Yamaha DVD players...the lowdown

[Johnny Canuck]

I really had no beef with the Pioneer player but to say it was not even in the same league as the Yamaha. It's a $129 player. I am sure it's good for that price, but to me, it was not good enough for my taste. The yamaha is $100 more and worth it.

I now have a Denon 2910 and it is far superior to the Yamaha. The Yamaha player is very detailed and paired with my Polks, was far too bright. SACD was unlistenable. My search for audio bliss is over and i should have bit the bullet months ago and gone straight for this one.

JC
The DVD 750 from Yamaha is better than the 657 too. Far better analog.

 

[shokhead]

I really had no beef with the Pioneer player but to say it was not even in the same league as the Yamaha. It's a $129 player. I am sure it's good for that price, but to me, it was not good enough for my taste. The yamaha is $100 more and worth it.

I now have a Denon 2910 and it is far superior to the Yamaha. The Yamaha player is very detailed and paired with my Polks, was far too bright. SACD was unlistenable. My search for audio bliss is over and i should have bit the bullet months ago and gone straight for this one.

JC
The DVD 750 from Yamaha is better than the 657 too. Far better analog.

How did your DVD player have anything to do with being to brite?

 

[Johnny Canuck]

What? After 768 posts you think you would have an idea. Wow.

 

[shokhead]

What? After 768 posts you think you would have an idea. Wow.

Well the right answer would be your running your DVD player with analog connections and then you can blame your player for being brite. The wrong answer would be your running your dig connection and you can blame your DVD player for being brite. Well?

 

[Johnny Canuck]

shokhead. no disrepect intended. Reading it today, it looks like my post could have been taken like that..sorry dude.

In the past 6 months I have owned or auditioned the following DVD players:

Panasonic F85 (had for 2 years)
Pioneer models, 578 and last years whatever it was called.
Yamaha 657
Yamaha 1500
Yamaha 750 (two different models, one had a bad drawer)
Panasonic 97
Denon 2910 (three models, all different manufactured dates, was sold a demo or repacked model by mistake)

EVERY SINGLE ONE SOUNDED DIFFERENT.


i know what i heard. Your posts seem to insinuate there are no differences in the way one DVD player sounds to another. Are you really to believe a POS Pioneer player that costs $129 is as good as a $900 Denon? And yes, i did compare analog to analog, digital to digital. I am not that stupid.

And yes, the Pioneer 578 and whatever model it replaced or whatever the new model will be next year is a POS. It might be OK for a starving student, but even then, the player is a total welfare player. The weight of it, the cheap plastics, the remote, and most importantly, the sound and picture quality. I am very surprised anyone in these forums would even sniff at that machine when the Yamaha models are not that much more.

Specs are one thing. Listening evaluation is another.

However, I am one to want the best I can afford. The Denon 2910 has made me happy. It is not bright sounding. Maybe your speakers don't have very detailed, almost bright sounding highs like my Polk RTI 12's. If you don't believe a DVD player makes a difference you are fooling yourself.

JC

 

[greenhill]

Hey Johnny!

Hey Johnny, I don't want to get in between what's going on with you and shokhead........ but, i'm looking for some answers from people who had real experience with the Yamaha dvd-s657...... I'm having some trouble getting some answers on multiple forums, and even Yamaha's SLOWWWWW customer support... so I was hoping you could help. (even though you've switched to a Denon.) When you get a chance would you mind addressing my posts on page 2. on this forum..... especially about if the "d.mix" and "multi channel" being lit up on the display during normal DVD(dts,DD) play-back when I only have a Optical audio to my Reciever..... also wandering if you had periodic disc loading problems....... I'm still within my 30 day purchase date, and i'm thinking of returning it for another one....
thanks dude.... whenever you get a chance..
greenhill.

