Pioneer 563A sacd/dvda player, I"ve made the jump!!

Well, after reading the review of the Pioneer 563A player, I decided that it was time to see what this sacd thing was all about. I went to Best Buy, and they were actually on sale for $161. What a bargain. I also picked up the following discs:

Muddy Waters - Folk singer
Charles Mingus - Ah um
Police - Reggata de Blanc
John Coltrane - Soultrane
Doors - L.A. Woman (dvda)
Yes - Fragile (dvda)

All I can say is I will now be buying a lot more sacds and dvdas. For the most part, they sound awesome. For the price and sound of this player it is highly recommended.

 

Hmm, just a few weeks ago it was $179. I was very surprized to see Best Buy carrying this specialty model (i.e., two hi-res formats very few know about; single disc design; relatively high-priced).

The only other hi-res player they sell that I know of is the Panasonic DVD-F65, and it plays only the stereo tracks of a dvd-audio disc. And that capability is just a bonus: AFAIK, this & the DVD-F85 (w/5.1 hi-res) are the only carousel dvd players Panasonic makes anymore. And hi-res stereo for non-audio hobbyists is a big yawn, so I'm not mentioning this player because it's a "win" for the dvd-audio format.

I honestly don't think they will sell the Pioneer for very long (remember: you gotta keep those shareholders happy--no room for those stupid niche products!).

[T]

 

I've always thought that was odd too. Why would they go as far as having a DVD-A player and not include surround capability?

 

OK, so how do stereo DVD-A and SACD tracks played on this machine compare with their redbook counterparts played on your new Rega CD player?

 

Yesman, I'm thread-soiling here so I'll make this quick:
Panasonic now uses a single "mega" chip in all their new players that includes all player control functions and decodes everything: video, Dolby Digital, DTS, and dvd-audio tracks.

So, the F65 only has one pair of analog outs, but I bet the marketing people thought "Heck, why not just hook up the front left/right hi-res chip outputs to the already existing stereo analog output stage. A nice little extra feature for the cost of few skinny wires!".

[T]

 

I found out from my local Pioneer dealer that I can order this and it will cost me about $189 plus tax.

 

Picked mine up at the Brooklyn Best Buy on the way in to work. $170.00.

And away we go...

 

Pioneer DV 563A

I just picked one up today and tried comparing the Stones SACD hybrids with the same tracks on the 40 Licks CD. The SACD versions of Gimme Shelter, Sympathy For The Devil and Street Fighting Man sound much closer up than the redbook versions on 40 Licks.

I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of money in the next few months on SACDs and DVD-As. Let's see, there's the Police SACDs, the rest of the Stones hybrids, DSOTM, Pet Sounds...

Regular CDs also sound excellent when played on this machine, although I'm not sure if they sound as good as, or better than my Denon DAC. I probably will continue using the DAC for most of my redbook CDs.

I'm going to be testing out the 563A on a DVD movie tonight.

It will be great to be able to play DVD-Rs and hear some of my music DVDs in DTS for the first time. My old Toshiba will only play commercial CDs and DVDs in PCM and DD.

This machine cost me $284.99 (Canadian), a little more than it goes for in the US, but a bargain for what it does and how well it does it.

 

Re: Pioneer DV 563A

I bought the Pioneer DV-45A back in Mar. and, as someone who's been there, you will.

 

To add my 2 cents as I have one of these myself.

SACD is incredible! DVD is really nice, don't mind me being my first player and all. When playing just a regular CD though my ES Sony takes it to the cleaners. For some reason the definition that the Sony has is lost on the Pioneer.

This is a really simple easy to use multi-player for the electronically impaired (not mentioning any Gort names here).

A great price for what you get IMHO.

 

I like what I'm reading about the DV-563A...I'm definitely going to get one for a second system, but may also get another for a music-only system. Even if it's not up to the DV-45A (which it sounds like it is), the ability to play my high-res discs somewhere other than my main system is a big plus.

 

With all the increase in DVD-A activity lately, it has made me second guess my purchase of my Sony 775 SACD player.

I really don't want to have 2 analog hi-rez players, and having a unit like this sure sounds like a winner.

I was just in Circuit City over weekend, and all they had were 2 Panasonic units- one I thought only did 2 channel high res!

I gotta give this one some thought.





Chris

 

I picked up the DV-563A yesterday at J&R Music in Manhattan. 179$

The salesman told me that these things were FLYING off the shelf.

I'll be hooking up those 6 analog cables tonight and giving her a spin.

Anybody know of a hack for this unit to make it play all Regions DVDs?

 

I'm looking for a hack for my DV-45a as well if someone knows one ...

 

Fired my new Dv-563A unit up last night.

All I can say is WOW. Fantastic picture, great 5.1 audio on DVD-A (I dont have any SACD disks yet) and it played both DVD-R and DVR+ homemade disks. It even played a CDR of MP3s I had laying around, decoded them with no problem. There is no 5 inch disk this unit CANT play!!!

The Sound quality of the surround 5.1 was Fantastic. I used the Elvis disk as a test and I am thrilled with how good this unit sounds. "His Latest Flame" literally JUMPED out of the speakers into my living room.

I'm ecstatic about this little player. At 162$ this is a no brainer!!! I see no reason why EVERYONE here on SH shouldnt have one of these.


As I'm playing this I feel bad for folks who spent 800$ to 1,000$ for a player that only plays one format.

in 1999, I bought the Pioneer DVD 414 which was the best DVD player for sale that Christmas. It was 500$ and it doesnt play any "homeade" DVD disks. Technology marches on!!

 

Gary, I was just told there IS a hack for the 563-A to make it all region AND defeat Macrovision.

The trick of course is to FIND it!!

 

I read on a DVD hack forum that many authorized Pioneer dealers have a Pioneer-Service remote that can turn just about any model Pioneer DVD player into a region-free DVD player.

 

Thanks Gary!! Theres gotta be a way.

 

Well Pioneer here in Australia flogs the 655A (aka 45A) region-free, so I've never had to worry.

This is the link to the hack for the 45A on VCDHelp: http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdhacks.php?dvdplayer=45a Needless to say, I haven't tried it.

You will also need to consider different video standards: PAL won't play on most NTSC TVs...

 

What's "flog" mean? Sounds kinda X-rated......

[T]