jwadd21 Posted August 29, 2002 Share Posted August 29, 2002 and is it important to have one that matches your tv? receiver? or do they all pretty much do exactly the same thing and reliability is the only issue? i want to make sure I have a dvd player that would best match my 32" toshiba and a HK AVR520 amp. ------------------ MY SYSTEM Mains: Klipsch RF-3II Center: Klipsch RF-3II Rear L/R: Polk R40 bookshelves(suck)...soon to be Klipsch RS-3II Subwoofers: Dual SVS 25-31CS Subwoofer Amp: Fidek 3002 600w Receiver: Harmon Kardon AVR520 DVD Player: JVC Progressive Scan TV: Toshiba 32A42 32" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusty46 Posted August 29, 2002 Share Posted August 29, 2002 I currently own a Toshiba and a Denon. For the price, the Toshiba's are pretty good. I bought my parents a Panasonic and it seems to be pretty good--they are very happy with it. ------------------ Mains: KLF 10's Center: RC-3 (I know--doesn't match mains) Surrounds: Quintets Receiver: Denon 3802 DVD: Denon DVD-900 TV: Sony 36XBR400 VCR: Mitsubishi HS-U48 LaserDisc: Pioneer D605 MIT T2 and T3cables throughout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwadd21 Posted August 30, 2002 Author Share Posted August 30, 2002 I am very concerned about sound quality as well as video quality. I have been looking at denon and marantz because of their reputations for good sound quality. any sugg? ------------------ MY SYSTEM Mains: Klipsch RF-3II Center: Klipsch RF-3II Rear L/R: Polk R40 bookshelves(suck)...soon to be Klipsch RS-3II Subwoofers: Dual SVS 25-31CS Subwoofer Amp: Fidek 3002 600w Receiver: Harmon Kardon AVR520 DVD Player: JVC Progressive Scan TV: Toshiba 32A42 32" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted August 30, 2002 Share Posted August 30, 2002 hey, I own a Sony DSX-9000 or something. it retails for about 700, but I got mine for 530. couldn't be happier. build quality, sound quality, video quality, all in a nice to look at package. it also plays multi channel SACD. sperate 192 khz sound processors for each channel so sound is great! ------------------ New music system: 2.1 using SF-2's (soon to be RF-7's), and an RSW-15. for amplification Mcintosh MC02105, Sony SACD player. pioneer turntable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwadd21 Posted August 30, 2002 Author Share Posted August 30, 2002 can someone just tell me what makers make good players instead of telling me how good your player is? :-) I am willing to spend around 2-300. i am very concerned about the sound quality, and i am very interested in hdcd and dvd audio. Perhaps I could go with a high quality dvd player like a marantz and just not get a separate cd player. Also, does it matter if the cd player has an optical output, or would coaxial be just as good? ------------------ MY SYSTEM Mains: Klipsch RF-3II Center: Klipsch RF-3II Rear L/R: Polk R40 bookshelves(suck)...soon to be Klipsch RS-3II Subwoofers: Dual SVS 25-31CS Subwoofer Amp: Fidek 3002 600w Receiver: Harmon Kardon AVR520 DVD Player: JVC Progressive Scan TV: Toshiba 32A42 32" This message has been edited by jwadd21 on 08-30-2002 at 03:57 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregorius Posted August 30, 2002 Share Posted August 30, 2002 I have a Toshiba that works really well, great sound and picture. My friend has a Denon that he paid over $600 for last year and he has had it in for repair three times since he bought it, it locks up when it changes layers. He said if it fails again that will be the last Denon he buys and he has an all denon HT. Regards, Greg ------------------ HK AVR20 II Toshiba DVD 32" Toshiba TV Odyssey Stratos 1987 Khorns Mains 1976 LaScala's Rears KV-1 Center KSW-12 Sub Two-Channel Fisher 800C Receiver 1987 Khorns Teac CDP Pioneer TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted August 30, 2002 Share Posted August 30, 2002 jwadd21, Toshiba DVD players have HDCD decoding and, from my experience, are very reliable. However, your question was "who makes the best DVD players?". The problem with this question is that the range of players on the market is so vast, with ranges of prices so great, that what one person considers totally unacceptable performance from an el cheapo player might be, to someone else, rediculously overengineered and overpriced performance totally outside the rhelm of reality. For example, check this review out: http://www.guidetohometheater.com/fullarchives.cgi?24 Let me paraphrase the review a bit... "...The sound quality is solid... It won't equal the performance of a high-end CD player, but we haven't yet found a DVD player in this price range that will... In short, this is a fine player all around, and I highly recommend it." Okay, it's a "fine player", it's not up to the quality of the best that's out there, but it's decent enough that he feels like recommending it. It costs ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. And he thinks that, for the price, it's pretty good. How do you think this reviewer would rate any of the players in the $200 / $300 range? As to your other questions... there are two different types