[viviorunitia4]

I'm looking to buy a cd player. The most that I can afford is $500. I was so far thinking about a Phillips 963sa, Music Hall CD- 25 or a NAD 541i. I am currently leaning toward the phillips, because it also plays SACD's and DVD's and the quality of DVD's should be better than my playstation 2.
I mostly listen to rock, and have Grado SR-225's. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[john_jcb]

I have the 963SA and would recommend it highly. I have not heard the other two but have read good things. Do a search for reviews and comments on these three players. One thing I did notice with Rock is that the 963 handles some of them better with the upsampling turned off. Some recordings are a bit bright with upsampling on. Tuberoller I think first suggested this and I tried it with good success.

 

[jpelg]

*Possible stupid question alert:

Can the various features on the Philips, such as upsampling, be controled without connecting a television to see the menus? Or is the front control panel/remote able to do that alone?

 

[JMedeiros]

Quote:

Originally posted by jpelg *Possible stupid question alert: Can the various features on the Philips, such as upsampling, be controled without connecting a television to see the menus? Or is the front control panel/remote able to do that alone?

Not a stupid question at all. The remote has an "audio" button that lets you toggle between upsampling on and off. If you wish to change the upsampling rate between 96kHz/24 bits and 172kHz/24 bits you need to do it via the on-screen display.

there is also a "sound mode" button on the remote as well as the front panel of the 963. It allows you to select the required sound mode:

for SACD: CD, Stereo or Multichannel when available
for DVD/VCD: Stereo, Dolby Surround-compatible, 3D sound or Multichannel.



John

 

[john_jcb]

You can change the upsampling via the remote as well as the output for SACD. For SACD's you can select multi channel, 2 channel or CD if their is a CD layer. Their are other functions such as speaker size and Bass management that require a monitor.

 

[dd3mon]

I am in this same boat - but I can't pony up the cash yet. My #1 choice right now (all based off extensive searches for reviews, comparisons, etc) would be the Arcam CD72T - can be had for under $500 used.

-dd3mon

 

[newspaperguy]

I've been eying the 963 myself, but am bummed that it's not a progressive-scan player (at least i don't see it as being so in feature lists at Philips web site).

Can anyone recommend a good SACD/DVD player that also has progressive scan? And one that also plays DVD-A format would be even better... i think Marantz makes something like this but i can't recall at this late hour...

 

[tonyli3]

963 is proggressive scan m8!i got one here in the uk last week although i won"t be using mine hooked up to a tv on a day to day basis,early thoughts are that its a very good machine

 

[BDA_ABAT]

The 963 is an outstanding value. Does most things very well, but does redbook CD payback REALLY well. Not sure you can find a player that will do redbook better for the price. It's a bonus that the unit can play SACD and DVD (and, yes, it is progressive scan).

Bruce (yet another happy 963 owner)

 

[newspaperguy]

Wow, really? i'll have to check the specs again... thought i recalled seeing it as not being progressive scan when i looked at Philips' U.S. site last week.

This is good news... though not for my wallet

OK, next question: Where is the best place to get one?

 

[spaceman]

I read the above posts, but I want to be sure that I can control everything I need without a TV. I will use this unit only for listening to CDs with headphones, and amp. Will I be able to do everything I need without hooking up to a TV. How often would I have to switch the upsampling speeds? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I already have one on order with J&R. Thanks.