I'll be fifty-five in October. Get over it.

Sounds good so far, mgdurand. Look forward to hearing more about DVD-A and SACD. The Denon 5900 and 2900 are both getting good reviews at the moment (including reviews for both the 5900 and 2900 at Secrets). I haven't seen much feedback yet about the littler Denon universal (the 2200), but what I have read has also been positive. Yamaha's also got a new universal player coming out around March that I plan to look into -- the DVD-S1500, which will have Faroudja DCDi for progressive scan and will retail for around $400.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Well, I promised I'd return with my experience with DVD-A and SACD from the Denon 5900. Had a few configuration problems for which I have stumbled into correction, and have listened a bit (although remodeling started soon after the player arrived). As I mentioned before, visually and sonically on DVDs, the 5900 is really something. The picture is pristine. Colors are right and vivid where they need to be. Flesh tones are better than I have ever seen. Sound is crisp and clean. Center channel is clear and distinct. Best DVD player I have ever owned.

I have also been impressed with the DVD-A and SACD performance. With my previous multi-player (Pioneer Elite DV47a), the SACD performance was to my ears lacking. It sounded, as I have mentioned before as well, somewhat antiseptic. With the few listening sessions I have had a chance ot experience with the 5900, that perception is gone. Sound is full, not overly bright, terrific separation and just a pleasure to listen to (both SACD and DVD-A). Running the 5900 through the 950/770 with Mirage OM-5s for the front, MIrage HDT-F doe the center, Mirage HDT-Rs for the surrounds and a Mirage BPS-400 sub.

All the above is purely subjective, of course, but I would not hesitate to recemmend this unit. A bit pricey, but I have no regrets.

The only fault so far with the 5900 is that I find it to be really slow with menu navigation. However, I can live with that.

Now if only the hammering would stop! Remodeling is hell.

Mike

[This message has been edited by mgdurand (edited March 03, 2004).]

Oil Can:

55? Gee, sir, congratulations. I feel so much younger now! (hehe).

You know, I'd never go back! However, I admit that having the 950/770 does make me FEEL younger.

Mike

Get the Pioneer 563A. Saw it at Best Buy for $159. It may not be perfect but to my humble ears it is wonderful and for $159 you really cannot lose.

Have not heard the Pioneer 563A but have read a number of reviews. All seem to indicate it is a great bang for the buck machine.

Mike

Hey there everyone. I've been looking for a DVD/SACD/DVD-Audio player for a while now and began to ask myself if a universal player is what really wanted. Sure you can play any disc you want to in it, but regardless of this you will allways have certain trade-offs for having this capability. The Denon line of universal DVD players have from what I have read both online and in magazines, become the defacto "reference" standard in all around quality as of late and according to Secrets(http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=112), have by far the most glitch free operation of any progressive player on the market, but you definately pay for that performance. On the other end of the spectrum Pioneer has made it's once ELITE-only universal player available via the DV-563a and Secrets also stated that it performs well, and even overcame the Chroma Upsampling Error that has been plaguing that line for years, as mentioned above. But one wild card in this has sprung up time and time again: the Sony DVP-NC555ES DVD/SACD player. I know that many of you may jump all over me right away because this player isn't universal, and I too was leary about even concidering it until I began to really lay out all the facts about what I truely desire from a DVD player.

My first obstical was the DVD-A/SACD compatability, so I looked hard at the two formats to see who was giving the consumers the most for their money. Now DVD-Audio discs as a rule are compatible with standard DVD players as either DTS or PCM stereo output, with the DVD-Audio portion accessable with a compatible player. I thought about this, also taking into account the average price of a DVD-Audio title at roughly $20-$25. Then I looked into SACD discs and found that they have steadily been coming down in price, where now one can pick up a new release from artists such as Heart and Peter Gabriel that are SACD Hybrid discs (they play on both SACD and CD players alike) for about $16. Due to this fact, I found myself leaning more and more towards SACD as my format of choice, so I went to the GOOD GUYS to put both formats to the test and I must say that from where I stood, and maybe this was just the selection of titles I listened to but DVD-A sounded kind of gimmicky, with lots of emphasis on surround immersion. This was sort of cool, until I listened to the SACD's. All I can say is DAMN! I was bowled over at how incredibly open, warm and natural the sound was. And when I listened to surround SACD material I was utterly mesmerised my the ingeniusness of the artists and mixers that had no doubt put much time and effort into making the exerience worthwhile and not a gimmick.

Well it was during this that I was first able to put the Sony DVP-NC555ES player to the test in person. Once I had heard how impressive this unit was I immediatelly wanted to put it's SACD prowess against another SACD player of similar caliber, so I chose the Pioneer DV-45a, which The Good Guys sells for $399. Honestly I would have to say that the Sony player sounded quite a bit better than the Pioneer and can now understand why Pioneer has reduced the price of this player. That is not to say that the DV-45a is a poor player, just that I personally found the Sony quite a bit better for my taste. And then I found out how stunningly the DVP-NC555ES's progressive video performance is! This little player is leaps and bounds better than it's predicessors the DVP-9000ES and the newer "flagship" model the DVP-NS999ES, with better audio performance than either of these two players, as well as finally eliminating the Chroma Upsampling Error, and having a very compairable build quality to boot. That doesn't mean that it does not have it's own downside, one being that it's a 5-DVD changer, and the other that it has a longer layer switch time of between 1.5-2.0 seconds, which could be a bit distracting, but concidering it's other attributes I believe these to be moot points. If I was able to afford a Denon universal player I would by all means be the proud owner of such a find player, but due to my budgetary limitations I believe my money will be best spent on the new Sony ES player.

I have been looking to replace my current progressive scan DVD with a universal player as well. I have a Sony xa777es that I just moved to my music room to do just 2-channel sacd/cd. Better system down there really brings forth xa777es' capabilities -- it was an overkill for the Polk SDA II's and Aperion surrounds. Now I have a 7.1 sytem without an sacd/dvd-a player.....

I have been looking into Denon dvd 2200 which is just below $500 street price. It compares with Sony DVP nc555es. I am looking for the best value/performance that is commensurable with the Outlaw 950/770, Pany 35' HD tube and the above speakers. Has anyone compared these two?

I have not yet compared either of these models (hoping to get to see the Yamaha S1500 in the next week or two, ideally alongside the Denon 2200). The Sony isn't actually a universal player, though -- it will do SACD, but not DVD-Audio. Both the Denon 2200 and the Sony 555 have been included in the Secrets Shoot-Out , and in that the Denon had a better showing. All of the tests that the Denon failed or was borderline on were shared with the Sony, but the Sony failed or was borderline on several other tests as well (including a four-second layer change). In the end, the Denon scored an 83 overall to the Sony's 69.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

secrets is primarily reviewing video playback, perhaps not a good reference for multichannel audio. that is one of the most useful articles i have come across though... i think denon dvd players are the way to go right now, however there are better performers than the 2200 up and down their pricing class.