JVC XV-SA70BK DVD Player, Black
5-Star DVD Player at a 2-Star Price
I am going on nine months with this player and could not be more pleased. Honestly if it froze up on me tommorow I would still give it high marks simply because it has performed so well and offers so much for the money. <br />My main reason for purchasing this player was to get a DVD-Audio player without breaking the bank, reasoning that I would rather spend my money on DVD-A software. I also wanted a progressive scan player to go with my HDTV for excellent video playback quality, again at a reasonable price. With the XV-SA75 I got it all for the incredible price of $...! I see no-frills VCRs selling for more.<br />DVD-Audio playback is EXCELLENT. I have it matched with the JVC RX-8020VBK AV Receiver (another excellent buy) and the sound from the 24-bit/192kHz decoders from this player is nothing less than stunning. It sounds like it should cost $1000 or more. Really, I would pit the sound quality of DVD-Audio from this player against a high end CD player from a $10,000+ system--and probably blow it away. I know it sounds like an exaggeration but believe me it's not. DVD-Audio when properly set-up is THAT GOOD. Like most DVD-Audio players, this one does not offer bass management for DVD-Audio playback. You will need five full range (or close to full range) speakers and a decent subwoofer (10\\"+) to maximize your listening experience. But with the money you save you can invest in a set of good speakers. Preferably floorstanding, from good speaker makers like B&W, Dynaudio, Energy, Paradigm, PSB, etc.<br />Progressive scan DVD playback on this player is excellent also. Movies like The Fellowship of the Ring, Star Wars Attack of the Clones, actually almost any well made DVD movie look incredibly sharp and theater-like on a high definition/widescreen digital TV. Combined with the Dolby Digital EX or DTS ES capabilities of the RX-8020, I get 6.1 surround sound and stunning progressive picture quality for a truly movie-going experience--in my living room. It never fails toimpress my friends & neighbors, who think I spent a fortune on this system. If they only knew the truth.<br />As for the downside to this player, there are very few. I don't particularly like the CD playback quality with this player because on certain lo-fi quality CDs I will get an occasional drop off in sound during playback. I use a dedicated CD changer for CDs so this is not an issue for me. I think this saves on the wear and tear of the DVD player and I personally think this is the way to go anyway. This player also plays MP3s, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs for maximum flexibility. It really is amazing all the things this player can do. The only discs it won't play are Super Audio CDs (SACD) and DVD-Rs.<br />You will also need to invest in a LOT of cables for this unit, what with six analog connections for DVD-Audio, digital (coax or toslink) connection for DVD-Video sound, component cables for progressive video... but of course this would be the case for any DVD-Audio/Progressive Scan player.<br />I really can't say enough good things about this player. Other JVC DVD players take hits for laser problems and lock up issues, but so far this player has performed like a champ for me. The best investment I have made in a piece of electronic equipment by far.