 

[morkys]

Well, I figure this is the best thread to jump into since it is the most recent. I am picking up a Yamaha C750 for use as my ALL REGION PAL/NTSC player. I may later graduate to the C950. I looked at the 657, but I am a 5 disc changer junkie. My first CD player ever was a Sony 5 disc changer in 1989, and its still playing perfectly. Also, the Yamaha 657 is apparantly a re-badged philips 720a, and I suspect that the C750 may not be, or is at least consisting of more Yamaha than Philips inards (could be wrong, not sure). Now I have found that the Yamaha C750 owners hang out here....

So here are my C750 questions:

1) Is the C750's lack of ability to pass blacker than black pluge causing you grief? Is this negatively affecting your experience with this player or can you still calibrate ok? Does anybody know if the C750 puts out blacker than black pluge over the interlaced component outputs?

2) Will there ever be the ability to upgrade firmware for the C750?

3) Is HDCD playback not a feature I can count on? Are all HDCD's playing back crappy? (unfortunately, that is a feature of the F87 I loose!)

4) Does the C750 do Divx ok in most cases? Is Divx very useful?

5) What SACD's and DVD Audio discs should I consider grabbing (there are so many out there...lol!)?

6) Has anybody upgraded to the C950 (as opposed to choosing the Panny S77 / S97 or the Oppo?
. . .

oh and are many of you enjoying the PAL to NTSC ALL REGION capabilities of the C750?

Can't think of any other questions for now. When I get the player, I will report back with my experience.

 

[morkys]

Anybody out there with more time spent with the C750 (or C950) with feedback to share?

Has anybody tried play a dvd with MP3's on it?

Discs can jump out of their spots due to a fast moving carousel. Has anybody else experienced this? I am going to have a look at the carousel to see if I can MacGyver it so the discs cannot move without destroying the player itself.

 

[morkys]

Has anybody experienced a "lip sync" problem? I was watching The Client last night and I had to go back a chapter twice to re-sync the audio and video.

EDIT.. I tried a DTS disc and it seemed ok. I am trying Tommy Boy via Dolby Surround (like what the Client dvd had) and I could have sworn it went slightly out of sync at one point, but if it does go out of sync, it probably gets back into sync at the start of each chapter.

 

[zumbo]

The 657 sets an automatic crossover in bass management of 120.
The 1500, and 2500 have a crossover choice of 60,80,100, and 120.(SACD only)

Denon 3910 and 5910 let you set the crossover.
50/100(SACD) 40,60,80,100, & 120 multi-channel

Yamaha more flexible for SACD, and Denon for dvd-a. While Denon does offer somewhat of an adjustment for both.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

The Denon 2910 is set at 80hz. Perfect. No need for an adjustment of any kind.

The Yamaha 750 would have been my second choice.

JC

 

[zumbo]

The 750 is set at 120.

The 2910 states for dvd-a disc, the disc's settings are given priority, so the sound may not produced as set with the above speaker mode setting. It also doesn't state where the crossover is for the SMALL setting, or I couldn't find it.

It also states a choice of 50/100 crossover point for SACD.

 

[morkys]

Anybody know if there is a firmware update for the Yamaha 750?

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Zumbo..I think the 50/100 hz setting is only when you listen to SACD Direct, which sets your fronts to Large..I choose to not listen to SACD this way and set the fronts to small, crossover is at 80hz.

JC

 

[infinightdream]

yamaha dvd s657 availability

Hi,
i wanted to know if anybody can guide what amp/receiver/speakers can go appropriately with yamaha dvd s657 player.

i live in india, and hence, brand products availibility is limited.

also, is the yamaha dvd s657 model multi-region available in India or is it only region 3 (Asia)?

thanks in advance.

infinightdream.

 

[Pyrrho]

I know it's sort of off topic, but anyone know anything about the DVD-C950? And what does the 750 not doing dual layer mean? I had thought that dual layer was a standard feature on DVDs.

Thanks
--the newbie.

Good question about the "dual layer" comment. Too bad he hasn't explained that (yet?).

