Marantz DV8300

[peter]

Hello everybody.

I need your help once again.

I am considering the purchase of the Marantz DV8300 player because of its DVD-A/SACD capability. Especially now that, apparently, the Beatles are going to be done in DVD-A.

Has anyone auditioned this player? Does anyone have it? Should I wait until more reasonably priced units appear? Does the DV8300 require that the DVD-A part of the player be accessed through a TV? Should I simply buy a mid-fi DVD-A player such as have been discussed here?

I should say that, at this point, I have no interest in multi-channel, though that may change depending on how the Beatles sound.

I presently have a Marantz CD63 SE, coupled to a Musical Fidelity X-10 tubed "buffer" stage and I also have a Sony SACD 775 player.

Interestingly, some redbook CD's I have sound better through the Sony; other better through the Marantz (bought in 1995).

Thanks in advance

[Gary]

Speaking hypothetically, as players get cheaper, quality gets "tweaked". For example, I heard the Pioneer Elite 47A is great on DVD-A and lacking on SACD. The newer and less expensive 45A is great on DVD-A and better on SACD - although not as good as upper level SACD only players.

I'd wait a while before plunging..... just my opinion.

[peter]

Gary, from one Canadian to another, thank you!

[Blair G.]

There was a review quite recently about this Marantz unit in one of the British HiFi magazines. They liked it but felt a dedicated player in all of the three audio formats would probably do a better job.
Interestingly, they took a look inside the machine and it's definitely based on the Pioneer DV-47, though it wasn't clear exactly what modifications Marantz had made.
I too am interested in this machine. Though I'd prefer SACD, I can't ignore DVD-A and don't want two more machines in my system.

[Gary]

No problem, fellow Canuck! I guess our only problem is to keep eyes, ears and noses to the grindstone by reading the latest reviews, get opinions on this board, etc., etc!

(Don't you miss good 'ol snow down in San Fran? Wanna switch places? ;) )

I was there for a few days this past fall. It was wonderful - as was the Mexican food!

:)