An Awesome Hybrid, but Just Too Expensive for What You Get...
Written: Feb 23 '04
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Pros: Infallable audio/video. Plays everything. Is awesome, and knows it....
Cons: ... Thus reflected in price tag. Just too damned expensive
The Bottom Line: Deserve 6 stars for quality, but about 1 1/2 for value. You must read the review- but bottom line, until its 2 grand, it can rot.
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| nick1326's Full Review: Lexicon RT-10 DVD Player |
The word Lexicon has always been synonymous with top-notch audio. In the ever-more-fanatical world of audiophile-grade purist gear, it seems like every day something new comes out to best the latest-greatest thing.. Lexicon's RT-10 is their flagship "hybrid" player- or multi-format player. A few months back I wrote a series of reviews on more down-to-earth priced players, and no doubt, I did mention the Lexicon, except because of its newness I didn't yet see it- which is why I'm reviewing it now. The Lexicon, no doubt, is a fantastic player- it delivers awesome quality, both video and audio- however in my opinion, it suffers from "day late and a dollar short" syndrome -- It's been quite some time since the hybrid-wars really kicked in, and despite the players great features, easy-to-apply and use nature and excellent sound, the bottom line is because the competition has heated up so much (given the amount of time the war has been going on) the bottom line is there is only a marginal, if none-at-all performance advantage between the Lexicon (at 3500 MSRP) and other players selling for about half that!~
Before I dig in to this one (and i DO have alot of great things to say) I'd like to invite you to read some of the other hybrid reviews- I promise, If you're in the market for a multi-format player, I would SERIOUSLY and HIGHLY encourage you to read these, because you'll get alot of color not just on the differences between players, BUT, also on the time-line of what has gone on over the span of many months- quite a bit has changed and alot of progress has been made. Prices have come down accordingly, and THIS is where the major gripe happens with the lex... please feel free to click:
Denon 5900***:
http://www.epinions.com/content_127323442820
Yamaha 2300:
http://www.epinions.com/content_94406020740
Denon 2900**
http://www.epinions.com/content_100695248516
Marantz 8300/8400:
http://www.epinions.com/content_97528024708
Pioneer DV 45-a
http://www.epinions.com/content_96283627140
Sony 999 (non hybrid- NON impressive!)
http://www.epinions.com/content_95421369988
Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai
http://www.epinions.com/content_95282433668
Feel free to dig in to any of the above- again, if comparison shopping, you'll hopefully find them all very useful. Denon's 5900 is the main focal point of an argument I'm going to present against the Lexicon - because at the end of the day, the bottom line is the Denon does everything the Lexicon does and does it for half the price. Nevertheless, the Lexicon will certainly find its way into many homes- probably, I'd reckon the majority if which contain other Lexicon products. Lexicon again, deservedly earned its synonymous status with "audiophile grade" long ago- they make serious gear and that gear produces serious sound. The RT-10 is NO exception- the sound quality is clearly its greatest attirbute, yet the video quality is superb. If you consider that both are easliy 5 stars (I would probably give it 6 in audio) the Denon gets the same 5 (6) star rating- and they both handle the same wide array of media, including: (DVD-A, DVD-V, DVD-R, DVD-RW, SACD, CD, CD-R, VCD, S-VCD and MP3- a wide list indeed.
The player has a versatile array of outputs- 4 stereo pair which encompasses the standard 6 (Front L/R, center, sub, surround L/R) and lastly rear-channel L/R. Additoinally, the unit also has outs for 1 each: Toslink, Dig-coax and digital XLR format. On paper, spec-wise the unit is infallable- boasting 100d/b across the board on signal to noise, seperation and dynamic range, plus a ground-breaking .004% distortion + noise at 1000 hz. However on paper, things become really irrelevant really quick - once you hook it up, it's the playback that matters.
My testing was done on one HELL of a great system- many thanks to a kind gentleman named Danny near where I live. Playing on a combination of Rogue Audio tube pre-amp and to gorgeous brand new Rogue T-150 monoblocks, Audioquest clear and origin bi-wires (the bi wires alone were 2500 bucks) audioquest interconnects, a beautiful pair of Alon Lotus Signature 2 (all alnico - ALL FANTASTIC) and of course, the aforementioned RT-10 - regularly, the system encompasses a Metronome Transport and DAC, instead of a player. The system was used only for audio- for video we went to my place.. more on that later.
