jzoz01 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I was looking to get into the SACD realm a few moths ago and went to my local AV shop. I'm up at school in duluth, so there is only one "high end" shop here and the brand selection is quite limited. They didn't have anything that would play SACD for under $1300, all they had was Integra and Sony ES, and the sales guy was a jerk. Anyway, I was very upset about my expirience in the store and swung into BB on my way home to scope out DVDs. I saw a SACD/ DVD player open box. $300 down to $250. I ended up talking to the department manager and took it home for $200. I figured it was worth it to try out SACD and get a nice DVD player in the process. Well after a few moths I am very disapointed. The SACD playback is decent but could use better bass management. The DVD playback is horrible and very finiky. My panasonic that I bought 5 years ago looked better than this new sony. The picture goes from really nice to being very grainy. I don't know if it's overheating or something, but it seems to come and go. I'm currently saving up and thinking I'll soon invest in a Denon 2900. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 So which Sony is it? P.S. So far I really don't care about the picture quality on mine. It's pluged into an old TV that doesn't even have s-video anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I noticed the same thing on mine. I have a 755 which I got at best buy for 165 open box. I use my old sony for picture and the 755 for sacd. It sounds better when you take it off of sharp. The player has a lot of setting for picture and sound. I am to lazy to see if I can get it set up right for the picture. I only realy wanted it for sound anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 the 2900 is everything i could ask for, and more, plus it has many good features, build quality is excellent. and now you understand why i wont even look at sony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 Yeah I know, damn impulse buys. Anyway, I will never ever buy a sony product again. I am very disapointed with the DVD player and my Wega is really not all it could be. I wish I had $4k sitting around, I would go get that 50" DLP. Oh well, one more year of school, last year of being poor (or so i would like to think). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USparc Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 I recently bought a sony dvp-ns905v and also thought never buy a sony again when I was returning a sony receiver a few years back. What is the model you talking about?? Anyway I am impressed with my sony. IMHO one of the best allround players out there. Check out my post http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=36769&sessionID={93F06C1C-66B3-41E7-82E2-2530943569B1} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrPyro Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 jzoz01- Just for record, I don't own any Sony products or a SACD player...yet...But, I have been seriously hunting for a higher end SACD & CD player. The two top players on the list are the Sony XA777ES (or its replacement XA9000ES) and the Marantz SA-14. I don't particularly care for Sony products and personally believe that they are starting to rely more substantially on their perceived name quality then on actual quality. This is not to say they don't make good products, they do, but some models are winners and some are ...ummm...not winners. However, I do like the quality and build of the XA777ES and it sounds fairly good (haven't listened to it my system though). Anyways, off the Sony soap box. One of the MAJOR problems with SACD players for the general HT public at the present time is Base Management! IMHO, the SACDs are best suited for 2-Channel audiophile systems. In these systems, the higher resolution of the SACD format can be more easily realized and base management isn't a problem. Even with these systems not all SACDs are made the same, the recording industry is a massive beast and slow to make changes to new technology. As a result, most SACDs presently available were originally recoded on tape or PCM digital and converted to SACD 1-bit format. Once more studios accept the format, direct SACD recoding could substantially affect the quality of the SACD release. Lets face it, not all audio engineers are the same, so some do a SUBSTANTIALLY better job mixing a soundtrack then others, which will have huge consequences on the quality of any release, be it DVD-A, CD or SACD. Never the less, most of today consumers own Home Theater based systems. As a result the surround speakers are NOT full range and the main speakers aren't completely FULL range (but possibly close to full range) and the users are use to LOUD EXAGGERATED Base levels found in most movie releases. HOWEVER, the SACD format REQUIRES a 2-channel mix and MAY have a multichannel (MCH) mix. If you look at the pamphlet that is found in a lot of the Sony SACD releases it shows the format's designed speaker, does that look anything like your HT setup???? NOPE!!! The format calls for 5 FULL range speakers all equal distant located from the listener for MCH mixes. Yet, most of the manufactures HAVE learned something from the HT world; Base Management is NECESSARY for most consumers. The current generation of players, depending on how you look at it, are around the 2-3 generation of SACD only players, but 1st generation of Universal players have incorporated some type of BM features. However, the ONLY digital base management techniques presently available are based on PCM , aka DVD formats, so most convert DSD (SACD format) to PCM then apply BM then convert to analog. Many users have noted that the conversion to PCM has significant and detrimental affect on sound quality. You could also do BM via analog means, but I'm not sure if any players do this. Some universal players, Phillips 963A???, don't do the PCM conversion but do have BM, I don't know how they apply the BM. I aspect as soon as someone comes up with a GOOD DSD base management chip, the quality of SACD playback on HT systems will increase quite substantially, in addition to the knowledge learned on how to best implement DSD. For users such as myself looking for topnotch 2-channel playback and the smoothness of vinyl in an easy and convenient digital format, wont use any base