The (long, painful) search for the right multiformat player

[TrueDis]

First, let me start of by saying that I'm anal. I don't want to spend my money on something that isn't a quality product, or one that doesn't meet my requirements. I would rather spend more for a better product, but in terms of a multiformat DVD player I really don't think I should spend more than $300. There are lots of them out there in this price range, but they all seem to be missing something I need or have some major design flaw. I should say that I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I don't want to find out the hard way what ruined SACD playback sounds like. I want to have a magical first time I'm hoping to get some good recommendations from everybody out here as to what to get. Thanks in advance.

First off, what I don't care about:
- Upconverting (I have an EDTV plasma, plus, what's the deal with upconverting anyway ... you can't create resolution that isn't there)
- DivX playback (have a computer for that)
- Mp3 playback
... In fact, any gimmick feature should just go on this list. I just want it to play the discs I've bought well.

And what I do:
- SACD/DVD-A playback with proper bass management (this seems to be the toughest one)
- Region free (I just have a few foreign DVDs, but of course that doesn't matter, it's all or nothing on this one)
- BLACK (Like I said, I'm anal, and none of this gaudy silver stuff is making its way into my component rack)
- Chroma Bug Free

Here are the options I've found and their drawbacks:

1) Denon DVD-1920
This one seems great, it has bass management for SACD and DVD-A with crossover @ 80Hz, no delay control for SACD, but we can't have it all can we? DVD playback is supposed to be great, as expected from Denon, and it's chroma bug free ... but no region free without buying a super expensive one from JVB.nl ... rule this one out.

2) Pioneer DV-45A Elite
Seems like a nice player, does all of the formats, although I've read that bass management is screwed up and the crossovers are 120Hz SACD and 200Hz DVD-A ... seriously Pioneer, what are you thinking? It can be made region free, but i has the chroma bug. Rule this one out too.

3) Pioneer DV-655A
Foreign model, region free, plays all formats. Apparently is like the DV-45A, but foreign model, and according to a (questionable) review on Audioreview, doesn't have the chroma bug or bass management issues that the 45A has. Seems like a great option, but pretty much impossible to find these days, and if the crossovers are the same as the 45A then it seems like a bad option.

4) Samsung HD-950
Seems to be getting closer. Details seem sketchy, but it has bass management, crossovers unknown, distance compensation unknown. It's easy to region hack. I've also read that the 6 channel analog output is noisy, in fact noisier than the 2 channel out, so this seems like a loser in that department. Plus, I've just heard bad things about the Samsung players, so it seems sketchy.

5) Yamaha DVD-S1500
Seems excellent in terms of playback, though the interface is a nightmare. Easy to region hack. Adjustable crossover for SACD. Distance compensation for DVD-A. However, these are exactly as stated, and the features don't apply to both formats. No bass management for DVD-A? No thanks!

6) Yamaha DVD-S657
This one seemed like it! It's a Yamaha (or is it?), has 100/120Hz crossovers, delay compensation, easy to region hack, somewhat hard to find but available for a reasonable price a few places in the US ... but wait ... I found a forum posting somewhere about hacked firmware for the Philips DVP720SA where several people confirmed being able to use the firmeware on the DVD-S657. Yes, that's right, Yamaha is repackaging a 2 year old Philips player and selling it as theirs. From the sound of things, the Philips is full of bugs. Even if that weren't the case, I feel opposed to buying a Yamaha branded Philips just on principle.

Well, that was exhausting. I wish there was some perfect solution out there that didn't require a $1000+ player (though most of those seem to have one of these issues), but it just doesn't seem like it. Can someone tell me if I'm missing something? Any thoughts on the quality of any of these? Any recommendations?

And by the way, I refuse to buy an ICBM for $200. I'll seriously spend 1% of my time listening to DVD-A/SACD, but if I get a player, I want it to be able to do this and do it well. Yes, I'm tough to please.

 

[aarond]

Good Luck!
Let us know if you find it, I'm sure that there are lot of people here that will also buy one.

 

[j_garcia]

If you can give up SACD, sicne you say you won't listen to it much, the Cambridge Audio 540D is region free and is said to have excellent redbook and DVD-A capability.

All of the Samsung players have gotten less than stellar reviews, so they wouldn't be on my list.

Having owned 2 Denon players in the last 2 years (2200, 2900), I have been extremely pleased with them thus far. If region free was the only thing stopping you, and unless you have a very large number of different region discs, I'd say pick up a second, cheap region free player and the 1920.

What display do you have? Depending on the type and size, the CUE (chroma bug) may not even be that much of an issue. You already said it too - there is no perfect player, so just go buy a couple and try them out...

 

[TrueDis]

Thanks for the reply, j_garcia. I think you're on the right track here with the Denon. I know I said I won't be listening to DVD-A/SACD much, but it's probably SACD more than DVD-A (right now the two titles I have are both SACD, The Downward Spiral and Dark Side of the Moon), so I don't think the 540D will work out. However, I received a suggestion from someone that I never even thought about, but it makes perfect sense ... just copy my foreign DVDs and remove the region protection. Seems so simple, and it's not worth holding off on the Denon just because of that. I think I'm pretty much sold on it, although I wish there was more info out there on the Yamaha, but it seems like it's pretty much exactly the same unit as the Philips (wish somebody would prove me wrong though). Thanks again!

 

[aarond]

Yamaha, but it seems like it's pretty much exactly the same unit as the Philips (wish somebody would prove me wrong though). Thanks again!

there is alot of rebadging of players i'm not sure on the yamaha/phillips but, most onkyo's are rebadged pioneers. my denon 1600 is a rebadged panasonic rp82. Usually companies like onkyo,yamaha & denon that rebadge will use better power supplies and the build quality overall will be better.

 

[j_garcia]

DSotM is still my favorite multichannel SACD I should mention that I do have a problem with TDS on my 2900 - the early tracks are fine in m/c, but about half way through, they start to drop out and eventually it will not even play. It plays fine on my 222ES, and the 2ch tracks play fine on the 2900, so I know it has something to do with the disc and the location of the tracks on the disc, but it really ticks me off because this is the ONE and ONLY disc that I've had problems with on my 2900.

If you don't have it, the Dual Disc version of With Teeth is worth it too

For the price, I'd go 1920. Next choice might be a used 2200, it was an excellent all around player.

 

[claudermilk]

I'd say the Denon is probably the best bet for what you want. I got an open box 2200 just as the new models were coming out (great deal) & can't be happier with it. Now that you have a workaround for the region issue, I don't see areason not to get the Denon.

 

[Magoo]

Too bad the Oppo is silver -- seems like it'll meet all your other requirements...

 

[supervij]

The Oppo doesn't play SACDs, so it wouldn't be in his list anyway.

cheers,
supervij

 

[mulester7]

.....what's that NeoNuo deck that Brian has?....runs about $250....he's tickled with it......

 

[MACCA350]

My Denon 2200 came regionfree straight out of the box(some deal my store has with their suppliers) and I can't be happier with it.

If you're after a European version of the 1920, Here is a Firmware upgrade to make it regionfree.