cheap", so if he was going to spend over $500, he might as well just get another 2910...

 

[Taifun]

Pioneer Elite DV-45A

I recently picked up a Pioneer Elite DV-45A for $300 new in the box. I'm pretty impressed with the SACD performance on this little machine and the DVD-A is awesome as well. Might be worth a look.

 

[stanrozenfeld]

I owned both Denon 2910 and 3910. These are my subjective opinions, no double blind test you understand.

I think Denon 3910 and Sony 9100ES to be in the same class ( I used hdmi). I think Denon strives to be more like hdtv and has more 'punch' to it, whereas Sony is more filmlike. I saw macroblocking with Denon (on my Samsung 61" DLP TV), but Sony gave the cleanest picture I've seen yet. Sony also has an audio delay ckt which helps. I do see more layer changes on Sony than on Denon. And Denon's remote and set up system is far ahead of Sony. And Denon has an unmatched versatility in terms of connections and settings.

My two cents... but there is an excellent review of this unit at widescreen review.

By the way, one modder explained to me why this player sounds so good. It has a separate clock for analog audio processing that's not dependent on the main dvd clock. That's not true of most dvd players. Anyway, I take it to mean that once you shut off the video circuitry, it behaves just like a stand alone cd/sacd player. Also, finding a player that does bass management on analog out for sacds and cds was hard to say the least. Many Marantz and Pioneer units do not do it, yet this is essential if you have non-full range speakers. Denon and Sony both do it.

Sorry to run on,
Stan

 

[j_garcia]

I recently picked up a Pioneer Elite DV-45A for $300 new in the box. I'm pretty impressed with the SACD performance on this little machine and the DVD-A is awesome as well. Might be worth a look.

No offense, but the 45A got one of the worst reviews for video performance I've seen at Secrets. It scored a 34 out of a possible 100. The Pioneer DV-588 mentioned previously, at more than half that price MSRP, did much better with a 75.

By the way, one modder explained to me why this player sounds so good. It has a separate clock for analog audio processing that's not dependent on the main dvd clock. That's not true of most dvd players. Anyway, I take it to mean that once you shut off the video circuitry, it behaves just like a stand alone cd/sacd player.

That's probably why I like my 222 so much... and why it is still in my system. For SACD, the Sony players are the best, IMO. My 222 sounds better than my 2900, but having DVD-A was also important to me so that left me with Denon as my choice.

 

[Taifun]

no offense taken

I bought it as a temp player for my theater and it's eventual home as an audio only player. Video performance wasn't in the criteria?

 

[Johnny Canuck]

The Yamaha DVD 657A is an excellent unit for around $200. Plays everything, including DivX.. Far superior quality picture and sound to the Pioneer 588 ..I tried them both. Seriously. Check it out.

 

[pappekak]

Yamaha DV-C6760

I picked one up at B&H Video for around $180 shipped. Doesn't play DVD-A but does do SACD and just about everything else. I love the 5 disc changer for movies and music.

The manual says it only plays Region 1 but you can enter 99990 (or 999990) to play any region.

My only complaint is with the remote. You can't skip from say disc 2 to disc 5 with one button click. You have to skip disc, skip disc, skip disc or walk to the player and press the 5 button.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t&shs=DV-C6760&image.x=7&image.y=8