 

[Pyrrho]

Well, I figure this is the best thread to jump into since it is the most recent. I am picking up a Yamaha C750 for use as my ALL REGION PAL/NTSC player. I may later graduate to the C950. I looked at the 657, but I am a 5 disc changer junkie. My first CD player ever was a Sony 5 disc changer in 1989, and its still playing perfectly. Also, the Yamaha 657 is apparantly a re-badged philips 720a, and I suspect that the C750 may not be, or is at least consisting of more Yamaha than Philips inards (could be wrong, not sure). Now I have found that the Yamaha C750 owners hang out here....

So here are my C750 questions:

1) Is the C750's lack of ability to pass blacker than black pluge causing you grief? Is this negatively affecting your experience with this player or can you still calibrate ok? Does anybody know if the C750 puts out blacker than black pluge over the interlaced component outputs?

2) Will there ever be the ability to upgrade firmware for the C750?

3) Is HDCD playback not a feature I can count on? Are all HDCD's playing back crappy? (unfortunately, that is a feature of the F87 I loose!)

4) Does the C750 do Divx ok in most cases? Is Divx very useful?

5) What SACD's and DVD Audio discs should I consider grabbing (there are so many out there...lol!)?

6) Has anybody upgraded to the C950 (as opposed to choosing the Panny S77 / S97 or the Oppo?
. . .

oh and are many of you enjoying the PAL to NTSC ALL REGION capabilities of the C750?

Can't think of any other questions for now. When I get the player, I will report back with my experience.

I own a DVD-C750. The picture is fine on my ordinary 27" TV; calibration went as smoothly as it ever has on any DVD or laserdisc player I've adjusted. I doubt that Yamaha will upgrade the firmware, but only Yamaha can know the answer to that. I have absolutely no problem playing HDCDs, and have no idea what Johnny Canuck's problem was. I have never tried Divx. As for SACDs and DVD-As, it depends on what kinds of music you like. I have not upgraded to the DVD-C950. I am very much enjoying the all region capability (required code entered via remote) and the PAL to NTSC conversion, which was something necessary for me to be willing to buy it in the first place. I think it is the best player I have ever owned. The menu is, however, somewhat confusing, and from reviews I have read online, it seems that many people improperly set it up and imagine the player to be defective when it is simply doing what its settings dictate. For a pretty good review:

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/YamahaDVD-C750DVDChanger1.php

They are happy with the video performance at its price point.

One other thing: the 120 Hz crossover isn't as bad as people make out. I would prefer it to be lower, but it isn't the end of the world.

 

[Pyrrho]

Some good points johnny, but doesn't the oppo have dvda ? it says on there website it does, and it has the inputs on the back for it. I will check them out much thoroughly when the time and money comes.

The Oppo does do DVD-A. Also, I own a Yamaha DVD-C750, and it plays HDCDs without any "pops and clicks". I have no idea what he is talking about when he claims "No dual layer." It plays both the SACD and CD layer of hybrid SACDs, and it plays both the DVD-A and DVD-V layer of DVD-As (if he means either of those, it is possible he got confused about how to access these, as it is not intuitive). And it hasn't suddenly stopped playing in the middle of a movie when it reaches a layer change either.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

HDCD is a Panasonic invention and I am not the only one to say Yamaha has issues with HDCD. It is a well known issue. I actually asked someone about it at Yamaha Canada one day when I had them on the phone for another issue.

Even in the manual, HDCD is not listed as a format of discs the Yamaha player supports.

It is possible to play HDCD through analog, but digitally, you will hear pops and clicks, almost like a VCR sounds when the tracking is off.

JC

 

[morkys]

Well, I will probably be keeping this puppy around for a while for sure. It is handy with all that it can play. I wish it had the noise reduction that my Panasonic DVD players have.

I have not checked this yet, but does anybody know if the C750 does auto-pillarboxing?

thanx for the feedback folks,