Any transport with these characteristics?

[halcyon]

Anybody know of a not too expensive universal player that fits the following description:

- good / reliable / non-flimsy / sturdy transport mechanism
- reads and decodes (properly) CD / SACD multichannel / DVD-A / HDCD / MP3
- quiet transport mechanism (i.e. no mechanical noise even with non-eccentric discs)
- easy to access boards with plenty of room for additional PSUs, clocks, damping material, etc.

i.e. basically a transport that lasts a LONG time, offers good platform for MODS, is relatively inexpensive and is quiet.

Anyone?

 

[Glassman]

I think everybody would be using one if such think exist.. that's like asking I want all the good, none the bad and this all for neglible price, anyone?

 

[halcyon]

So we wait

I know there are already good ones out there, but as they are meant for the high end market, they are costly (without necessarily being that great in the sound dept. on all formats, esp. cd).

But it looks like cheap/flimsy/plastic transports with unreliable PUH/servos are the way of the future.

Still, hope springs eternal

 

[Canman]

Well you can always save up for the Teac VRDS Neo

There are plenty of universal units that can be modded, such as the Denon and Pioneer players. The quality of the actual transport mechanism is unknown though.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

If I were you I'd look into a modded Denon DVD-5900, or 2900 if you're looking to save some green. Personally I have the DVD-2800 and the mechanism for the disc is incredibly sturdy and overbuilt, it also has a nice sound to it, I'm using it as a temporary source at the moment while I save up up for a Shanling and can't complain. PartsConnexion and UnderwoodHiFi both offer mods to this player.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

What about the Sony C555ES? Unmodded it sounds ok for the price, but if you throw in the SACD mods it is supposed to be competitive with much costlier players.

 

[Welly Wu]

Halcyon:

I think you should go to http://www.avsforum.com and look into the DVD Players sub-forum. The Audio Video Science Forum (AVS Forum) is dedicated to home theater equipment and they are really up to date with the latest rage -- universal DVD players at all price points. It is kind of like the Head-Fi of HT equipment especially universal DVD players.

To answer your question more specifically, there is the Samsung HD-941 universal DVD with DCDi player, Toshiba DVD 6915 5-Disc Carousel universal DVD player, and a newer version of the Pioneer DV-563 that was mentioned here by Soundboy a few weeks ago.

You should also check out http://www.harmonicdiscord.com/forums as a lot of the aftermarket modders have their own sub-forums. They directly answer customer questions and even give you first word about whether product x qualifies for y modifications (to which their websites are rather old in terms of current information about newer generations of DVD / CD players available for mods).

So, off you go!

PS: if you are willing to wait, then I will write my 3,000 word review on the stock Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi by July 31st, 2004. Then, I will send it off to ModWright LLC and write another 5,000 word review on the affects of the modifications in late October 2004.

 

[taylor]

I'd go for a cheap universal player with a good digital out, then rip out the DAC and analog section and use the extra space for various mods.

 

[halcyon]

I was one of the first to write a FAQ in the AVSForum DVD sub-forum, but I've been off from there, as the audio knowledge in that forum didn't use to be very high (imho).

As for Samsung, their transports are not very good nor quiet (I have one myself from late last year) from my persepective.

I know I'm asking a lot, especially on the transport mechanism front.

Denon DVD-5900 is supposed to be reasonably quiet and ok, but it is too expensive for just a MOD platform, imho.

DVD-2900 I would have probably bought, if my friend didn't have such a horrible time with his DVD-2800 mk I and mk II (both were utterly bad in terms of QA).

Then there are the high end options, like Primare and others, but they are very very expensive.

I'd be very interested in hearing how people think of the transport noise of their lower end Pioneers.

I must also check if the Pioneers still convert DSD to PCM, like they used to do.

I'd really like to have a transport that truly feels solid (the tray / mechanism) and is still very quiet, if not completely silent.

It's very hard to improve a bad transport mechanism that has a flimsy PUH/Servo unit. That's why I'm most interested in a good / quiet transport mechanism. Most cheap players cost less than what a good transport mechanism itself costs, so I'm not expecting miracles.

However, I'd like to find a platform that costs no more than $800-$1000 USD and has a good solid, reliable transport and basic audio mechanisms for DVD/DVD-A/SACD/HDCD/mp3. The video section could be missing for all I care, I'm not going to be using for video at all (unless it miraculously pass my acid test suite, which very few players do).

Like Taylor said, power supplies, filtering, analog boards even DACS and clocks can be replaced or improved upon.

But it's very hard to improve/disassemble a transport mechaism. So that part of the player has to be good to begin with.

Thanks for all the tips!

I must go hunting in AA, HD and AVS again, it seems

regards,
halcyon

 

[Welly Wu]

Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi. Do some research on this unit. It does not convert DSD -> PCM. The transport mechanism is solid and quiet. It is eligible for aftermarket modifications. You can get it for well under $1,000 USD including shipping and handling fees. It does not have the dreaded CUI error like previous models.

 

[halcyon]

DV-59AVi does not seem to support HDCD. Otherwise it looks like a decent unit. The search continues.

 

[Welly Wu]

Halcyon:

Then, you will probably be entertaining the Denon DVD 5900 or the newer 5910 when it comes out in a few months. The Denon DVD 5910 is the same as the 5900 except it features HDMI, no macroblocking, and other fixes to previous customer complaints about the 5900. THAT is THE univeral player to beat!

 

[taylor]

I've heard that some of the higher end players used transports from lower end pioneers.

 

[Welly Wu]

Taylor:

That is true. The Lexicon RT-10 and Krell SACD only players use transports by Pioneer but they also use the same chassis although they have made major modifications to the framework to meet their own design / engineering goals.

 

[Canman]

This is inevitable because there are not many options when it comes to sourcing universal transports. The Teac VRDS NEO transport itself is about $4000 if you can get a contract with Teac. Linn will also sell its Unidisc transport, but it is not cheap either. Your only other options are Pioneer and Phillips. Of course, you could build your own, but the tooling and development costs are way too high for any low volume high end manufacturer. Linn seems to be the only exception to this rule.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylor I've heard that some of the higher end players used transports from lower end pioneers.