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Bronze Member Username: NealmPost Number: 37 Registered: Jun-04 | Here's my current set up: H/K Avr 230 Athena AS-F2 fronts Athena AS-C1 center Crappy Panasonic HTIB scavenged rears Toshiba SD 1600 DVD player (really old!) My dvd player is really old and won't play burned cds or burned dvds. It has component out but no progressive scanning (but my tv isnt compatible anyways) and it won't play SACDs. I don't have an awesome tv but I'm waiting for prices to drop on those as I plan they will in a year or two. My fronts get decent bass considering they are rated for more power than my AVR 230 can provide. Overall I am pleased with the fronts but I'm not sure if I'm missing out on their real capabilities. My question is... which should I get next? -New DVD player (thinking about Denon 2200 but the problems with chassis rattling make me scared. Should I also consider any other universal dvd players that might be in my low budget midfi range and have good quality?) -Subwoofer (thinking Velodyne CHT10) -Amp (to power the F2s and give more bass) -Upgrade rear HTIB speakers to Athena b1's. Right now I am leaning towards either a new dvd player or a subwoofer. I know this is a loaded question and that 5 different people will probably give me 5 different answers. I also know that the answer is "what sounds best to me" but that is also something that is hard to determine without being able to demo all the equipment and compare at the same time. My listening habits are about 60% movie and 40% music but I think I would listen to music more than the current rate if I had an SACD and CDR compatible player. I live in a studio apartment so my listening room (per se) is rather small but my bedroom is also part of the free flowing airspace of the apartment since it is a loft type bedroom. |
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Silver Member Username: KeggerMICHIGAN Post Number: 945 Registered: Dec-03 | well neal i think my answer will make you very happy. i agree with all your upgrade choices. the only one i'm a little leary about is the denon 2200. i have both the denon 2200 and the pioneer 563a "both universal players sacd/dvd-a/cd/dvd you know!" while i feal the denon is a little better machine for both audio and video. the pioneer is awsome for it's price $100. and the pioneer plays every disk i put in it. while the denon has issues with burnt media. i think the dvd player first then the rest in any order you see fit. but i like this order. 1st-Subwoofer (thinking Velodyne CHT10) 2nd-Amp (to power the F2s and give more bass) 3rd-Upgrade rear HTIB speakers to Athena b1's. hope that helps. |
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Bronze Member Username: DonaldekellyWashington, DC Usa Post Number: 40 Registered: Jul-04 | My order would be (actually was) similar: 1) A Pioneer 563a-sacd/dvd-a/dvd player (does JR.com still have close outs on these, or Crutchfield? try calling both). 2) A subwoofer (CHT-8 doesn't go as low but goes higher than the CHT-10 and the overlap can be important. JR.com $180 shipped. Or get a Hsu which is better for $299 plus shipping for their stf-1, though stf-2 would be better still). 3) Don't know much about the other choices. The Sony SACD players are supposed to be very good sounding - but they may not play DVD-A and they may be too expensive for what you get. That is about all I know. |
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Bronze Member Username: DonaldekellyWashington, DC Usa Post Number: 41 Registered: Jul-04 | The 563a might have the issue playing long DVDs - so you might have to get it worked on under warranty if that is important to you. I am still thinking about it. Some of the 563a players may not have that issue - but closeouts status limits your choices. Is this pretty much accurate Kegger? |
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Silver Member Username: KeggerMICHIGAN Post Number: 950 Registered: Dec-03 | i'm not sure about the long disk issue. but from what i've seen many players have some sort of playing issue acosiated to them."all brands" i have heard about some dvd-a disk problems and there is suppose to be a firmware fix for them that you send the player to pioneer. |
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Bronze Member Username: NealmPost Number: 39 Registered: Jun-04 | I had read some reviews on the Pioneer after Donald said he originally got one a few weeks ago. While they were good and stressed the price point I read that one reviewer said that he wasn't impressed with the video on the Pioneer. Would you disagree? |
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Silver Member Username: KeggerMICHIGAN Post Number: 955 Registered: Dec-03 | i'm running mine on a 56" widescreen hd tv. and if i don't send the unit a good signal it shows. and to me the picture is excelent. i have no complaints. for $100 their is no better! |
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Bronze Member Username: NealmPost Number: 40 Registered: Jun-04 | well id be willing to give it a shot.... the only problem is that no one is selling it anymore unless i want to pay 220 for it or unless im willing to buy a refurb on ebay.... |
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Bronze Member Username: DonaldekellyWashington, DC Usa Post Number: 42 Registered: Jul-04 | I got my pioneer player at Best Buy here in DC area. was $99. I saw they had another one for $129. I think Pioneer may have temporarily pulled the replacement for the 563a due to problems. Even if it worked fine it had some audio parts that were not as good quality but still very good quality for the same $150 price. And the video was supposed to be BETTER. Might be back on the market by now. Pioneer DV-578A Universal DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-Audio player: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002ERY6W Notice my bad review - it actually is not a bad item - just not with the super high quality sound of the 563a. It is probably fine. Try searching for some reviews here. Crutchfield and JR.com had closeouts for a while. Try calling them to see if they still do. |
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Bronze Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 28 Registered: Feb-04 | Going back to initial post, I would not consider adding amplification past the h/k avr-230. The other issues are far more pressing. |
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Bronze Member Username: NealmPost Number: 41 Registered: Jun-04 | kegger, my best buy had a banged up old 563a for 100 bucks but i wouldnt pay that much for it in that condition. the salespeople told me to look at the pioneer 578a and the samsung hd841. any comments on those? i read a review on amazon that said that the hd841 wouldnt play sacds in multichannel mode but im thinking it might be because the guy didnt hook up each channel via a different analog cable. i know don said that the 578 didnt match up quality wise and that it converts DSD to PCM as opposed to the 563a which he says does not... would you agree? |
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Bronze Member Username: DonaldekellyWashington, DC Usa Post Number: 43 Registered: Jul-04 | Neal M - there is a whole discussion of the 563a and what it does or doesn't do. I know little except what I read on that thread: https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-video/56777.html |
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Bronze Member Username: DonaldekellyWashington, DC Usa Post Number: 44 Registered: Jul-04 | and a thread that discusses the other thread https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/68133.html |
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Bronze Member Username: NealmPost Number: 42 Registered: Jun-04 | well i found the 563a for 150 at circuit city and picked it up to give it a try. ill let you know how it goes.... |