[Welly Wu]

Sovkiller:

Can you narrow down this mysterious universal DVD player to a brand name or model number of some sort? Honestly, there is so much out there that could fit this description these days.

 

[Sovkiller]

Sure, of course, and sorry I though I had posted the model number.....I just want to know if the specs are something that could be considered decent or not, the player is a custom modded JVC XV-N50BK, I know that originally is nothing fancy, an real cheap, but after those modds I don't know, if it will be worst or not.....I'm basically looking at it, for the capability of playing any reginon and video system, I have found that many music videos and concerts I'm interested in, are released in Europe, and never touch our lands in NTSC R-1 format, so a multiregion/multiformat will be nice in this case, but if is good is worth the 224.00 asking price, with modds included, if not is a junk, I'm not familiar with DVD specs and features, that is why I asked here is the link the place is serious, and sell audiophile recordings, but don't know about the player specifically....just click here

 

[Music Fanatic]

SovKiller -- You are mixing up "all-region" players with "universal players". All region players will play DVDs from any region (and sometimes will convert between PAL and NTSC). Universal players play DVD-V, DVD-A, and SACD.

The JVC you are looking at is an all region.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by Welly Wu I did some informal tests on my Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi: WMA discs = failure

I don't believe the 59AVi is designed to play WMA disks at all.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic SovKiller -- You are mixing up "all-region" players with "universal players". All region players will play DVDs from any region (and sometimes will convert between PAL and NTSC). Universal players play DVD-V, DVD-A, and SACD. The JVC you are looking at is an all region.

Sorry, buddy, but I know what a universal player is, sorry for the confusion, I was browsing and by coincidence this one showed up, it is not a universal player, as it won't play SACDs nor DVD-A, I know, but as I have no SACDs nor DVD-A to play on it, and as I was looking for one player able to play also mulltiformat/multiregion, I look at this one.
What I was looking for, is for some input of this player as it is cheap, and meets what I was looking for in terms of versatility, when DVD-A and SACDs become more popular, I think I will try to get some, right now the availability is extremely limited for mostly what I heard....so what is the use in have something, I will never use for now....BTW mostly universal players do not play WMA or SVCDs....

 

[Welly Wu]

This is my FINAL decision:

> > Standalone MULTI-CHANNEL mods WITH AD8065/8066
> op-amps = $400
> > Transport Mod (in addition to other mods) = $100
> > Power Supply upgrade mod = $150
> > XO3 clock with clock supply = $450
>
TOTAL PACKAGE DEAL PRICE = $1000

I've started to cut 'n trim expenses and I'm starting to save up aggressively. This looks to be the best option for me because it is more expensive to do it piece meal if I include the costs of shipping to and fro ModWright along with the time lost in transportation. So, I figure to get the most critical mods done in one shot even though it will cost me more up front. This is the right slew of critical modifications and I thank everybody who pitched in their thoughtful ideas and suggestions. Thank you Head-Fi community!

O, poor wallet of mine!

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally posted by Welly Wu Thank you Head-Fi community! O, poor wallet of mine!

Funny how those two phrases so often come together here at this site. It's almost like our job is to help people....spend their money.

Either way, congrats on the new goal to shoot for Welly. I hope your savings and cutting plan works well and that you can reach this goal quickly. Don't they pay for donating blood?

 

[Welly Wu]

Doug:

Blood just does not pay enough these days...

 

[Sovkiller]

Welly: I have a question, and please do not take it personally, is a general question, at the end is your money not mine, but why not instead with all this money of the mods, plus what what you already had paid for the Pioneer, is not possible to get a better player instead, that need no mods, even if is not a universal one, or maybe two, one SACD/CD player and another DVD good player? I'm asking because what I have noticed is that those mods are sometimes in the magnitude of the price of the player or even higher, and for God's sake they are just mods!!!! they are not giving you another player, they are still using most of the parts of your expensive player...!!!!

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Alberto,

The reason is that a player at this price point, along with the mods, can rival a player costing close to $5000 or so. Dan Wright's modded Denon 2900 is about 95% of the Esoteric DV-50 according to him. So why not buy a much cheaper unit and have some mods to it, thus bringing it up to sounding as good as any other unit costing twice as much as this unit WITH the mods?

 

[Sovkiller]

And are you sure that the changes are that big......??? If this is the case, Denon is not thinking very smart, in their shoes, I should do the cheaper one, with those mods factory intalled, and charge around that final price, or even a little bit more, that for sure to them, this will be even a lot more cheaper, and make more profits...something don't fit in that story...IMO...

 

[theaudiohobby]

Quote:

Originally posted by ServinginEcuador Alberto, The reason is that a player at this price point, along with the mods, can rival a player costing close to $5000 or so. Dan Wright's modded Denon 2900 is about 95% of the Esoteric DV-50 according to him. So why not buy a much cheaper unit and have some mods to it, thus bringing it up to sounding as good as any other unit costing twice as much as this unit WITH the mods?

This point whilst it seems valid on the surface generally does not take an important issue namely transport. The transport is a key part of any player. If a player has a decent transport then it is great candidate for modding, I think this is one reason the original SACD 1000 and the 1st generation Sonys SACD players were such great candidates for modding, their transports were superb.
Also the principles of building a decent analog stage haven't changed much therefore a skill modder could very well implement changes that turned an average machine into a stellar one at a cost that is uneconomical to most manufacturers.

 

[Welly Wu]

This is true. I will find out the truth for myself in the next few months...

 

[markl]

Quote:

And are you sure that the changes are that big......??? If this is the case, Denon is not thinking very smart, in their shoes, I should do the cheaper one, with those mods factory intalled, and charge around that final price, or even a little bit more, that for sure to them, this will be even a lot more cheaper, and make more profits...something don't fit in that story...IMO...

They're building a player to a price point. They use the best parts they can at their targeted price point. Adding audiophile-grade parts to the existing circuit is a cost-effective way to bring up the perfomance of mass-market gear to the level of the high-end stuff. You have to figure that high-end niche audio boutiques have very high costs to manufacture their players, mass-market consumer electronics firms can buy in bulk and use cheap labor overseas to build their products on assembly-lines. This is why a mod-ed mass-market piece can rival players built by small audiophile companies at a fraction of the price. they end up with identical quality transport and DACs (because the audiophile brands all source from the same small handful of suppliers), and the mod-ers add the same audiophile-grade parts to the rest of the player that the boutiques use in their own hand-made products.

 

[Welly Wu]

Yeah, that's true too. Also, it should be noted that when the advent of newer technologies in both the audio / video world are widely adopted by consumers, then a heavily modded Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi may have the potential to garner attention and perhaps command a slightly higher resale value than a stock unit that may very well be relegated to the corner in one's basement to collect dust. This is not an inexpensive decision; it will cost me $1000 USD which is hardly chump change. However, this is a solid decision with more advantages than disadvantages at least in theory and on paper. In the end, I'm grateful to God for even having the Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi and I certainly pray He will approve of my imminent financial decision (crosses himself now).