Hooked up the 950 last night and all I can say is WOW! what a difference. Read about the 950 for sometime on here and finally decided to pull the trigger, and I am glad I did. My current set up is:
950 pre/pro
Rotel RB 976 60x6
Denon mk28002
panamax 5100 line conditioner
Def Tech 2004 mains
Infinity center and surrounds
Outlaw cables/monster cables/ audioquest
looking to get into DVD audio/SACD, any thoughts on players in the $500 range would be appreciated

Welcome to Outlaw!! Glad to here you like the 950 I've had mine about 2mts and it is still makeing me say WOW. If you want to get your feet wet with DVD-A or SACD I'm using the Pioneer DV-563a and for the money (around $150) it is stunning. I've heard that Yamaha will have a new player out soon for around $400. For now I don't think you'll be unhappy with the 563a. Hope this helps

Lasher

I'm planning to upgrade to a DVD-A/SACD player in the near future, and am currently waiting for Yamaha's DVD-S1500 to come out (it's apparently due out in the next few weeks). It should sell for between $350 and $400. There's also the Denon DVD-2200, which lists for $630 -- you may be able to find it for around your $500 budget. Those are the two universal players I know of around $500, and the Pioneer 563a that Lasher mentioned is the only universal player for less that's worth investigating (although from what I've heard, the video side probably isn't up to the same level as the Denon 2200).

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

Gonk what do you see as the major differences between the Yamaha S1500 and the S5700? The S5700 is listed as progressive scan and that seems to be the major difference. Looking at Yamaha's description it seems to me that they talk about the audio more for the S1500. Same price for either one.

The S1500 is also progressive scan (uses Faroudja DCDi processing). Based on features and cost, I can see only one difference between the two: faceplate color.

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

OK, I noticed something else this morning: the DVD-S1500 and the DV-S5700 (note the lack of the second "D" on the 5700's model number) appear to be identical models except for the color of the faceplate; the 5700 appears to be the version that they will distribute through online channels and possibly chain stores, whereas the 1500 (which will be available one month before the 5700, if Yamaha's site is accurate) will only be available from their official dealer network and cannot be purchased online without invalidating the warranty. This matches their existing practice of selling "DVD-S" and "DVD-C" players through the retailers and the "DV-S" and DV-C" players more widely, similar to the long-standing tradition of selling "RX-V" receivers through retailers and "HTR" receivers through large chain outlets.

J&R World has the 5700 (listed as the 5770, but otherwise clearly the same as the 5700 and the 1500) available for pre-order now at $400; they've had the 1500 listed for a few weeks now, but it is only available for in-store pickup and is probably not yet in stock.

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

Thanks for everyones input. my friend has the pioneer DV-563a and he likes it, however it is his first stab at it as well. have a Denon now and like the build quality so I may check out the 2200 as well, but for $150 the pioneer is practically a throw away. I will let everyone know what I end up with......stay tuned

Just an update, I bought the 563 for $130 at bestbuy along with DSOTM and I have to say I am impressed with the sound quality of sacd and the pioneer to this point, however, what is the problem with a digital connection for these formats? Is it a copyright problem with the major studios? The cables are a bit much.One more thing,the selection at the local Bestbuy/Circuit City is not very impressive, especially at Circuit city where they mix it in with regular cd's. Gheez, it's a wonder they have sold as many as they have.jmho.......

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DN

The music industry would not allow a digital output of high resolution audio due to fears of people making countless perfect copies of the data, hence the fact that both DVD-Audio and SACD must be converted to analog inside the player -- resulting in that nasty mess of half-a-dozen analog audio cables. There are a few pieces of equipment that support a digital output for DVD-Audio (and SACD in some cases, although from what I've seen that's been a tougher nut to crack) using special encryption -- Meridian and Denon have created proprietary digital connections (Denon includes that on the DVD-5900 and one or two of their flagship receivers), and Pioneer has started incorporating the emerging industry standard IEEE-1594 (Firewire, or iLink) to allow for it on a few of their products, but it's going to be a while yet before players and receivers both pick it up. When it happens, it seems probable that Firewire will win out, but for now we're locked into analog.

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

Oh, and as for selection of DVD-Audio and SACD discs, I agree that they're hard to find on the shelf. I've bought all of mine online, I think.

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