The HD-A1's analog audio section is at least as good as the 981HD's, but it doesn't support DVD-Audio or SACD - and for regular DVD viewing and CD listening you'll want to use the digital output from either player anyway, at which point the two will be basically indistinguishable since the analog work will be handed off to the 990.

There's definitely a lot of processing power packed into the 990, and the manual is good about presenting it in a pretty accessible manner. I offered some comments on your speaker setup issues here just a minute ago - the dialog problems you have been having could have been the result of having the center channel turned on even though there wasn't a center speaker present. You might want to set things up as I described in that other thread and re-visit those DVD's a bit to see if the dialog intelligibility improves.

Gonk,

there's an outfit nearby, that has the HD-A1, on sale for $299. If it works out, I may pick one up and if not, no matter. I think the priority, at this time, is to get my DQ10's rebuilt, a process that will take at least a couple of months. I figure the longer I wait, the more options I'll have; however, if I can get the HD-A1 for this price, I might bite; would you?

Thanks for the setup guidance. I'll make the changes in the menu. I had it as you describe, only the Surr L/R were/are at Large and not at small (which might account for the emphasis on the background sounds, rather than on conversation?). I'll make the switch now. Sorry to learn there’s a glitch, although once I have all the speakers, it shouldn’t be a problem; correct?

I sure am enjoying all this, Love It!

Thanks for your help.

John

For me, I'd still get the 981HD, but I make use of the DVD-Audio and SACD support offered by the 981HD (plus the HD-A1's load times would drive my wife nuts). That's purely me, though - the $300 price for an HD-A1 does offer a nice value: good upscaling of regular DVD's plus a chance to get your feet wet with one of the new HD formats.

$299 is a good deal on the toshiba...if that is $CAN, then probably better than you could even pick one up on ebay. You may want to look at this link for more information on the audio side of the hd-a1. As Gonk said the load times are slow when compared to regular dvd players...and there are some other quirks to the player. You have to decide, but if it were me, I would buy the player because I wanted to view HDDVD movies on your plasma. If you don't need HD now, or will get frustrated by an occasional playback glitch, even at the great price you probably won't be happy with a hd-a1.

mm_half3,

thanks for the response. I assume the HD-XA1 is plagued with the same problems as the HD-A1? It's also available, for slightly more money.

The more I think about it, given that it'll be at least two more months before I have all my speakers, I may as well just wait. These days, a lot can change in a few months.

Again, thanks for the response.

John

The HD-XA1 is basically the same as the HD-A1 aside from a few upgrades (fancier faceplate, backlit version of the same remote, and a serial port). As far as quirks and load times, it's going to be the same sort of situation as the HD-A1.

I'll wait.

This pre/pro is amazing.

Sorry, not to digress, but I value your judgment, Gonk, given you’re knowledgeable and so helpful. I figure you're going to read this and so:

Given I'm currently only driving a pair of speakers, either side of my TV, is there any harm in choosing DD+DVS S-SP Wide for tuner listening? The effect seems to suit the setup very well, but I'm only driving a pair of speakers (I don't know if this is the intent of the mode, or not, as the manual’s outline doesn’t elaborate any further)?

I can't get over the near limitless ability to adjust for sound. Whenever I test a system, I take my very old, Led Zeppelin cd, "Houses of the Holy," to play "Ocean," given the wide sound spectrum. I played around with the settings, fine-tuning to the point where I was satisfied with what I was listening to. I'm very pleased with this pre/pro and can't get over its power to price, ratio! How much better can you get than this; seriously?

Thanks,

John

That mode should be a fine fit for running two speakers.