hi all,
what non naim dvd player are you using ?
ive heard good reports on the arcam player.
and the denon . is it really necessary to spend more than a grand on a new machine these days.?
your thoughts please.
regards, scotty

I'm using an Arcam DV29 which imho (in video terms at least)compared well with the DVD5. When I bought the player, the Naim was only just on the market and was suffering from a lot of glitches. Arcam have been making DVD players for years and are very reliable (although I have avoided the latest firmware upgrade which has caused some issues).

hi greggles,
would you please expand on firmware issue problems on the arcam player.
scotty

Another vote for Arcam here. I'm using a DV27A although it is assisted by a DVDO video processor which does the de-interlacing and scaling. Super image quality and solid build to match. I briefly owned a DV78 which is relatively inexpensive (£300-£400 2nd hand) but has an excellent interlaced component output. Great value for money if you don't need a HDMI/DVI output.

Allan

any more guys?? which dvdp are you using ?
read so much about denon players , are they any good.? ive been running a marantz 4100se for some 4/5yrs which is a bit of a classic according to some mags!! its pretty good but would like to change it.
pioneer seem to also get rave reviews.
would like to hear from the dvd5 owners also.
is it really that great??.
scotty

Another vote for Arcam from me. Had a DV79 before my DVD5. A lovely player.

Kind of depends on what your budget is. I liked the new Pioneer and have heard very good things about the Marantz players too.

For picture quality, the Pioneer 989 is very difficult to beat. Sound-wise it's not as hot as the comparable Denons, Arcams etc. Pioneer seem to be able to get great pictures out of their DVD players for sensible money.

As mentioned previously, the Arcam DVD players are always good. Musically they work better than comparable DVD players on the market (comparing at similar prices of course). The picture is usually good to very good. The DV29 has one of the best pictures in the business and it's swings and roundabouts whether you prefer that to the DVD5. Musically the DVD5 is a lot better than the DV29.

Hi Scotty

we use these.....



In our set up here.....click on the image below for a better view....



Rotel and B&W, have used that combination for years and am very happy with what they can do!

Cheers,
Ali

I have a Denon 2910 and am very pleased with it.

Just a thought though is it not worth holding off until there is a multi format HD player?

hi , frank, ali, occean.
thanks for your feedback. frank, sound wise i rarely use my surround system for anything other than dvd films.
occean, hd player ? when are these coming onto the market and in what way will they be better than normal players ??
ali, that rotel processor looks very impressive and very LARGE!!
cheers, scotty

I know HiDef players are just starting to appear but as far as I am aware there are currently no dual standard ones.

earlier thread will probably explain more.http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/78019385/m/5042990307

thanks occean, oh no!! not another technology to worry about. cant keep up with it.
cheers, scotty

quote:

thanks occean, oh no!! not another technology to worry about. cant keep up with it.
cheers, scotty

Yeah I know but its highly likely that one/other/both will catch on as there are obvious advantages for Joe viewer (unlike DVDA/SACD - which really don't have an advantage for Joe listener and haven't really caught on...as much as I have enjoyed the disc's I've owned.)

Scotty,

I think the literal answer to your question is NO. It all depends on what you want/need/desire.

For me music and DVD are my primary entertainment forms.

We haven't watched TV in my house for over ten years....but I've built up quiet a library of SD DVDs.

I don't anticipate changing these to HD.

In a few years I will probably upgrade my current plasma to a HD screen and the DVD5 to the much anticipated scalar card. I hope the gap to HD will be so small that it saves me a small fortune by NOT upgrading the software. This does assume that HD-DVD/BR does actually gain traction in the market, something I am not convinced will occur in Europe.

I went through a number of Japanese DVD players which gave up the ghost, and were not economic to repair. I decided to buy a 'quality' player and so got an Arcam DV88.

I was disappointed with Arcam when promised upgrades took for ever to appear, and at highly inflated prices.

I bought the Naim as my 'last' SD player on the basis of its music playing abilities and my trust that Naim will service it for a significant number of years to come.

I also auditioned the current top of the line Denon, £3k meridian and the DV29. All are fine machines. Some are arguably better in certain aspects, but, in my system (AV2, Chrome Naim Amps) the DVD5 has a way of getting you into the music....even background soundtracks.

I also use the DVD5 as a head unit into an external DAC for CD replay.

I have no doubt that the vast majority of the public would consider me stark raving bonkers spending so much on a DVD player.

As with all home electronics there are diminishing laws of return. I am sure we could both buy something we could live with for £1k.

....but, I really do enjoy listening to those little siver discs now, something that has never really happened in the past, so maybe not.


...and watching music DVDs with an LPCM soundtrack is simply brilliant.

...and .....

Martin

quote:

Originally posted by scottyhammer:
hi greggles,
would you please expand on firmware issue problems on the arcam player.
scotty

Hi Scotty,

Sorry for the delay but I've been away for a few days. Firmware release 5.26 was released in December 2005 and was supposed to have "improvements to HDCP" over that of 5.25, as well as removing the "No Disk" message when the screensaver is active. Unfortunately it seems to have caused problems with HDMI display compatability - as has been discussed on the Arcam Owners Forum (AV Forums). Luckily, I never got around to upgrading my player.

Happy with my Denon 3910 - would have bought an n-Vi if I hadn't got the Denon and more Naim amps.

Also does DVD-Audio and SCAD and the sound inbuilt DACs a high quality.

I have been using the NADT513 for over a year and am happy with the sound and picture quality.
Regards
Chris N