JoeE SP9
01-31-2010, 03:25 PM
This a quick post to let others in on this.
The $40 Magnavox DVD player from Walmart lasted six months. The video display section died. It still plays CD's and the audio portion of DVD's just fine. Sound alone is OK but my girlfriend and I watch movies and “training films” in bed. So after doing a little research I settled on a Yamaha DVD-S1800. At $79.99, down from a list of $449 with DVD, SACD and DVD-A playback it seemed like a good deal.
I ordered it on Wednesday from Amazon (free shipping) and UPS delivered it Friday. I connected it up to my main rig and gave it a quick listen. It wasn't bad but sounded “woolly” in the low end the mid-range was “in your face” and the highs were kind of “wiry”. The picture looked very good if a little washed out. I tuned the picture up with a DVD. Then I used a CD and a DVD (swapped every couple of hours) on continuous repeat to burn it in until today.
Right out of the box I was impressed. It's a lot for ~$80. The ten pound weight and the substantial look and feel are very good. It's even got some “he-man feet”. It's dead quiet playing CD's or DVD's and relatively quick loading either. There is an audio direct switch on the remote that when engaged shuts of all video circuitry and the front panel display for audio CD's, DVD-A's and SACD's. I haven't listened enough to tell if it makes a difference but having the option is nice.
The woolly bass is gone, the midrange is smooth and sweet. The highs still seem very slightly bright. I expect that to lessen as it gets more playing time. It's clearly better sounding on RBCD's and SACD's than my Sony DVP NS-500V. I'm not sure but so far the digital out seems no better or worse than that from the Sony. The only thing I haven't checked is it's DVD-A performance. That's because I don't have any, yet. The Sony didn't play them so I haven't bought any. It also has all the video stuff including progressive scan and up-conversion on the HDMI output.
I'm keeping this in my main rig. The Sony is going to the bedroom system. Sigh, I guess I'll have to get some DVD-A's to make sure that function works properly. I can't wait to check. If you're looking for a multi format player you owe it to yourself to give this a look. For $79.99 you can't go wrong.
BTW: One of the sites I went to while researching said the unit was built by Oppo.
The $40 Magnavox DVD player from Walmart lasted six months. The video display section died. It still plays CD's and the audio portion of DVD's just fine. Sound alone is OK but my girlfriend and I watch movies and “training films” in bed. So after doing a little research I settled on a Yamaha DVD-S1800. At $79.99, down from a list of $449 with DVD, SACD and DVD-A playback it seemed like a good deal.
I ordered it on Wednesday from Amazon (free shipping) and UPS delivered it Friday. I connected it up to my main rig and gave it a quick listen. It wasn't bad but sounded “woolly” in the low end the mid-range was “in your face” and the highs were kind of “wiry”. The picture looked very good if a little washed out. I tuned the picture up with a DVD. Then I used a CD and a DVD (swapped every couple of hours) on continuous repeat to burn it in until today.
Right out of the box I was impressed. It's a lot for ~$80. The ten pound weight and the substantial look and feel are very good. It's even got some “he-man feet”. It's dead quiet playing CD's or DVD's and relatively quick loading either. There is an audio direct switch on the remote that when engaged shuts of all video circuitry and the front panel display for audio CD's, DVD-A's and SACD's. I haven't listened enough to tell if it makes a difference but having the option is nice.
The woolly bass is gone, the midrange is smooth and sweet. The highs still seem very slightly bright. I expect that to lessen as it gets more playing time. It's clearly better sounding on RBCD's and SACD's than my Sony DVP NS-500V. I'm not sure but so far the digital out seems no better or worse than that from the Sony. The only thing I haven't checked is it's DVD-A performance. That's because I don't have any, yet. The Sony didn't play them so I haven't bought any. It also has all the video stuff including progressive scan and up-conversion on the HDMI output.
I'm keeping this in my main rig. The Sony is going to the bedroom system. Sigh, I guess I'll have to get some DVD-A's to make sure that function works properly. I can't wait to check. If you're looking for a multi format player you owe it to yourself to give this a look. For $79.99 you can't go wrong.
BTW: One of the sites I went to while researching said the unit was built by Oppo.