of optical outputs. At this price range, you're probably talking about the TOSLINK interface. This is usually implemented with fairly low cost drivers, and uses a plastic fiber cable. The bandwidth is lower than the coax connection, so the TOSLINK tends to have higher jitter levels, and feeding the receiver via the TOSLINK optical input might not provide as good a sound as using the coax. However, the TOSLINK, being optical rather than electical, will not present the same opportunity for ground loops and will not have the EMI shielding issues that the coax will. Bottom line - you should simply try them both and see which one works better in your installation with your components. Most people, most of the time, in most conditions, find the coax works better than the TOSLINK. Oh, if you use the coax, be sure you're using a cable designed for digital interfaces, not just an RCA patch cord, as the impedence of the connectors and cable can negatively impact the performance of the cable if not properly designed. That is not to say you need to spend big bucks on a cable... just be sure the cable you use is intended for digital connections, not audio. Ray Garrison ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumMan Posted August 30, 2002 Share Posted August 30, 2002 jwadd21-for the amount of money you are looking to spend,go with Toshiba. IMHO, they give you the best bang-for-the-buck. You can get a progressive scan for $300 now. The best thing I like about Toshiba is that they are very user friendly. Other brands tend to be a pain-in-the-neck to set-up. ------------------ Jerry CP RULZ ------------ Mains: KLF 30 Rears: KG 5.5 Center: KLF-C7 Subs: (2) Antique wooden coffins with (3) 12" Advents in each Receiver: HK AVR-80 DD Processor: HK ADP-303 DTS Processor: Rotel RDA 985 AudioControl Phase Coupled Activator Series Three TV: Toshiba 42H81 42" Theaterwide DVD: Toshiba 4109X Laserdisc: Yamaha CDV-W901 5 CH Amp(for subs): Rotel RB-985 Single Cass Deck: HK TD-420 Dual Cass Deck: HK DC-520 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted August 31, 2002 Share Posted August 31, 2002 jwadd You may want to check out the AVSforum.com. They discuss a lot of HT hardware on that site. Ray You are right about COAX and TOSLINK. I tried both and prefered COAX. Found it odd that TOSLINK carries less data, and its length limitations are lower as well. Whomever developed and set the parameters of TOSLINK should be shot. They did not do any of us any favors. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusty46 Posted September 1, 2002 Share Posted September 1, 2002 J and R Music World has a Toshiba SD4800 for $200. Its progressive scan and plays DVD Audio Discs. A very good player for that price. YOu may even still find a Toshiba 5700 around for between $220-250. That will add HDCD capabilities (I notice a big difference if the CD is so encoded). The 5700 has TOSLINK and COAX connections. I am very happy with the build and picture quality of my older Toshiba player. Sound was ok. But my crappy old Sony CD player sounded better on CD's. I bought the bottom of the line Denon (DVD-900)recently and it cost me about $300. It uses the Faroudja decoding engine, which people seem to think is a great deal in a $300 player. I am very happy with the build and sound quality and it has TOSLINK and COAX connections ------------------ Mains: KLF 10's Center: RC-3 (I know--doesn't match mains) Surrounds: Quintets Receiver: Denon 3802 DVD: Denon DVD-900 TV: Sony 36XBR400 VCR: Mitsubishi HS-U48 LaserDisc: Pioneer D605 MIT T2 and T3cables throughout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwadd21 Posted September 2, 2002 Author Share Posted September 2, 2002 I am most worried about sound quality though. Will the toshiba have good sound quality? And what DVD player would have the best sound quality under 300 bucks? ------------------ MY SYSTEM Mains: Klipsch RF-3II Center: Klipsch RF-3II Rear L/R: Polk R40 bookshelves(suck)...soon to be Klipsch RS-3II Subwoofers: Dual SVS 25-31CS Subwoofer Amp: Fidek 3002 600w Receiver: Harmon Kardon AVR520 DVD Player: JVC Progressive Scan TV: Toshiba 32A42 32" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColaBear Posted September 2, 2002 Share Posted September 2, 2002 Hey jwadd, I have the Toshiba SD3750 and am running it through my Denon AVR5700. Sounds very good, using the digital coax connector. I am running the video through a Toshiba 50HX81 with a direct connect between TV and DVD Player. Awesome Picture! Just an additional comment. Pioneer makes excellent optical laser products for both CD and DVD. My main system has a Pioneer Elite DV-09 that handles DVDs and CDs very, very well. This is on my HT setup, a 100" screen with projector. ------------------ KLF-30 mains RSW-15 subwoofer KLF-C7 center KLF-30 side surrounds KSW-200 subwoofer KG-3.5 rear surrounds Denon AVR5800 Pioneer Elite DV09 Pioneer Elite PDF19 RCA DTC100 DSS/HDTV Sony Playstation 2 Denon MD1000 Vidikron Epoch D600 Vutec 100" 4:3 1.5 gain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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