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I'm trying to find a DVD player which can double as a CD player in my system. Needs to have a coaxial digital output in case I go with a separate DAC for music playback. Sound quality is top priority as opposed to video quality. Looking for units that retail in the $500-$600 range , though used would be OK as well. Any ideas? Thanks for the help!
I recently sold a $1000 CD only player and use a much less expensive DVD player for music as well as movies with excellent results. My player doesn't have coax out, but if it broke down, I'd probably look seriously at the Pioneer DV-37 (available, I think, around $650 to $700) as a replacement. From what I've heard, it's very good, but leans toward a smoother presentation as opposed to a detailed, analytical sound.
Now that the new progressive scan Sony DVD (the 9000ES) is out, you can pick up the previous top of the line unit for around $500-700 if you look around. The Sony is very well constructed for this price point (shielded chassis, separate mainboards, gold plated RCAs), though I'm not crazy about the ergonomics (especially the drop down faceplate, finicky menu selector, and the jog shuttle for ff/rew functions). The analog outs are pretty good, though you won't find the level of detail, smoothness, and air that a similarly priced CD-only player will give you (for instance, comparable Rotel, Arcam, or Cambridge units). I'm using it now and find the sound musically satisfying and much better than most of the "mid-fi" mass-market equipment, but not really "high-end". Though its at the upper end of your price range, I think you'll find you get much better video quality and transport performance than many other comparable choices.The Sony makes a very good CD transport at a lower end price point (in my experience, you need to pay about $3-5K to get a significant improvement). Pair it with a good external DAC for a significant improvement in your 2 channel sound, perhaps an MSB Link DAC III, Perpetual Technologies P3A, or Bel Canto DAC-1 ($400-1,200 depending on configurations). A jitter reduction device will usually provide another incremental upgrade (the Monarchy Audio DIP II or Perpetual P1A are good choices) as will quality cabling, a sturdier power supply, and upsampling.
However, if sound quality really is your top priority, I would suggest going with stand alone CD and DVD players. While I'm not sure you can fit a good one and a decent DVD player for under $700, the sound quality will be much better than any DVD in this price range. I think the sweet spot in price/performance is either the Sony plus external DAC or one of the better mid price CD players (Cambridge D500, Rotel 971 or 991, Arcam Alpha 9, Rega Planet, Musical Fidelity A3, etc. [most of these are a bit pricier than your range]). You also might check out the mid-upper range Denon DVD players, which I've heard good things about, but haven't listened to enough myself to give you a good opinion. The toshiba units are also reportedly good transports, but I haven't been impressed by the analog quality.
Regards, RJS
A custom modified Pioneer DVD player would suit you best. There are some users in this forum that do that sort of thing, but I'll let them speak up.I had my $300 Pioneer DV-525 DVD player transformed into a $1000 sounding transport.
Robert
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