New Toshiba Universal Players Announced

[curtis]

Ben....you got a link for us?

-curtis

[Ben_Wood]

http://www.hhttp://www.hometheaterfo...hreadid=177404

[curtis]

thanks Ben...stuff like this can only help SACD and DVD-A.

-curtis

[Gregisme]

I'm so confused.

What's the most efficient, smartest way to go (total budget of about $600).. buy a solid cd 5 disc changer model, then get a seperate single tray DVD player that will accomodate both SACD & DVD-Audio?

I need both a DVD & CD player, and I know that seperate players for each format, as well as single tray units for each, are considered to be of better quality. So.. I thought I could get a solid CD changer unit, since that is most prevalent audio format, thus wisest use of a changer unit. Prices are low as we've reached the limit of the standard CD format, so good quality can be had, even with a changer at a moderate price.

Then, for DVDs and a relatively small SACD/DVD-A market, a single tray unit makes more sense. Saves $$$, better quality, convenience of disc change-outs not so important, etc.

And that's not even considering all the DVI/HDCP/HDMI/HDMI v.2 issues! Too much for my brain to entertain at the moment, so will try to keep the it simple.

How's my reasoning? please critique me. be gentle.

[Ben_Wood]

Gregisme,
For $600 you can pick up a Denon DVD-2200 universal player. I've been very pleased with mine, excellent audio quality on both Hi-Rez formats as well as redbook cds. The video is reported to be on par with the highly-regarded Denon 1600 and 2900 players. Theres a review of the 2200 in the January issue of Sound & Vision.

[Gregisme]

I did a little research on the 2200, including reading that Sound & Vision review. It sounds like a really sound unit Ben.

But it dawned on me that I don't expect to have anything beyond a 3.1 setup anytime soon. So, there's no reason for me to get a player that has DVD-Audio. Or, would it sound better even on a 3.1 system? Same question with SACD?

Then there are all those connectivity issues that I can't quite wrap my brain around. And of course the spectre of 'blue laser' looms.

So now, I'm leaning towards getting a good CD changer, and just a basic $100 DVD player, and await the emergence of blue laser units a couple years or so down the line, and hopefully better clarifications of those connectivity questions (HDMI ad nauseum).

[Ben_Wood]

Gregisme,
Both SACD and DVD-A have stereo tracks that have the highest resolution available. I believe that some DVD-As have stereo tracks as high as 24/192. I primarily listen to the multi-channel tracks, but the stereo tracks are an interesting option.

[Gregisme]

So is the 24/192 better than the HDCD quality? I think those are 20 bit, correct me if I"m wrong.

[curtis]

HDCD is a compression scheme I thought. My receiver is HDCD capatible...and when that HDCD light comes on, I hear no difference is quality.

-curtis

[Gregisme]

My (possibly mistaken) understanding is that the HDCD disks are 20 bit resolution instead of the standard 16 bit. In order to hear that increase in resolution, you must have a newer CD player that is HDCD capable.