One of the Best Hybrid Players To Date, Yamaha DVD-S2300
Written: Mar 31 '03 (Updated May 27 '03)
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Pros: Superb video quality, excellent audio, comparatively great price, bass management
Cons: Hybrids are still expensive, not quite audiophile quality (but very close)
The Bottom Line: Barring the Denon 2900 (soon to be released) the Yamaha is the top value in Hybrid DVD-A/SACD/DVD players avaialbe - a higlight of any home-theatre system.
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| nick1326's Full Review: Yamaha DVD-S2300 DVD Player |
While the war between DVD-A and SACD rages on and on and on, the electronics manufacturers have taken a new approach to dealing with this issue and instead of limiting themselves or aligning themselves to just one or the other, many manufacturers are begining to introduct "Hybrid" players to the audio/video market place. Hybrid players are known as hybrid because they combine the ability to play both DVD audio (DVD-A) and Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) media. Unfortunately, the hybrid market has really just begun to become popular - and naturally, because hybrids are relatively new, the price tag reflects it. Thankfully, the DVD-S2300 is both the flagship model in the Yamaha line AND one of the least expensive units to be found within the Hybrid market place- and despite ultra-competitive pricing, it is probably the best value in the class of machine to date.
The DVD-S2300 is Yamaha's top model "Flagship" DVD player. The unit can handle just about any kind of media you can put in it: SACD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, DVD+RW/+R, CD-R/RW VCD and CD Disc Playback Compatibility PLUS MP3 (Multi-Session) Playback Compatibility make this among the most versatile of units to be found. The unit retails for 999.00 but can be found typically at about 875.00 realistic street price. The unit is equipped with a 24bit DVD-A DAC (Digital-Analog Converter) for fantastically warm playback of DVD audio along with top-notch Progresive Scan DCDi processing by Faroudja (more on these features later). The unit boasts completely independent circuitry for DVD-A and SACD playback and offers fantastic multi-channel musicality and musical-color from both formats.
Before I get into the guts of this unit, let me start by listing a few of the models which the Yamaha is compared against with MSRP's:
Competing Class:
Onkyo DV-SP800 / MSRP: 800.00
Marantz DV8300 / MSRP: 1499.00
Pioneer 47Ai / MSRP: 1200.00
Denon DVD-2900 / MSRP: 999.00
Audiophile Reference Class:
Denon DVD-9000 / MSRP: 3495.00
Lexicon RT-10 / MSRP: 3495.00
While I won't be going into specifics on the competing models in this review, I'll be writing subquent reviews on the other models listed as they become more avaiable on the market place. I will say this however - none of the "Competing class" models nor Yamaha DVD-S2300 come even close to the Denon 9000 or Lexicon RT-10 in terms of audiophile sound quality. Nevertheless, there are a few standout models which offer tremendously competitive video quality AND offer excellent audio quality (albeit slightly short of top-top-notch like the Denon or Lexicon). The Marantz 8300, Denon 2900 and Yamaha DVD-S2300 are clearly the best players in the lesser category - Dollar-for-dollar, you can put Yamaha and Denon at the top of that class - The 2300 is on the market and avaiable - The Denon will be out supposedly by mid-to late April - however it has already been spoen of at the trade shows as the next step above the Yamaha, offering as-good Video quality but surpassing the Yamaha in terms of audio-quality and sound purity.
NOTE: PLEASE CHECK OUT DENON'S 2900 REVIEW- THE HAND'S DOWN WINNER IN THE HYBRID/PERFORMANCE CLASS OF DVD/SACD PLAYERS: http://www.epinions.com/content_100695248516
On to the review:
The Yamaha DVD-S2300 is a beast of a Hybrid media player- weighing in at just under 20 pounds, this unit is truly one of the heavy weights (quite literally) involved in the current Hybrid-model fray. While models are limited, the Yamaha has made fantastic impressions thus far in its short stint on the market place. Among the top of the "Benefits" list is the lack of the Chroma Upsampling Bug - without getting into a highly technical tangent about this, I would invite all readers to check out two websites which help clarify ALOT about the Chroma Upsampling Issue AND Faroudja's DCDi technology, please check out the links below in addition to this review:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/vidbug2.htm
http://www.dcdi-video.com/technology/articles/sage-dcdi-overview.html
The 2300's feature list is extensive and impressive, ESPECIALLY for a unit whose street price is under a grand: In addition to the multiple playback formats listed about and the aforemention Faroudja technology, the unit boasts a full Dolby Digital/DTS onboard decoder, Subwoofer/Bass management outputs, Virtual surrouns processing for dual-speaker playback and ths following output arrangement:
Composite/S vid, 2 component video outs, Coaxial and Optical digital outs, multi-channel RCA for true DVD-A playback, stereo and bass-managed analog audio and a headphone jack. The unit has a selectable video format mode which is best left in auto, where the unit's internals can auto-select 2/3 pulldown on or off depending on whether the DVD video's content is taken from film or video. The unit also features multi-channel speaker control: selectable large/small speaker size for all speakers in 5.1 layout and distance compensation for center and surrounds BUT with one catch, this is only applicable for DVD video and DVD-A formats - for whatever reason, distance compensation cannot be used for SACD media... Why, I don't know, but this is one of the few downsides to this player.
