progressive scan, sacd player?

[Matt Broeska]

k. so i know these exist, but what are my options? i think sony has one, but who else? i'm not planning on buying a new player right away, but i am planning on my next player. it has to be progressive scan first, sacd would be the icing on the cake. right now, the front runner is this nad 5 disc player. jeff kowerchuk has done some testing of this unit and claims it doesn't have the chroma bug and that it's audio components are top notch. the reason i might be going for a changer, is that i don't have a stand alone cd player and this unit would handle both tasks.

alternatively, could anyone suggest a good progressive scan player and a good sacd player? let's say $1000 cdn budget for both together...

[Andrew Pratt]

Matt unless you buy one and steal the other its impossible to buy a progressive scan DVD player and a stand alone SACD player for under $1K cdn...hell you'd just barely be able to do that for $1K USD

Right now the only option you have is the Sony DVP-NS900V and its priced at around $800 US I think

The cheapest stand alone SACD player is the Sony 670 which is a single disc model and its going for $599 Cdn at future shop. From what I've read from people who have compared the "budget" SACD players to the ES line all say that they are good but not close to the ES models.

[Matt Broeska]

you raise some good points there, andrew. i guess i've been reading the prices of all these things as cdn dollars when most have been usd. i'll probably just stick with the nad prog player for now (assuming i get it that is).

as an addition... is the dvp-ns900v progressive? it looks to me like the new players that end in "v" aren't their progressive players. seems that if i want the best of both worlds i'd have to go for the dvps9000es...

[Andrew Pratt]

the 900V is a progressive unit as far as I know

[Matt Broeska]

yup. you're right. i did some searches for it and found that it is. why would sony end it in a "v" then? all their progressive players end in "p." after checking it out, it is a pretty sweet looking player, that's for sure.

getting back to the nad multidisc player however... what are your thoughts on using a player as your main cd/dvd player? i have a "crazy" friend who claims that using a player for both tasks, all the time, can be a "strain" on the laser... is there any truth to that? or does that sound more like a futile shop salesman story to try an' sell you a dvd player and a cd player? not that my friend works there, but it sounds like something someone that works there would say...

[Andrew Pratt]

hmmm well some of the DVD players have two lasers one for each task but I think that was given up a while back in favor of a laser capable of handeling both wavelenghts. Generally though most people tend to say that DVD players don't make good CD players regardless of the cost of the player with the exception of Jon's beloved Arye (sp?) DVD player.

[ThomasW]

It's Ayre, Andrew

And yup in general DVD players have lots more jitter compared to CD players




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[SiliGoose]

You can go cheap and get the forthcoming Apex player. It does progressive scan, SACD, and DVD-A. All for under $200.




-Sili

[ThomasW]

Don't hold your breath about the Apex doing real SACD. They don't pay licensing fees. As a result they have no access to the chips and are using PCM to create fake SACD. As for DVD-A I believe they're in the same boat with it as well.

Apex players are cheap but a terrible investment. Just try to sell one one e-bay and see what happens. You'll have your auction shutdown by Phillips and get a nice little letter explaining why.

Here's the text from one of the letters

_______________________________________________

Thank you for your inquiry. I apologize for the inconvenience that this auction cancellation has caused you and your good customers.

The DVD player which you are attempting to sell infringes numerous patents held by Philips and other companies. The U.S. patent law allows patent holders to prevent the sale of any item that infringes their patent(s).

Philips encourages many brands of players to be available lawfully in the market. Philips has no interest in preventing the free trade of DVD players. We offer a license under our patents for DVD player manufacturers on reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions.

Numerous companies are licensed. Other have chosen to ignore the rights of patent owners. Unfortunately, the manufacturer of your player, unlike many of its competitors, has chosen not to be licensed.

Please understand that Philips spent great effort developing the DVD related technology for all to enjoy. The patents are one way that research companies like Philips are able to and encouraged to develop new products.

Thanks for your understanding.


Regards,
Ginger Affolter
IP Assistant
Philips System Standards & Licensing
Philips Corporate Intellectual Property
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NORTH AMERICA CORP.
1000 W. Maude Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085-2810
________________________________________________




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[Andrew Pratt]

I agree the Apex players fill a niche but aren't good buys as a primary unit.

[SiliGoose]

So, how does Apex get away with this?




-Sili