Looking for new player SACD/DVDA is a must!

[Hdale85]

These are a few I've been looking at?

http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3299.asp

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11040456

Budget is probably like 500 or less street price. I've seen both of these for around 300 so any other suggestions? Being able to mod it might be nice and I think the Sony has a nice mod scene. If I can get better sound from a cheaper player with some mods that comes out to about 500 that would work to? And I'm not afraid of used.

[Pez]

Personally I think Denon makes the best universal players for the money. I dont think I have ever seen a bad professional review of any Denon products, wether it be a receiver or DVD player. Sony stuff is ok but just seems a little more catered to the masses. Even though Denon is a large company I find thier stuff to have just a little more refinement and geared more towards those who want the best performance first at a fair price.

I am not trying to bash Sony as I have a few of thier products but when I looking for something Sony its about price first and then performance.

[Hdale85]

Well the reason I was looking at the Sony stuff is because their SACD players seem to have a huge mod scene. Also I've heard that their high end ES stuff is top notch, and with mods outperforms just about anything. I could possibly maybe swing a 9100ES but I think I would rather spend a little less on the other one and mod it to where its probably better then the 9100ES. I was going to build an external DAC and probably still will but it may be used for my PC more then the player. I'm not too worried about video performance because most of my stuff is through my HTPC which has an HD-DVD rom and soon will have a BD-Rom.

[Pez]

I have heard the same about the Sony ES stuff being very good. I have to admit I am a little biased towards Denon so I generally recommend thier stuff whenever possible. And my post did not take into account the ability to mod the player (doing mods are a little over my head). From what I read about others experiences mods can really increase player performance and since it seems like that is important to you the Sony may be an easy decision. Also, since you are looking for SACD/DVD-A as opposed to video first Sony looks like the way to go. In the end both should be excellent units.

[Hdale85]

Yeah thats what I figured. The Denon does have the Faroudja but I don't really use the player much for DVD. The wife does sometimes because she doesn't know how to use the HTPC so well.

[JonMarsh]

As I own "high end" Sony and Denon, my first recommendation would be Denon, my 2nd would be listen to a Marantz, too. (Marantz and Denon have been part of the same company for several years). It depends on what price range you consider high end, of course- my experience is in the $3K range, though I've had some less expensive models, too. If DVD performance is important, then Denon's probably the best bet, if SACD is, the Marantz or Sony, the latter depending on model you're considering. Upper end Marantz and Denon use discrete HDAM modules, and I think they sound better than the opamps used even in the top of the line Sony's still. That's part of why there's a thriving mode business for them- more to fix! :W

[Hdale85]

Jon do you have any experience with modded Sony units? I'll have to look at the Marantz didn't think they would have much in the >500 range. When I say experience I mean have you heard one by chance?

[riceaterslc]

why not go with an OPPO model? i'm pretty sure i have seen modded oppo's out there as well. you would have an extra couple hundred left over after purchasing a new model. if not, i also recommend marantz, i love my player :T

[Hdale85]

Yeah the oppo is bout 100 bucks cheaper then the two I mentioned I believe. Less then that for the Denon.

[Hdale85]

Thinking about picking up a used 999ES a lot of people seem to like them. I don't know they are running around pretty cheap on audiogon and what not. Thats one of the ones I see being modded a lot too.

[zmanbands]

Hi Neighbor

I live in Butler. Sony's will not play DVDA ie DVD-A. I have an S9000ES, which I paid $350 for, in for level 5 mods at Music Technology in Va. [agent for Vacuum State]. Before mods the 9000 really sounded great. After mods, the modded and unmodded paths, can still both be played for comparison. You are welcome to come listen in about 10 days when I get it back. Mods are not cheap. Level 5 is $1595 but it will better anything out there used or new except the $15,000 Mietner SO I'm TOLD!!!! I think you will be surprised at how good the unmodded 9000 sounds. If interested email zmanbands@aim.com

[Hdale85]

Well I would mod it my self. But I may have to try and make it out there. Busy all the time though. And why won't they play DVD-A? Hmm.... well that would kind of suck. They are supposed to play on just about anything that play DVD's aren't they?

[littlesaint]

Well I would mod it my self. But I may have to try and make it out there. Busy all the time though. And why won't they play DVD-A? Hmm.... well that would kind of suck. They are supposed to play on just about anything that play DVD's aren't they?

I don't think any Sonys play DVD-A since it is the competing format to SACD. Not that there's much competition anymore. Both formats are sort of stagnant. With new HD-DVD audio format specs supporting everything they do, I'm curious where the high resolution audio market goes.

That said, I'm about to get the Oppo 970HD. I'll A/B the analog/digital to see if it is better as a player or transport in my setup. The rest of my system doesn't warrant anything more than that (right now) and it can be modded fairly inexpensively if desired. Otherwise, I would go with Marantz if po$$ible.

[Hdale85]

My only issue with the oppo is its build quality is poor. The tray especially. I don't know still looking around will be probably a month or so until I purchase a player.

[littlesaint]

Pioneer has a player in Europe right now that plays everything and is HDMI 1.2 compliant which means it passes DSD over HDMI. AFAIK the first player to do this. The Oppo and others convert DSD to PCM and send that over HDMI. If you have an HDMI 1.2 compliant receiver and want to use its DSD DACs, this would be something to check out.

It's unclear if there will be a US model, but a voltage step-up converter is fairly cheap, and region-free hacks are out there. The Pio retails for about $275 US plus whatever it takes to get it into the country.


