My first weekend with a universal DVD player...what a bonus having both hi-rez formats!
Written: Feb 16 '04 (Updated Apr 16 '04)
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Pros: First rate video and audio quality! Menu's seem easier to navigate thru than the Sony's.
Cons: Doesn't seem as solidly built as the Sony NS999ES.
The Bottom Line: In addition to superb video, you have the advantage of truly audiophile sound and the choice of SACD and DVD-Audio CD's...high end at a bargain price.
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| violist_one's Full Review: Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi DVD Player |
I started out last July with Sony's NS999ES....I've amassed quite a collection of SACD's. It was a well made machine which produced wonderful video on my Mitsubishi rear-projection 45" monitor and most importantly, a velvety warm sound from SACD's that rekindled my lust for buying new recordings. But I wanted more...
It only took minutes to swap out the Sony for Pioneer Elite's new DV59-Avi. It took many more hours to tweak it and the rest of my system to start getting the results I was hoping for.
I should tell you that I have the curse/gift of truly golden ears...being able to detect minor changes in different audio cables no less different pieces of equipment means that you are never quite satisfied...getting the best audio quality is not a hobby but an obsession tempered by a musician/teacher's salary. All those $10,000 plus universal players from Krell, Lexicon, etc are made for my ears but I have to make do with a "high-end-wanna-be" budget. Over the years I've managed to get Martin-Logan speakers (which replaced Magnaplanars) and more recently a Krell Showtime pre/pro which replaced my 2ch Krell preamp that was mated to Yamaha's first flagship AC-3 pro/int amp with the amp section bypassed going to large Conrad Johnson and Adcom amps. Just hearing DTS for the first time was a revelation!
Wow! Look at all those DVD-Audio discs I never even bothered giving a second thought to because the Sony only played SACD's! I had a handful ready by the time I installed the Pioneer. After tweaking I was surprised to find warmth and clarity with that "velvety" silent background I found only on SACD's before! This sound didn't come easy...at first the bass was excessively boomy...it turned out that my Showtime had switched my speakers to FULL RANGE instead of LIMITED (it could be a bit quirky!). Using my Radio Shack analog SLM I reset the volume levels and even remeasured the speaker distance settings on both the DVD player and the Krell...as perfectly configured as anyone could get them. Emmy Lou Harris's "Producer's Cut" and Linda Ronstad's "What's New" revealed the ladies' naturally warm but "present" voices...much more naturally than the DTS tracks I had to satisfy myself with whilst listening to these CD's on my Sony. And turning off the digital output of the Pioneer via its front panel Pure Audio button added an extra ounce of warmth and transparency to these hi-rez CD's. SACD's seemed to be a bit more open and transparent than the Sony player...I was happy to find that there was no sacrifice, here. The string section in Nelson Riddle's orchestra was much warmer than the DTS track revealed. (I'm a violinist/violist by trade so I'm particularly sensitive to string sound on recordings.)
Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" and their more recent addition to the DVD-Audio catalog (the name escapes me)had a wonderfully tight and natural sound as did Yes' "Fragile" and the REM's "Best OF". The Pioneer seems to load and read the data faster than the Sony...a minor irritation with the latter as it used to cut off the first second or so of the beginning of every SACD.
It's a revelation to be free...well, free-er of the "edge" and ringing quality of plain CD's...but some of my old test CD's played quite beautifully thru the new equipment including my old standby: Pop, Pop of Rickie Lee Jones, a truly amazing recording with bowed bass playing, acoustical guitar licks and Rickie's breathy voice...certainly an acquired taste!
Just like any non-HTIB home theater...the Pioneer doesn't reveal its riches out of the box...it takes some tinkering and patience but the rewards are many especially when you have one machine that plays DVD's terrifically (I'm sure that my older non-HD large screen can't bring out the best this machine has to offer being hooked up with S-video connectors) and SACD's AND DVD-Audio CD's. Dolby Digital material sounds better than ever but it's harder to live with after tasting the DTS soundtracks and those hi-rez CD's.
Just a word about the remote....it is better designed than the Sony, but you have to "aim" it directly at the machine which is a bit annoying when you are used to just pointing the remotes in the general direction of the equipment racks...the Krell's wafer-like remote is equally annoying.
UPDATE: It has been a couple of months, now....more tweeking and more break-in time logged...and a rather large library of DVD-Audio discs. The audio performance continues to improve....the best SACD's and DVD-Audio discs are amazing....it is difficult to choose a clear winner between the two media...but if I had to the nod would go to SACD's. There are many terrific finds in recordings: DVD-Audio: Chicago V, Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Beethoven's 9th Sym (Teldec---amazing quartet of soloist!!), SACD: Johnny Frigo (Chesky), Monty Alexander (Telarc), and G. Harrison live from Japan...great stuff and a great machine!!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1100
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Epinions.com ID:
violist_one
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Member: Curt
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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