DVD-A on a budget

[Chris M]

Thinking about taking the plunge. Is there a DVD A equivalent to the Sony 775? I am not at all interested in multichannel but need a player that can do decent 2 channel high res DVD-A as well as play DVD video and DVD-R, SVCD, etc. I'm looking to stay under $200.....

Chris

[Todd Fredericks]

Let me tell you a story of a little 'ole machine called da Panasonic RP-82 (miner 49'er). It's very nice machine for da price and also another one is the Toshiba 4800, which I think comes in a friendly second to da 'ole RP-eighty-two...

Todd

[JohnG]

JVC, Toshiba and Panasonic make reasonably priced DVDA machines that are also good Video players.

[wynnwikman]

J&R is closing out the JVC XV-SA75GD for $129.99 (was $299) I got a demo model of this a few months ago from BB and am very happy with it. It has progressive scan out and does video nice also. One possible negative, if there is a way to choose groups from the remote i haven't figured out how to do it yet. Most Hi-rez discs allow you to choose group from video menu, so it is not a problem, however the Elvis 1 disc does not have video, so i don't know to get to group 2 (the stereo hi-rez group) on that disc (didn't buy it yet because of that) Guess its time to read the manual....

Rumors in Hi-rez is stunning. (Waiting for The Nightfly to come in the mail, hopefully for the weekend)

Wynn

[KeithH]

6th Avenue Electronics, an authorized dealer, is blowing out the Panasonic DVD-RA60 for $117. Go to www.6ave.com for more information. It's a solid machine for the money, though it is not a progressive-scan player. For around $200, check out the Panasonic DVD-RP82, Toshiba SD-4800, and Pioneer DV-656A, all of which are progressive-scan models.

[GoldenBoy]

I own the JVC XV-SA602 DVD-A player and I would recommend it. It does progressive scan and the video is pretty good IMO. It's DVD-A playback is also quite nice for the price. As a matter of fact, Sound & Vision magazine recently did a comparison review of this and a comparatively priced DVD- A player from Panasonic and SACD/DVD player from Sony and chose the JVC over the other two for pure sound playback saying it had a higher s/n and better frequency response than the other two. They did however pick the Panasonic as best for video.

[Chris M]

Thanks! Love the Belle and Sebastian avatar. They have surprisingly good sounding recordings don't they?

Chris

[GoldenBoy]

Originally posted by Chris M
Thanks! Love the Belle and Sebastian avatar. They have surprisingly good sounding recordings don't they?

Chris

Yeah you bet. Hey, you should check out an Icelandic band called Mum. The twin sisters in that picture are the lead singers from them.

[Sckott]

JVC XV-SA75GD is a great buy. Get one before mid way into Jan. They are great units.

[audiomixer]

Panasonic RP-82

[Chris M]

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. I went with the JVC XV-SA75GD at J & R......if I plug the DVD-Audio player into my Cary Integrated amp and simply press 'play', will it automatically default to 2 channnel stereo hi res? I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible.

Thanks,

Chris

[Chris M]

Bump.

[Sckott]

Depending on the disc, you may find the disc may default to DD 5.1, although I'm not sure. You may need a TV to navigate through the menus.

This is the biggest complaint about DVD-A's.

[GoldenBoy]

I think typically they default to the 'Advanced Resolution' 5.1 mix. The 'Advanced Resolution' stereo track can be accessed either by navigating the on-screen menu to the stereo mix and then pressing enter or by entering Group 2 on the remote and pressing play.

[audiomixer]

You guys are correct!

Most discs default to 5.1.

Some early discs don't even have 2 track hi-rez available.

[GoldenBoy]

A minor correction to my post above regarding accessing the stereo track; the Group 2 method of accessing the stereo track does not always apply, as I have discovered with the REM Automatic for the People DVD-A. Group 2 on that disc brings up a promotional documentary film.