[Gopher]

Welp. I had a little bad luck the other day with my philips. Apparantly the RCA jacks didn't like being under the weight of my Acoustic Zen interconnects and I started loosing the right channel intermittently... Luckily, the guy who sold it to me is a client of my fathers and he took it back for a full refund over a year after its purchase.

This leaves me with a new problem... apparantly the 963 has been discontinued by philips. They are long gone at J&R and the only people still selling them (ie. acoustic sounds) seem to want retail (assuming theres still stock). On the bright side this is all happening at x-mas time and I figure that unless I can find another one ~$350 I need a new player.

This will probably be used for 2 channel audio only. and will be mated with all acoustic zen wiring. Magnepan 1.6QR speakers and a Plinius 8200 MK II amp. If I sell off my K-1000s and Equinox I can raise ~1000 for it. And my priorities are as follows.

1. Good build quality (I don't want any more problems).
2. I've got a bunch of SACDs so that would be nice.
3. IEC power (I want to stick my Acoutic Zen Tsunami in)
4. DVD-Video would be convient, but I can always move a dvd player to my rack.

I'm thinking once again about checking out a Jolida JD-100A and picking up another NS500V or something for SACD and DVD video... kind of a step back, but I'm open to suggestions.

Fred

 

[grinch]

i believe some of the newer high-end denon universal players (dvd-5900 or whatever) have been getting great comments on avsforum for both sacd and dvd playback. i also happen to think they're great looking and have a lot of promise.

i don't own one, but i'd look into one if i was ready to spend $1k on an sacd/dvd source.

 

[Badger]

http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buye...lgsearch=963sa

 

[mjg]

hi gopher.
check out my thread on a similar topic, you might be interested. I feel you can get any budget dvd/sacd source and achieve the results you want with the benchmark dac1.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Gopher,

Why not look into a Sony SACD player that SACDmods can hack apart and reasemble for you? You could always get the unit now and pay for the mods later when the cash becomes available.

 

[EyEPoD]

These dont meet all of your wants, but they provide excellent redbook for under 1k.

Meridian 508-20 (can go for under 1k on audiogon)

Cary 308 (consistently goes for under 1k on audiogon)

 

[Tuberoller]

Sit tight for a bit (6 weeks or so) and you'll be happy to find that Philips has a much nicer player coming with far greater build quality and a changer as well. You should also keep an eye out for an Upsampling SACD player from Sony around the same time. Both these players Should be introduced at CES early next month.

I have been using the Denon 2900 and it is a great player but it just seems to do everything and nothing really,really well. There is a new crop of universal players coming that have really sparked my interest. I can't wait.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Fred,

You going to CES this year? If so, please report on what you see and hear for us that can't go.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally posted by ServinginEcuador Fred, You going to CES this year? If so, please report on what you see and hear for us that can't go.

I know Jefemeister will be there. Hopefully he can take a bunch of pics for us and report on some of the new equipment.

Fred, please fill us in as well if you are going to be there!

 

[Gopher]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I've been looking at a few players that look to be great values (ie a Naim 3.5 in our for sale section and some nicely priced Meridians on agon), but am a bit weary of buying older digital. I realize they should be nicely built, great sounding units, but after some serious thought on the matter, I am a bit hesitant to move away from the newer formats for units I haven't heard compared to todays upper mid-fi.


Badger thanks for the point in the right direction. I had only looked at audio vendors which I knew carried them (J&R, elusive disc, acoustic sounds, amusic direct, etc.). Guess I failed to do the obvious thing. Nice to know it's still an option.

Grinch: I've done some looking into the Denon universals and they seem like a good choice. I might pick one up temporarily to get me by until a great deal comes along. I figure if I do it right I don't have to loose money on the deal.

mjg: I read your post on the benchmark and probably should do a bit more investigating on it, as I don't want to dismiss a good option. Thanks for the heads up.

SIE: Thats a route I've been considering. I know a buddy of mine had gotten a great price on the 555ES fully modded by SACDMods and absolutely loved it. If one presents itself at my price in the next couple weeks I'll probably bite on it.

EyePod: I've been looking into the Meridian a bit and see some in my price on audiogon right now. I'll try to check out a review on the cary as well.

Tubie: I'd actually considered that Denon as a segue source into my next buy. I don't want to be without redbook for a whole month and a half and figured if I buy used I can recoupe my money when the time to bite comes. My dad (friends with a philips rep) was telling me a little about the upcomming changer but had no idea of the price range we'd be looking at. Do you know if I should expect something like the retail of the SACD1000 or is it intended to be on the budget side? Also, I'll keep an eye open for the new Sonys.

Thanks guys. Keep 'em comming.

Fred

 

[Tuberoller]

The Philips rep here is telling me that the 963 was never really meant to carry the flag for Philips for long. They have a new "Statement" player coming that will be the Flagship player in the lineup. The changer is expected to be of the same high sound quality and far superior build to the 963. We'll see.

I have all my tickets and reservations for CES but I'm really not feeling well and I don't know if I'll make it. I'll let you guys know for sure sometime next week if i can make it. If I go you can expect all the pics and reports as usual.

 

[Gopher]

Well, I decieded to bite on something so the music doesn't have to stop. I am going for a Level 1 parts connection modified Jolida JD 100. The price is right so I can recoupe funds later (if I choose to) and I suppose I have enough redbook that I can live without SACD for a few weeks.

This may be just a temporary fix and suggestions are still welcome.

Fred

P.S. Feel better Tube, you're our man on the scene!

 

[mjg]

what you ordered sounds great, enjoy it man.

 

[Tuberoller]

I am going to CES but I'm gonna post the pics and show reports at another site. I'll try to keep you guys posted.

 

[pHantasmagoria]

Well you can try the Marantz SA8260 SACD/CD Player at $919 dollars which is capable of multi-channel audio, or you can get the Marantz SA8400 Player which costs $879 dollars if you don't like multi-channel. I think the Marantz SA8400 is similar to the SA8260 minus the multi-channel capability so i think it is best for your needs. IMO, Marantz makes good quality players since they use only the finest parts like Elna capacitors and Cirrus Logic DACs

both has AC input
SA8400