management so players like the Marantz SA-14 are nearly perfect (the SA-14 doesnt have any BM capability). Also, from years of working with PCs, the thing that I have learned is that you do have to pay for quality and we might be asking too much from a $200 player. Give it a few years when the technology has matured to a point that a $200 SACD will most likely out play todays $3000 SACD player Good luck on your quest for audio nirvana! -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USparc Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 No Bass management for me!! Pure discrete full range channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 I'm not sure, because I'm at work right now, but I think the model was Sony DVP-NS755V. Anyway, I've been sadly disapointed, like I said before, my old dvd player i bought in '99 looks much nicer than this one. so sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 How about the Sony 34" 16:9 direct view HDTV? I saw it at Sears last night and it looked impressive. How is it for day to day use with/without HD broadcasts? Good with DVD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Just for the record. You must pick and choose your sony products. My 34" xbr w/s HD ready tv is awesome. Best in its class IMO. I am also happy with my strda5es receiver but I only use it for movies and DVD music. 2-channel sucks on it but I use my scott for 2-channel. Not all sony products are good but the good ones are really good. Again IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USparc Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 ---------------- On 7/17/2003 5:25:15 PM jzoz01 wrote: I'm not sure, because I'm at work right now, but I think the model was Sony DVP-NS755V. Anyway, I've been sadly disapointed, like I said before, my old dvd player i bought in '99 looks much nicer than this one. so sad. ---------------- That would be the dvp-ns705v. The one below the dvp-ns905v. I didn't check the 705. It is not even of the QS range. Like said before: Not all sony products are good but the good ones are really good. I did an extended review of the players (testing at home) before I bought one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireless Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 ---------------- On 7/17/2003 10:21:21 AM jzoz01 wrote: Oh well, one more year of school, last year of being poor (or so i would like to think). ---------------- Yeah, I used to think the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 ---------------- On 7/18/2003 10:53:52 AM wireless wrote: ---------------- On 7/17/2003 10:21:21 AM jzoz01 wrote: Oh well, one more year of school, last year of being poor (or so i would like to think). ---------------- Yeah, I used to think the same thing. ---------------- I believe there are statistics that show that more 18 year olds can come up with $100 in a hurry than can 65 year olds. When you are in school, odds are that you will have less debt than at any other point in your life!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted July 18, 2003 Author Share Posted July 18, 2003 I'm on my last year of school and I have no debt (although I have no savings left either), so I think I'm doing ok. I did some math and if I move back in with my parents for a few months when I get out of school, I'll have saved enough money on rent to buy a couple RF7s. Not really sure if the end justifies the means though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireless Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 ---------------- On 7/18/2003 6:25:47 PM jzoz01 wrote: I'm on my last year of school and I have no debt (although I have no savings left either), so I think I'm doing ok. I did some math and if I move back in with my parents for a few months when I get out of school, I'll have saved enough money on rent to buy a couple RF7s. Not really sure if the end justifies the means though. ---------------- Oh yeah, I think it definitely does. I know a few people who did that and while I was paying for an apartment and all the other things that go with living on your own, several guys I worked with who had lived with their parents for a year were buying new cars paying cash, buying their first house, etc. They got in same shape financially in a year that it took me 4 or 5 achieve. I eventually got there but take adavantage of a good situation while you can, you've got plenty of years on your own where you'll miss the easy living of home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted July 18, 2003 Author Share Posted July 18, 2003 What's the point of having RF7s if you live in a house where you can't use them? I think having them and not being able to turn them up would drive me nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 USparc - You aren't in the US, are you? Seems the Sony DVP-NS905V only shows up on European web sites, and nowhere to be seen Stateside. Too bad - was interested in checking it out... DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USparc Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Dougdrake, I live in Belgium. You maybe know that small country. I checked the USA web of sony and the model DVP-NS755V that jzoz01 mentioned is there. It looks just like the DVP-NS705V the model in Europe. I didnt find any counterpart for the DVP-NS905V in the US. They jump directly to the DVP-NS999ES which is the same in Europe!!! Seems sony made a serious gap in the US for SACD/DVD players??? They leave out a component of the QS range. You have to jump from a $250 to a $1200 model for some quality. Damn, with all there different strategies in different locations... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 the new standard-line sony dvpnc685v has significantly improved bass management IF you have a powered sub in your system. it also has progressive scan video output. my STRDA777ES is an AWESOME receiver, but was made for less than 1yr. by sony because it was TOO good and too cheap($1500 retail)it cut too deeply into their separates sales.my sony wxga projector has a KILLER picture, especially w/hd material. i have yet to have any of my sony components fail,check my signature.i agree,some of their stuff is exceptional, while others are mundane. avman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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