Anyone know how this player compares to the Marantz DV8400 which is now out of production?
Also, any recommendations on DV7600 v. the Denon 2910 or 3910?
Usage will be mostly music but some movies; mostly I want something reliable, well built -- something that will last.
DMD123
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I just got the DV7600. It is more in the price catagory of the Denon 2910 (Faroudja based).
After trying out a Faroudja based player (Panasonic S-97 / Macro-blocking), I decided against the Denon 2910 and opted for this Pioneer based system. Here are my thoughts on it.
Opening up the box it was nice to see it had some heft to it. The brushed aluminum faceplate matches my SR7500 receiver perfectly. (I also have the CC4300 CD changer which has a plastic face and does not quite match)
The remote in pictures looks to be a big block of a thing, but it turns out to be very ergonomic in the way it feels, (light weight and small in size) and also with a nice beveled button lay out that helps you know what you are pressing in the dark.
First the audio side of the DV7600. The unit plays all Hi-REZ formats beautifully, very open and clear. I think I prefer the sound of the Crystal DAC's as opposed to the Burr-Brown's on my Pioneer DV-588a.
My only issues with the audio has to do with the controls on the unit, you have to go into the video menu to change to 5.1 out. A simple one button method on the remote sure would be nicer! The other issue is with hybrid SACD's (multi-channel). The DV7600 is set to default in stereo, if you want multi-channel you press the 'S.Mode" button on the remote. The problem is that the on screen display (on TV) only reads "Super Audio", so when you press it you cant tell it is multi-channel and end up pressing it again thinking nothing happened and get the CD layer. The only thing to tell you its multi-channel is a very small "Multi" on the DVD display panel. Hard to see from 10ft away! They should use the little picture's of the speakers to show it is in multi-channel.
Now my thoughts on the video performance. I hooked up the unit component / progressive scan and was very please with the over all picture quality. Yes it did need to be calibrated to the TV but a very good picture none the less. You could tell that it had no issues with black levels and had a clean clear picture.
But my main concern was the unconverted picture. I am going out the DV7600 HDMI to my Panasonic TV DVI. After setting the aspect ratio on the TV I had no problems with the hook up everything looked well so far. I then calibrated the picture with my 'Sound and Vision' disc and started with my video testing.
The unit has no below black issue. I used "National Treasure" as my test. In one of the opening scenes, Nick Cage gets out of the artic vehicle and is wearing a black snow suit. Units that have black issues (My Pioneer DV-588a) the folds on the suit are indistinguishable; it's kind of a black mass. The other scene is where Nick Cage is waiting to meet with Abigail Chase. His jacket on my Pioneer appeared to be black velvet and you had a hard time seeing the lapels or details on it. Much to my surprise the Marantz showed me all the details in the jacket, it was NOT velvet black, and it had a tweed type pattern in it! This player showed awesome black rendition (It did this with component also). The unconverted picture had very natural (Skin tones looked normal) yet vibrant color. And very strange was the fact the picture had a very three dimensional feel; it was not flat at all, you could see a depth in the picture when some one was closer or farther away. Very awesome!
I tried some other movies and can say this is a very nicely built player. (esp. since the price dropped to $799) I have not had enough time to test the layer changes yet, but I did notice one and it was not bad at all. The only video issue I have is not with the player but my TV. When you stop a movie and power down to resume play later, the TV aspect ratio needs to be reset otherwise the picture looks squished when unconverted. This is kind of strange since my TV remembers all the other settings for each input.
Also, it may be just me being a little picky but it does seem to have a very slight lip sync issue, this is not really a problem since my receiver has a lip sync compensation. But something to consider never the less.