Denon DVD-A1UDCI Universal Blu-ray Player (The best sound quality of any BD tested)

[jonesyg27]

So, for $4,000 more than the Oppo, you get better analog audio? That's it, everything else is the same or worse? Why not just buy a Denon receiver, which should have DACs comparable to or better than this player, and bitstream from the Oppo over HDMI? You would save at least $2,000. Consider me underwhelmed, even if the SQ difference is supposedly beyond night and day.

[gonk]

I read that review yesterday - it was interesting to see that the only place where the A1 was really superior to the BDP-83 was analog audio performance. That's one area where a $4,500 player had to have a clear and undeniable advantage - but it's also an aspect of the player that fewer and fewer people are using, as HDMI receivers and surround processors become more common in homes, and it's got to be balanced against the review's point that the BDP-83's analog section sounds better than it should for a $500 player. The review goes on to note that video performance was very comparable between the two, that speed was clearly better for the BDP-83, that the user interface and documentation was better on the BDP-83, and that the BDP-83 actually had some extra features over the A1 (1GB on-board memory, USB media playback support). I wonder how many BDP-83 modders are going to use this as a marketing tool for their personal tweaks to the BDP-83's analog section?

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by jonesyg27

So, for $4,000 more than the Oppo, you get better analog audio? That's it, everything else is the same or worse? Why not just buy a Denon receiver, which should have DACs comparable to or better than this player, and bitstream from the Oppo over HDMI? You would save at least $2,000. Consider me underwhelmed, even if the SQ difference is supposedly beyond night and day.

Perhaps you should go back and re-read the review. This is not the Blu-ray player for the masses. This is a high end Blu-ray player targeted at the high end user wanting a Universal Blu-ray player that can also really up-convert DVDs to a stellar level. It offers features and performance offered by at present no other reviewed Blu-ray player. It offers such features as Balanced XLR connectors and the ability to do the following from the review:

It’s also worth noting that Denon includes the necessary video processing for constant-height display when used together with a projector equipped with an anamorphic lens (no black bars on widescreen movies). You can change the video output resolution on the fly, and there’s a Source Direct mode that outputs the native resolution of the video encoded on the disc. In addition, if you want to stroke your inner tweaker, you can force an RGB output over HDMI and enable interpolated Deep Color output (also over HDMI) to a compatible display.

The Denon is built like a tank and it is not intended for the normal $2,000 to perhaps $7,000 system that are frequently found for members of this community. It is a machine intended to be used by High End users that are looking for a single player to be used in their $50,000 to several hundred thousand dollar listening/home theater system.

As to your suggestion that the Denon receivers DACs will equal those of the new universal Denon don't expect that until you get to the top Denon receivers and the Denon Pre/Pro.

For myself, I will continue to use my upgraded (highly modified) Denon DVD 5910 and upgraded Denon DVD 3800BDCI Blu-ray player. My upgraded Denon 5910 will probably outperform the new stock Denon player (particularly after the installation of the Balanced XLR connectors) for music (and possibly up-converted DVD) though my upgraded Denon 3800 may equal or outperform the new player for Blu-ray playback.

Rich

[jonesyg27]

Gonk made my points better than I did. But I'm just part of the masses lacking reading comprehension:

It’s also worth noting that Denon includes the necessary video processing for constant-height display when used together with a projector equipped with an anamorphic lens (no black bars on widescreen movies). You can change the video output resolution on the fly, and there’s a Source Direct mode that outputs the native resolution of the video encoded on the disc. In addition, if you want to stroke your inner tweaker, you can force an RGB output over HDMI and enable interpolated Deep Color output (also over HDMI) to a compatible display.

The Oppo does all that too, by the way, but maybe the constant-height processing is not as good as the Denon, I don't know. I expect the high end (in any sector) to drive the technology though, to innovate, not just be more expensive to match other expensive stuff. Cost doesn't equal value. But I won't insult anyone who has a different perspective.

[gonk]

True, the Denon adds stereo XLR connections along with its more expensive analog section. It also adds Denon LINK. What the review doesn't mention is that SACD output is limited via HDMI (I think it's 44.1kHz PCM), so the only way to get the original signal out of the A1 is to have a Denon receiver with Denon LINK. This makes it a good match for someone with a $100,000 system anchored by a flagship Denon receiver or Denon's processor, but it actually reduces its value for "lesser" systems. The BDP-83 has no such limitation, as it can pass a raw DSD bitstream or a decoded PCM bitstream (with no downsampling) via HDMI to any HDMI-equipped receiver or processor. For those $100,000 systems in which the Blu-ray player is being connected digitally, the A1's monster analog section isn't a factor and the two players become very much comparable on performance. And as jonesyg27 pointed out, the BDP-83 offers a zoom mode that supports CIH projection systems, on-the-fly resolution changes (and on-the-fly changes in audio output mode), a source direct mode, RGB output, and deep color output.