Help me choose a new univ. DVD player

[Kevin P]

As most of you know by now, my house burned down and my entire home theater was destroyed. Although we won't be moving back in for 4-6 months, I'm scoping out DVD players mainly because if I choose the Denon DVD-2900 I need to decide soon.

Anyway, to give an idea of what I'm looking for, my old player was a Sony DVP-S9000ES. A tank, in other words. A tank with excellent SACD and CD performance, as well as DVD. Basically, I'm looking for a single tray player with the following features:

DVD-A and SACD capability with high sound quality
Excellent redbook CD performance (via analog and/or digital)
Good build quality
Something that won't freeze as soon as it sees a scratch on the disc
CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R compatibility
Ability to output progressive (via component) and interlaced (via composite/S-video) at the same time (in case I get a Rotel RSP-1098 )
Good video performance in both interlaced and progressive modes (in case I get an outboard scaler)
Discrete power codes for Pronto

I figure I'll spend up to $1000 street for such a player. Some contenders include:

Denon DVD-2600: has all the features I want, but some reviews on audioreview.com are mixed (some have had issues with disc noise/vibration, slow loading etc.) Alternate: Denon DVD-3910.

Sony DVP-NS999ES: The successor to my old player. Doesn't support DVD-A.

Others? Obviously audio performance is a priority with me. I anticipate I'll have Rotel separates and speakers in the $1200/pair range (mains), just to give an idea. Pioneer Elite perhaps? I'm sure there are many others I haven't stumbled onto yet, so I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks,
KJP

[aud19]

I vote for the 2900 unless you need HDMI. Then get one of the new models Even then I still might go for the 2900 as it's performance is on par with the 3910 at half the price. With HD-DVD coming you may want to save that money for it or put it towards your other gear.

[Azeke]

Kevin,

Have you considered the Pioneer Elite DV-59 AVI?

Review here .

Wonderful player, IMHO.

Regards,

Azeke

[Al Garay]

Sorry to hear about your house Kevin.

I have been reading up on latest DVD threads and for high-end you should also consider the Onkyo SP1000.

In AVSForum, some claim the Onkyo unit to have better PQ and AQ than Denon 3910.

This guy has a mint SP1000 asking $1200

http://avsf.videogon.com/cgi-bin/buy_cl.pl?sorcdvda&1112977901

Al

[jimmyp58]

Onkyo released their new version of their unit. It is the DVSP-1000B. MSRP (U.S.) is $2,000. Some circles rate it higher than the Denon DVD-5900 and even some go as far as to say the 5910. That is saying a lot.

Sherwood-Newcastle is also releasing two new universal players. One is due to hit the shelves 3/1 (though I will have mine by the end of this week) and they other, the higher-end version, 5/1.

Jim

[Blindamood]

Onkyo released their new version of their unit. It is the DVSP-1000B. MSRP (U.S.) is $2,000. Some circles rate it higher than the Denon DVD-5900 and even some go as far as to say the 5910. That is saying a lot.

Jim, Onkyo has not released a new version of the DV-SP1000...in the U.S./Canada, the 'B' simply indicates the color of the unit. There is also a silver model with an 'S' to designate. This unit has always listed for $2000. There is, however, a European version that has an 'E' on the end, but this serves a different purpose.

[jimmyp58]

Oops...my bad!

[Kevin P]

Thanks guys. I snagged a new, factory sealed Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi on ebay. Got a great price too.

Now I just have to rebuild the house and pick out the rest of the stuff for my home theater! :B

[David Meek]

Nice, Kev! :T That's a good player. Now for that 102" plasma they showed at CES....

[NMyTree]

Oh my god Kevin, so sorry to hear this Terrible, I hope no one was hurt.

Recently, we also had a fire here at our home. We were very fortunate, no one was hurt and the damage was limited to the exterior of the house, with the exception of some minimal smoke and soot damage.....in a few areas.

Best wishes to you and your family.

[Kevin P]

David... 102" plasma... that thing costs more than my house did, or will cost to rebuild it. 8O

Tony, sorry to hear about your fire. It sounds like yours wasn't as bad as mine. The family room is where the fire started, and my HT and my entire DVD and LD collection, as well as most of my CDs were in there and are totally destroyed. The rest of the house suffered heavy smoke damage. The entire interior will have to be gutted and the roof replaced at the very least.

Neither my wife or I were home when the fire happened, so we weren't hurt, but we did lose our 3 adorable kitties. They were our babies, we'll miss them.

But at least I know I'll have a good DVD/DVD-A/SACD player when I move back in. :B

[jimmyp58]

Best of luck Kevin on your new purchase.

[Al Garay]

Kevin,

What was the source of the fire? Just wondering if there is a lesson for all of us who leave our amps on all the time.

Really sorry about your loss (the kitties).

Al

[Kevin P]

The fire was related to the wood stove, not any of the HT gear. In order not to further hijack this thread, I have a thread in After Midnight here where you can view pictures and post any questions/discussions about the fire.

[Al Garay]

Well, DVD down. Look forward to new threads for helping you choose the rest of your system.

[Kevin P]

Well, I have a few months to pick out the rest of the stuff. I just wanted to choose a DVD now since at least one unit I was considering (Denon 2900) will soon become, and already is, hard to find new.

I have a basic idea of what I'm planning to do. The hard thing to decide on is speakers. I'll probably be spending most of my HT research/shopping time on those. I loved my old speakers but the company who made them (Platinum Audio) went out of business, so those are out.

[Shane Martin]

Kevin,
Good choice. When you mentioned universal player, that is the first one that popped into my head.

[loveatari]

hi,

Im new to the forum and would like to get some opinons on dvd-a players. I just purchased the Denon dvd 2910 and wanted to know if there was something better in that price range, I got it for $550. A friend told me to check out the rotel dvd's, but Im not sure if that is a great product to compare to the denon. I currently have a rotel reciever and b&w speakers. Please let me know if you need

[Kevin P]

Loveatari,

I hear good things about the Rotel players but they aren't universal players, as they don't play SACD. The Denon 2910 does play SACD, as well as DVD-A.