The player sounded very very good. In the upper mid-range, the Alon Lotus is literally in a class of its own. I don't care who you ask- sit down and listen for yourself. Alon is run by Carl Marchisoto, a prodigy in the niche of speaker design. Trained by John Dahlquist, Carl is truly everything John was and then some- since his business is sadly underadvertised and marketed, it's a shame that more people didn't know about how unbelieveably good his speakers are... For the record- we compared the Lotus Regulars (only alnico midrange- rest of drivers standard) to the 7500 Revel F-50s... If I tell you the Alon's BLEW THE REVELS CLEAR OFF THE PLANET it would be a gross understatement... and this is a great reason we used the Alon's for the RT-10 test.. Since they have such a fantastic mid-range, the ALon is a good gauge of MR performance on any system- chances are it will shoot holes in a piece of the system, before the system shoots holes in it (like what happened to the Revel, with its non-existant horrible mid-range AND bass).
In the mid-range, this was literally the only shortfall of the player- AND, this is NOT compared to the Denon 5900- which is just about the same. However, the metronome DAC/transport just played a bit more resolute in the mid-range than both the Denon and Rt-10. However since the metronome is a dog with limited tricks, while the RT-10 and Denon have MANY tricks (namely every kind of optical disc you can imagine) clearly they have their advantages... and besides, not for nothin', but very few people have a system as perfect and a room as sonically wonderful as we listened too - chances are on other awesome systems, you might not catch the mid-range hitch, or perhaps just barely.
Video wise, we went to my place and checked out the video and movie playback on my humble Zenith 50... it was great. That's all that needs to be said. For a better comparison, we traveled to a close friends home-theatre, where a whopping 113 inch projected (thanks to zenith's top offering) picture was just the ticket to try and shoot holes in the video department. All I have to say is this: There's nothing to shoot holes in- it's basically perfect. Just like the Denon, the picture is infallable- at least by what else is out there. There are very few players which can make a DVD's picture look this good- At default settings I'd say the Denon was JUST a touch warmer- but it can easily be compensated for- both the Denon and Lexicon are easily in a tiny echelon of perfection, and...at least for now... neither has to share too much space- for very few players deserve to co-occupy it...
So.. what else can I say- If you want media examples of what was used to assess the RT-10, I used my typical audio arsenal of preferred listening material: CD -> David Sanborn, Upfront, Joe Sample, Groove Collective, Bjork Vespertine DVD-A format (BTW "it's not up to you" sounded better than I've ever heard it on the Rogue/Alon setup) along with Eagles accoustic live. ON the eagles and David Sanborn's upfront, the mid-range is put to the test- this is where we heard some MR fallout as compared to the metronome setup- specifically in the vocals and on sanborn's sax in the opening track on upfront- a VERY good track to listen for dynamic explosions as well- it's a great reference disc to check out.
Video Media we looked at Star Wars episodes 1/2, spider man, 5th Element on Superbit (*awesome) the opera scene jumped to life (Again) like I've never seen it happen, and finally Pearl Harbor- which visually, looked stunning, but the audio track was incredible- evenmy humble paradigm/B&K seperates setup looked and sounded astounding- very impressed.
What else can I say?!?!?!? The Lexicon RT-10's performance is top top top notch...no doubt. However, in typical epinions fashion, the object is seeking value- and hunting out products which DO NOT offer comparative value. The simple fact is the player DOES deliver- however it delivers the same, or JUST carely marginally better than what Denon's latest/greatest 5900 offers, but does it at DOUBLE the price of the Denon. Lexicon's MSRP is 3500 - if you're paying 2850 for the piece, you're getting a hell of a good deal- Retailers that are limited enough to carry Lexicon know that they don't need to discount too much- however that's my main problem with the RT-10... in terms of hybrids, the unit is in a class where fierce competition and ever-improving product AND liquidity dominate. If the unit came with a 2200 or 2100 dollar price tag, I would say that compared to Denon's 1700 dollar price tag, I'd probably buy it- even for a few hundred more. However, the KEY to understanding this concept is YOU NEED A GREAT GREAT GREAT SYSTEM to capitalize on everything the unit has to offer. If your system has a weak link or few, you're gonna know about it- that's how good the Lexicon is.
Bottom line, if it were my dollar, you can beat your eye teeth I'd choose to buy the Denon and invest the 1500 saved dollars on better cabling or better something else- where at least I'd be able to hear the sonic advantages. However, if the Lexicon comes down within reach of 2 grand, you can equally bet that I'm paying...
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2950.00
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Epinions.com ID:
nick1326
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Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 232
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Music, Motorcycles, Drumming, Surfing, the finest cigars and living life to its fullest...
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