As earlier mentioned, DVD-A and SACD setup is independent - this may be a good or a bad thing, however since both formats are multi-channel oriented and you'll probably be using the same speakers for both formats, I can't understand why they wouldn't be linked (or have the option to select them to be linked) also, of course, why not incorporate a distance compensation feature for SACD? In terms of playback, the unit sounds extremely good on SACD (despite the lack of distance compensation) but actually illustrated a noticeable amount of coloration on DVD-A and CD playback, I noticed this most while listening at my audio dealer's shop, where I listened to a full Alon system powered by a Sherbourne 7.1 pre-amp/amp combo. When I noticed a slight hiss on a steely-dan greatest hits cd, I couldn't figure out what possible could have cuased it, until we swtiched players to the Lexicon and my question was answered. While I wouldn't expect a 1000 dollar player to sound like one almost 4 times the price, there is NO reason why a player of this price/class should have audible noise on CD playback!
Despite the slight presence of noise (quite possible indetectable on lesser systems, remember, the Alon/Sherbourne system I listened to is over 15,000 dollars) still doesn't overcome the better attributes of the player, like the excellent analog warmth that is clearly audibly better than on most other players. Also, video playback is absolutely AWESOME - there are so many DVD's that can be looked at, but I'll mention a few select movies that were absolutely remarkable:
1) Fifth Element (SUPERBIT) - Absolutely incredible picture and sound quality- a good reference disc, check out the "Diva" opera seen to experience and room coming to life
2) Star Wars, Episodes 1 and 2 - video playback on the Yamaha was so crisp and clean, the pod racing scene felt like I was driving my own pod racer!
3) Sleepy Hollow - Check out the scene where Lisa Marie levitates in the garden - while the majority of the movie is intentionally dull and drab colored, the garden comes to life, with flower petals swirling in the back- the scene is just incredible and the music makes it more uplifting!
4) Lord of The Rings "Fellowship" - watching some of the panoramics is just incredible - the video quality is flawless.
On all material viewed, there was no visible Chroma Upsampling Bug, at least not that my eyes noticed- this is a key point, because despite that manufacturers have known about it for quite some time, they continue to issue machines which suffer because of it! (The Onkyo DV-SP800 is another unfortunate example, though thankfully it is only a slight issue).
The unit itself looks pretty humble for a thousand dollar machine- simple button arrangement on a very square-edged machine- Simple and unobtrusive, a nice addition to any home theatre system, but regardless what it looks like physically, it is the look of the images which make this unit a winner. The remote is pretty unattractive looking and lacks backlighting, but the buttons are clearly laid out (although the writing is a bit small for dark-lighting of movies, so get used to the remote!)
DVD-A playback was amazing - It is really incredible to hear the difference of higher-resolution audio playback on both SACD's and DVD-A discs. I listened to Bjork's Vespertine on DVD-A DTS, the recording sounds absolutely remarkable- every track is mixed superbly and the room just lights up with true DTS multi-channeling (***REMEMBER, for TRUE DVD-A multi-channel you MUST use the multi-channel outs - optical and digital coax WILL NOT carry true multi-channel DVD-A signal to your receiver/processor/Amp!) SACD playback is the most superb on this particular unit- I listened to Patricia Barber's Cafe Blues and Pink Floyd's nely 5.1 remastered Dark Side of the Moon (review below)
http://www.epinions.com/content_93946744452
Floyd sounded incredible- higher bandwith means even more warmth and analog sound- Patricia Barber sounded even better than usual on the Yamaha also, one more tear.... Although SACD sounds best on the DVD-S2300, I'll admit, I've heard DVD-A sound better on other units, which is why I insist that audio (while certainly excellent) is one of the weaker points of the unit...
While the Yamaha is certainly a standout of the moderately priced Hybrid players on the market today, I truly believe the Denon is ultimately going to knock it off the pedestal. The Onkyo offering has much to improve on, and the Pioneer, while excellent, is just a bit too high priced and not any better than the Yamaha. The Marantz is awesome, however at 1500 retail, I imagine people might choos the Yamaha (or Denon) unless they specifically want Marantz. It is critical to realize that a unit in this price range WILL NOT sound as good as the Denon 9000 or Lexicon, but also consider the inherent differences there: The Yamaha DVD-S2300 costs a reasonble sub-1000 dollars, and is officially Yamaha's "Flagship" unit. Denon on the other hand, Considers the 9000 its flagship, but at almost 4 times the MSRP, there is a very good reason why it is so much more- From what my ears tell me, both the Lexicon RT-10 and Denon DVD-9000 are truly in their own little universe...however given the high prices for both, I'll be honest, neither one will make its way into my little universe - For now I'm sticking with the Yamaha, however once the Denon is officially released, I may well sell the Yamaha and take the Denon.
Bottom Line, for 875-900 bucks, the Yamaha DVD-S2300 is a fantastic value in Hybrid DVD-A/SACD players, and offers tremendous video performance as well as excellent audio and comes as one neat multi-talented unit. Well worth an audition, check the Yamaha out at your audio dealer!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 899.00
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Epinions.com ID:
nick1326
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Location: Long Island, NY
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