Higher End Player Upgrage?

[joe1515]

I am looking to upgrade my Panasonic BD-30 player. I need a Blu-Ray player in the bedroom, so I am moving the BD-30 from my main home theatre set up to my bedroom. I was looking into purchasing one of the higher end players from Marantz, Pioneer, or Denon. My budget is no more than $1,000.

I was interested in the Marantz BD7003. Is it worth looking at the higher end players? I have read a lot of threads and posts that say the picture and audio quality is better, but they have more quirky issues than Panasonic BD-55 for instance and are much slower to issue firmware updates.

A few notes 2.0 BD Live is not important to me at all, and I know none of the higher end players have Ethernet ports.

[kpkelley]

How soon do you plan to upgrade?

You could wait for the new oppo...https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=62822

[joe1515]

I am in no hurry, but if somehting made sense I would buy now.

[kpkelley]

The higher end players like the Oppo and Marantz and Denon would have better components inside to handle video processing and audio processing. Depending on what you are using for your receiver this may not be a factor as the receiver could do a very good.

[dbaydoun]

The new Denon DVD-A1UDCI will be the "mother" of all Blu-Ray players. Of course, it will cost you around $3500.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/t...non-dvd-a1udci

[joe1515]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

The higher end players like the Oppo and Marantz and Denon would have better components inside to handle video processing and audio processing. Depending on what you are using for your receiver this may not be a factor as the receiver could do a very good.

I am using a Denon 3808ci and I will have the new player Bitstream so the receiver will decode Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by joe1515

I am using a Denon 3808ci and I will have the new player Bitstream so the receiver will decode Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio.

Do you plan on using this player for DVD playback or DVD-A or SACD?

[joe1515]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Do you plan on using this player for DVD playback or DVD-A or SACD?

Some dvd's and cd's, but 98% Blu-Ray discs.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by joe1515

Some dvd's and cd's, but 98% Blu-Ray discs.

Those higher end players will do a better job of upconverting those DVD's and CD's than a player like the Panasonic DMP-BD35, which would otherwise fit your needs. Blu-ray playback might be marginally improved by a higher end player in comparison, but the real difference is in it's ability to handle older format playback. The audio on blu-ray discs should be no different since you plan on bitstreaming to the receiver anyway.

[joe1515]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Those higher end players will do a better job of upconverting those DVD's and CD's than a player like the Panasonic DMP-BD35, which would otherwise fit your needs. Blu-ray playback might be marginally improved by a higher end player in comparison, but the real difference is in it's ability to handle older format playback. The audio on blu-ray discs should be no different since you plan on bitstreaming to the receiver anyway.

What about the Denon and Marantz models that have the Realta chip? That has to make some difference, right? I guess the question is it worth 2 grand!

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by joe1515

What about the Denon and Marantz models that have the Realta chip? That has to make some difference, right? I guess the question is it worth 2 grand!

For Blu-Ray discs they are going to be outputting the video at the same resolution as it appears on the disc, unless you plan on turning on all the processing features of these players to remove noise and grain(which would be a sin IMO), the video quality will only be marginally better due to a cleaner pathway to the display and fewer introduced artifacts.

As I said previously their performance on DVDs will surpass that of the lower end players in almost all instances.

[jcarys]

Based on a $1K budget, I don't think you're going to get much improvement from the brands you mention. In most cases, the models that will actually improve audio or video (slightly) are at the $2K level.

First off, I would wait to see what gets announced at CES. I would expect that there will be lots of step-up models within your budget. The Oppo will certainly be one of the contenders. Honestly, about all you can expect is better DVD performance and perhaps some slight upgrade in BD video.

Outside of that, if you like your Panny, then go with the 35. If you aren't happy with it, then try the Sony 350. If you want to match your Denon, the 1800 is beginning to get discounted, but I would guess Denon will announce follow-up models at CES too.

Personally, I would hold tight for one week and see if something coming out of CES would make you happier than the current options.

[joe1515]

Originally Posted by jcarys

Based on a $1K budget, I don't think you're going to get much improvement from the brands you mention. In most cases, the models that will actually improve audio or video (slightly) are at the $2K level.

First off, I would wait to see what gets announced at CES. I would expect that there will be lots of step-up models within your budget. The Oppo will certainly be one of the contenders. Honestly, about all you can expect is better DVD performance and perhaps some slight upgrade in BD video.

Outside of that, if you like your Panny, then go with the 35. If you aren't happy with it, then try the Sony 350. If you want to match your Denon, the 1800 is beginning to get discounted, but I would guess Denon will announce follow-up models at CES too.

Personally, I would hold tight for one week and see if something coming out of CES would make you happier than the current options.

I am very happy with the BD-30, and I agree it does make sense to wait and see what comes out of CES.

[zoraduntov]

I just bought a Marantz 8002 player .I will get it this week and then report on it ..Im actually waiting for Mcintosh to build a blu ray player
I think that will be the ultimate for me

[joe1515]

Originally Posted by zoraduntov

I just bought a Marantz 8002 player .I will get it this week and then report on it ..Im actually waiting for Mcintosh to build a blu ray player
I think that will be the ultimate for me

What made you decide on the Marantz 8002?

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by joe1515

What made you decide on the Marantz 8002?

I bet you it was the Realta chip.Iam i right

[MoPe]

Originally Posted by zoraduntov

I just bought a Marantz 8002 player .I will get it this week and then report on it ..Im actually waiting for Mcintosh to build a blu ray player
I think that will be the ultimate for me

I'm speculating about $6,000+.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by zoraduntov

I just bought a Marantz 8002 player .I will get it this week and then report on it ..Im actually waiting for Mcintosh to build a blu ray player
I think that will be the ultimate for me

I would love to see that happen so we could match it up with the MX amp and stuff we have I hope it happens!


ANY NEWS about that post it up guys

[btf1980]

I really have to wonder what the point of an outfit like McIntosh making a player is.

My personal opinion? It's an exercise in futility. This is not 2 channel audio. This is HT. The expensive players with the best DACs made sense when there weren't many mid to high end prepros on the market capable of decoding the codecs and you had to do that in the player itself. That is not the case anymore. If Mac releases a player, it will most likely be an update to their MVP universal player line, and it will be another laughable $6000 piece.

Here's the thing, if you need a "high end" player to decode the codecs since you have a dated prepro, who in their right mind would not use that money to get a new prepro instead? You can get an AVP from Denon with change to spare based on how the dealers are discounting. For a few more bucks, you could get a Classe SSP-800. Really, what is the point?

Classe themselves opted not to build a blu-ray player for this reason.

[joe1515]

As of right now I am leaning towards waiting for the Oppo Blu-ray Player BDP-83. This seems to have everything. Although, I have never heard of Oppo prior to this thread, they seem very well respected with their DVD players.

After doing some research it seems that with Marantz, Denon and Pioneer the lack of firmware updates or the inconvenience of updating the firmware is a big problem. I was reading that with Marantz in order to update the firmware you have to drop off to an authorized dealer.