Steep Pricetags on Blu Players... Worth it?

[ecnelis]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but why in the WORLD would anyone buy a bluray player for $1500+. It just seems completely illogical to me. Case-in-point the new Denon 3800BDCI or whatever its called.

I just don't find any improvement that is worth the extra $1100... Can anyone shed some light on this? The only main thing that I see the Denon has is the video audio processing (but if you have a REALLY nice receiver, shouldn't that not matter?) and then the websites stating its "built like a tank" and resists vibration...

If you set up your HT correctly, shouldn't you not really have to worry about vibrations? Like if everything was mounted and or placed correctly. It just seems like a HUGE sham to me...

I was thinking of getting a stand-a-lone player for my soon to be bought HT, and I am kinda a denon fanboy, I just can't feasibly see myself paying 1500 for something that I can get for 400-500...

[allstar780]

i can honestly say I wouldn't buy it haha... but then we may both be completely clueless as to some amazing features... but from what i've seen.... ehhh not so much

[cawgijoe]

High end units such as the Denon are built with higher quality parts. Most of them use much higher quality glass epoxy circuit boards. They use copper bus bars, alot of metal, shielding. Attention is paid to making the chassis much more ridgid. Many times the drawer will be made of metal instead of plastic. The parts on the circuit boards are also of higher quality and cost.

Whether any of this translates into enough of a performance improvement over a cheap player to warrant the cost is of course up to the buyer.

Many audio/videophiles are willing to pay for that extra 10% improvement.

[supersix4]

yeah were going to look at the denon one this weekend at our AV/store to see if its worth it if it is we'll be getting it, if not we'll find another one I cant see it being that much better then pioneer, pani, exc.

[syncguy]

Go for a PS3. Best value. Stunning picture. Also they are built like tanks, we have 5 year old PS2 and 10 year old PS1. They work without any problems in spite of the way children abuse it.

[RUR]

The Denon 3800BDCI isn't intended to be a solution for everyone. It's primarily intended for folks who a) Want the best upscaling available and who don't own a Realta-equipped AVR e.g. Denon 5308 and/or b) want the best AQ available and don't own an HDMI 1.3 AVR equipped with comparable high-end Burr Brown DAC's - again, e.g. Denon 5308.

Is it worth the price? It's a cost/benefit decision which only you can answer, based on your budget and your setup.

For the record, I own a PS3, BD-P1200 and DVD-3800BDCI. The 3800 blows everything away, as should be expected for a piece of gear at its price.

[ecnelis]

Originally Posted by supersix4

yeah were going to look at the denon one this weekend at our AV/store to see if its worth it if it is we'll be getting it, if not we'll find another one I cant see it being that much better then pioneer, pani, exc.

please tell me how you like it. I'm hopefully getting a Denon 4308 (or better) AVR in the near future, so I don't know how that translates. Thanks for all the responses everyone

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by ecnelis

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but why in the WORLD would anyone buy a bluray player for $1500+. It just seems completely illogical to me. Case-in-point the new Denon 3800BDCI or whatever its called.

I just don't find any improvement that is worth the extra $1100... Can anyone shed some light on this? The only main thing that I see the Denon has is the video audio processing (but if you have a REALLY nice receiver, shouldn't that not matter?) and then the websites stating its "built like a tank" and resists vibration...

If you set up your HT correctly, shouldn't you not really have to worry about vibrations? Like if everything was mounted and or placed correctly. It just seems like a HUGE sham to me...

I was thinking of getting a stand-a-lone player for my soon to be bought HT, and I am kinda a denon fanboy, I just can't feasibly see myself paying 1500 for something that I can get for 400-500...

Paying $1500 is crazy, but some people have money to waste. In some instances when you buy really expensive electronics, you are paying extra for a "status brand" (not saying that is the case here). People pay premium for a different brand and casing, while the electronic components inside the player are identical to cheaper brands.

[werewuf]

Originally Posted by BlueNeon

Paying $1500 is crazy, but some people have money to waste. In some instances when you buy really expensive electronics, you are paying extra for a "status brand" (not saying that is the case here). People pay premium for a different brand and casing, while the electronic components inside the player are identical to cheaper brands.

There is another valid viewpoint: Why would anyone believe that a $499 game console or standalone be better than a $1999 blu-ray player? Some would believe it's a similar comparison to a BMW 5 series to a Honda Accord. Obviously a few people would dispute there being a $25,000 difference in driving payback, however there is a difference.
There are many high-end video/audio manufacturers that make phenomenal equipment that don't get talked about here. They do get compared and do give higher level performance than any equipment usually discussed here. Very soon some of these boutique manufacturers will be putting their blu-ray players on the market and there will be even higher PQ & AQ payback than what we have been used to so far. We are just on the tip of the blu-ray iceberg IMO. The reviews of Pioneer's standalones already tout higher PQ than the PS3, why not Denon or something even more expensive?
The PS3 is an outstanding machine that gives multi-faceted payback for your dollar, but in the recent pas,t game consoles were never given props for their home theater performance, audio/videophiles regarded them as Jack of all trades, master of none kind of status. Granted the PS3 is light years better than consoles of the recent past, but can it really keep up with a $1999 Denon that every cent of R & D, design, parts buying and manufacturing is spent on just PQ & AQ? We will see when the reviews come in.

Here is a $5000 Lexicon SD-DVD player review:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...06-part-1.html

[ronjones]

Well I guess we can count you out for buying one of Denon's $3800 DVD players or if that's too much perhaps one of their $1500 DVD players will fill the bill (LINK HERE). There is always a market for high end consumer electronics and Denon, along with sister company Marantz, have a long history to making high-end as well as mid-range consumer electronics. Denon's first offering of BD players is fully consistent with their DVD players pricing.

Ron Jones