I'm not completely sold on the DSD vs PCM debate, so I may just go with the Oppo for now.

[Ovation]

Sony does not have any players with DVD-A playback capability (corporate policy--just as no Panasonic player has SACD playback capability--same reason). If you want ONE player to play both SACD/DVD-A, Sony is NOT an option. Denon and Marantz are well respected in this field, as are some Pioneer Elite players (I own a Marantz "universal" player and I'm very happy with it).

[zmanbands]

Models Being Modded By Vacuum State

Most if not all of these models get modded because of build quality and good parts to begin with. You may want to select from this list. Some are real expensive to buy unmodded. Others are not. http://www.vacuumstate.com/various/SACD_2005.pdf

[zmanbands]

BTW DIY Kits

Vacuum State has DIY kits as well for the mods.

[Race Car Driver]

I have the denon 1920 (IIRC) and love it for a basic universal player. It was a great upgrade (at no cost to me) to my Yamaha universal.

I have a soft spot for Sony ES stuff. As mentioned, if you want DVDA, id look at the Denon stuff.

[bigburner]

My only issue with the oppo is its build quality is poor. The tray especially.

Hi Dougie,

I've had my Oppo 971 for nearly a year now and I've given it a lot of work. I have even used it for playing CDs too ever since I installed an external DAC. The Oppo has never missed a beat.

I agree that the tray looks flimsy but it must be made of tough plastic because I haven't read a single report about it breaking.

Nigel.

[zmanbands]

FYI Sony CD/DVD on audiogon

Several Sonys. many modded on audiogon. Search on Sony.

[cobbpa]

Pioneer has a player in Europe right now that plays everything and is HDMI 1.2 compliant which means it passes DSD over HDMI. AFAIK the first player to do this. The Oppo and others convert DSD to PCM and send that over HDMI. If you have an HDMI 1.2 compliant receiver and want to use its DSD DACs, this would be something to check out.

It's unclear if there will be a US model, but a voltage step-up converter is fairly cheap, and region-free hacks are out there. The Pio retails for about $275 US plus whatever it takes to get it into the country.


I'm not completely sold on the DSD vs PCM debate, so I may just go with the Oppo for now.

Heh...no settling about it now!

http://oppodigital.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DV980H

DSD over HDMI (1.2), 7.1 outputs...check it out, might just be what some are looking for.

[Hdale85]

OK! That oppo player looks damn sexy! Hmm looks like the drive tray may be a little better too. But it has HDMI and analog output plus DSD over HDMI although I don't have an HDMI receiver right now.

[littlesaint]

OK! That oppo player looks damn sexy! Hmm looks like the drive tray may be a little better too. But it has HDMI and analog output plus DSD over HDMI although I don't have an HDMI receiver right now.

I'm putting in an order today. I was already pretty set on the 970 so this is a no-brainer for $20 more.

[aud19]

Heh...no settling about it now!

http://oppodigital.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DV980H

DSD over HDMI (1.2), 7.1 outputs...check it out, might just be what some are looking for.

Hmmm :P I don't see what chipset it's using for scaling/deinterlacing and I'll wait to see some reviews but that looks AWFUL promising :yesnod:

[littlesaint]

Hmmm :P I don't see what chipset it's using for scaling/deinterlacing and I'll wait to see some reviews but that looks AWFUL promising :yesnod:

I believe it uses they same integrated chipset as the 970.

[aud19]

I believe it uses they same integrated chipset as the 970.

Ya looks like. I wish they'd build a top notch unit.... I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who would pay another $100-$200 for a unit that did both top notch audio AND video. Not one or the other...

[littlesaint]

Ya looks like. I wish they'd build a top notch unit.... I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who would pay another $100-$200 for a unit that did both top notch audio AND video. Not one or the other...

I can see that. For me though, I already have a Toshiba XA2 HD-DVD, so I'm just looking for universal audio over HDMI.

[cobbpa]

Yeah, I chose the 970 about a year ago because I won't have an HDTV for a while, so upconverting wasn't super important to me. I would have liked the new 980 if it was around, a little more room to grow, but if that player had Faroudja & the other features of the better video player, I'd be all about it when the time comes.

One step further, how hard would it be for a small company like this to create a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player? I'd guess it's something we won't see until one format becomes dominant.

[bigburner]

One step further, how hard would it be for a small company like this to create a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player? I'd guess it's something we won't see until one format becomes dominant.

My guess is that OPPO Digital will only be interested when sales volumes of high definition players are much higher than they are are now. It remains to be seen whether sales volumes of HD players increase greatly if/when one format becomes dominant. It may take years for them to become widely used, particularly if standard definition upconverting technology continues to improve. There are a lot of SD DVDs out there, and the leap from SD to HD is not nearly as attractive as (say) the leap from VHS to DVD.

[zmanbands]

An SACD and DVD-A obsevation.

When exploring the amazon music marketplace I see about 2250 titles perhaps 10% are repeated. About 70% of them are classical. When looking for DVD-A they can't even decide what to call it . At best there are 350 but many of these turn out to be Video DVD's not DVD-A at all. So who is winning this race??? Now there are other sites for material in both formats but I look on Amazon "used", for the best buys overall.

[Hdale85]

I think I'm going to possibly pick up that Oppo player. It doesn't have the faroudja but thats ok as I don't own many dvd's anymore just HD-DVD's and BD.