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Well, I broke the bank Tuesday evening. The Apex DVD player in the living room was dying. My wife said I could buy a new one, but to keep it to about $80.00. The Apex was $50 when I got it, and I think that another one that cheap would not last. I’ve been wanting to check out SACD and DVD-A while I still can, so I mentioned that I found a DVD player that I liked, but it was refurbished so I didn’t know how long they would last. To my surprise, she went along with getting the new machine. So I ordered a Samsung HD-841 from Tiger Direct. Under $80.00 with the shipping!!
I had concerns about getting one of these after reading a bunch of negative reviews of this model and about lots of people having trouble setting up universal players. I set the new unit up in my theater in the basement and brought the old DVD player up to the living room.
I have no idea where I got that patch cord with red, black, green, and yellow plugs, but it helped make hooking the player to my Pioneer 709 receiver a snap. All I did was plug everything in and play stuff. I did no set up stuff at all. In addition to the Pioneer, I have Polk RTi 38s and CSi 30 speakers across the front, some KLHs that I got for $20.00 at BB in the back, and my 500 watt Quatro 15 DIY sub. I use 12 ga. speaker wire from Home Depot and generic interconnects.
I bought the Jorma Kaukonen SACD that was mentioned a while back and the DVD-A of Tommy.
Mind you, I’ve had all of a bit over two hours with this machine, so far. Just enough time to listen to all of the Kaukonen disc and most of Tommy.
First impressions: I liked that blue light around the power button. I wish the info in the window used the same blue instead of that crappy green. Then the music came on. They can make th edispalys any damn color they want as long as the music sounds that good!
That nice acoustic folk music on Jorma’s album, note that I am too lazy to run downstairs to look up the title, was as close to live as I ever thought I’d hear at home. I can understand why one might object to surround music, but for my maiden voyage into hi-rez in my own system, I ain’t gonna object. The bass struck me as especially well integrated into the rest of the music. I mention this because I have read so much about problems with bass management in these universal machines. This one seems to have it together with no effort on my part.
Tommy was a whole new experience. I have heard it live twice, including its first American performance at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. I bought the record. I have the CD. I think it’s a remastered one. However, this DVD-A is like a whole new experience. I think it justifies multi-channel music. I heard things in Keith’s drumming that I never heard before. This recording indicates that anything I ever said to anyone about him being the best rock drummer ever was horribly understated.
I can’t wait to try a movie on this thing.
What’s interesting about all of this is that I was reaching a point of wondering why I was still interested in all this A/V stuff. I have been enjoying the live concerts that I have been working at way more than my recorded music and have acquired a taste for plays of late. However, I can see where hi-rez might just make me content to enjoy my evenings at home with music again.
Therefore, I find it truly regrettable that SACD and DVD-A were not better publicized and sold to the public. In our culture full of hype for any and every kind of utter crap, it is a shame that something as wonderful as hi-rez has not been given every chance to succeed.
I had concerns about getting one of these after reading a bunch of negative reviews of this model and about lots of people having trouble setting up universal players. I set the new unit up in my theater in the basement and brought the old DVD player up to the living room.
I have no idea where I got that patch cord with red, black, green, and yellow plugs, but it helped make hooking the player to my Pioneer 709 receiver a snap. All I did was plug everything in and play stuff. I did no set up stuff at all. In addition to the Pioneer, I have Polk RTi 38s and CSi 30 speakers across the front, some KLHs that I got for $20.00 at BB in the back, and my 500 watt Quatro 15 DIY sub. I use 12 ga. speaker wire from Home Depot and generic interconnects.
I bought the Jorma Kaukonen SACD that was mentioned a while back and the DVD-A of Tommy.
Mind you, I’ve had all of a bit over two hours with this machine, so far. Just enough time to listen to all of the Kaukonen disc and most of Tommy.
First impressions: I liked that blue light around the power button. I wish the info in the window used the same blue instead of that crappy green. Then the music came on. They can make th edispalys any damn color they want as long as the music sounds that good!
That nice acoustic folk music on Jorma’s album, note that I am too lazy to run downstairs to look up the title, was as close to live as I ever thought I’d hear at home. I can understand why one might object to surround music, but for my maiden voyage into hi-rez in my own system, I ain’t gonna object. The bass struck me as especially well integrated into the rest of the music. I mention this because I have read so much about problems with bass management in these universal machines. This one seems to have it together with no effort on my part.
Tommy was a whole new experience. I have heard it live twice, including its first American performance at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. I bought the record. I have the CD. I think it’s a remastered one. However, this DVD-A is like a whole new experience. I think it justifies multi-channel music. I heard things in Keith’s drumming that I never heard before. This recording indicates that anything I ever said to anyone about him being the best rock drummer ever was horribly understated.
I can’t wait to try a movie on this thing.
What’s interesting about all of this is that I was reaching a point of wondering why I was still interested in all this A/V stuff. I have been enjoying the live concerts that I have been working at way more than my recorded music and have acquired a taste for plays of late. However, I can see where hi-rez might just make me content to enjoy my evenings at home with music again.
Therefore, I find it truly regrettable that SACD and DVD-A were not better publicized and sold to the public. In our culture full of hype for any and every kind of utter crap, it is a shame that something as wonderful as hi-rez has not been given every chance to succeed.
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