JVC XVN50BK Slim DVD Player
The JVC XV-N50...A true jewel...can run with the big dogs!!!
As I write this review I am enjoying the Dave Matthews CD Crash. My favorite cut, 'Let You Down' with its wonderful guitar, percussion and sax performances are as liquid as ever. Before I go any further let me say this. I am proud to say that I have a budget priced system. I truly believe that as much as I respect high-end equipment the gap between price and sonic performance has closed considerably. I have the new Hk 130 surround sound reciever. A pair of Athena SB-1's, a very good 3 driver, ported, Sony center channel, and a pair of Kevlar Sony satelites. A Sony 32 inch Trinitron rounds out the system.<BR>   For me the most important criteria for choosing a budget Multi-Disc player was optical output. I listen to a lot of music...different music...classical, rock, funk, country..if its good I will listen to it, so I wanted the purest signal going from the player to the amp. However way you want to look at it there are a host of multi-disc players on the market. You can read reviews and listen to peoples advice and even a\b players at the local audio store. But the bottom line is how it works and sounds for you when you get it home. Well here is my bottom line... Not only does the matching blue facia lights of both the HK130 and the XV-N50 make for one of the best looking combinations in all of audio, but...this is one hell of a good sounding, good looking...picture wise, and best real usable featured multi disc player at any price!!!  The picture quality is outstanding...really!... and thru the player itself...customizable!!! Thats right. You can adjust hue, tint, color and even gamma, or go with one of the presets.  <BR>   This player has too many features to go into...seriously! It plays everything, its beautiful, and sounds awesome. I have the fortune to own several discs recorded on the DMP label from the late eighties. The big band album of Bob Mintzer entitled 'Spectrum' is a must have. Truly one of the finest recordings ever, the XV-N50 shines allowing thehorn sections the perfect space to breath. Drum riffs are tight and precise. Symbols are lengthy and well placed. The HK 130 which I love more and more every day, is equiped with its own Logic7 music mode surround which creates a beatiful soundstage that is seamless. Together these two pieces of art perform as soulmates in the audio/visual world. I paid less than $500 dollars combined for the two. I challenge anyone to find a combination  that outperforms much less looks as elegant, and should I say...'expensive' as these two.<BR>   As it stands by itself, unless you find a multi-disc player that brushes your teeth for you spending hundreds more for a esoteric name would be throwing money out the door. I strongly suggest that anyone building a system at any price take a good strong listen and look at the JVC XV-N50. I am sure that soon enough you won't be able to find this gem of a player...There was only one left when I snagged mine! Little did I know that my budget priced multi-disc palyer was in fact only budget.......in price!