Blu ray between £500-£1,000

[admin_exported]

Hi

I am struggling to find a blu ray player between £500-£1,000 that seems a major uplift from the £200 or less range. Seems everything is less than £200 or a £1,000+. Ideally I want to spend £600-700 but get my money's worth. I was thinking of Marantz BD 7004 but not sure how good this is. I want the player to be a good DVD upscaler as well but note the marantz does not play DVD+R/+RW type DVDs. What does that mean and what is likely impact. Ideally, I would like the Sony S5000ES but this is over a year old and the fact the price has not dropped from a £1,000 is putting me off. Any suggestions/comments will be appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

 

[The_Lhc]

PaulF:t note the marantz does not play DVD+R/+RW type DVDs. What does that mean and what is likely impact.

You tell us, do you ever record and then want to watch anything on DVD+R/RW? If not then there won't be any impact at all.

 

[fayeanddavid]

PaulF

Looks as if we have a similar problem as I'm asking similar questions at the £400.00 price point, maybe I need to go to £500+ to gain benefit......................who knows?

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd strongly suggest you wait a few months until the 2010 generation of higher-end players are released.

Manufacturers typically release their mass-market models first, followed by higher-end kit by the @ September mark.

With 3D-compatibility (even if you don't want it now, you may want it as a future option), upgraded processing, audio chipsets and enhanced connectivity (giving you the option of streaming services etc) being promised by a range of companies, there should be some exciting testing coming our way.

Sadly, I can't name makes, models etc, as details are under embargo until the products are officially announced later this year.

We will, of course, bring you news - and reviews - as soon as we can.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, fair enough. Guess I can hold out that bit longer...

Thanks all.

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Well I have held off but really, really, really want to upgrade now from my PS3 (the old "fat" version).

My current kit is Sony 46X4500, Onkyo SR875 amp, and 5.1 B&W MT30 speakers. Only missing link is the perfect blu ray. I am not fussed abut 3D and do not plan to tinker with this lot for quite a few years so happy to spend between £500-£800ish on the player. After a quality DVD upscaler and for Blu ray picture and audio quality, with CD playing ability not too fussed about.

Help! Marantz BD7004, the Cambridge Audi 650BD, Sony S5000 (£1,000 and getting old?). Anything else?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

If not fussed about 3D, I'd buy the Cambridge Audio 650BD and spend the rest of the budget on discs.

 

[professorhat]

PaulF:Help! Marantz BD7004, the Cambridge Audi 650BD, Sony S5000 (£1,000 and getting old?). Anything else?

From my findings, the Marantz was a better player than the Cambridge, but you really need to have a look yourself to see what you think. I'd also have a look at the new Arcam BDP-100 if I were buying now.

 

[kinda]

Hello,

Surprised to hear the recommendation of the 650 for this. From the magazine it seems to be suggested as the player if you want all the CD / SACD / DVDA stuff, but actually having a worse picture than players like the S370 / 570 due to artefacting?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Hence 'I'd buy'...

 

[Anonymous]

why buy one thats between £500-£1000? i think you should identify the features you want, find players that have them regardless of price, demo, then choose what you like best..that could be the sony bdp-s370, which costs about £130..

 

[DavidNorway]

I ordered mine yesterday!spent hours going over which player to buy,went with Andrews nod,will pick it up next week but not open until the 25th dec!

 

[Anonymous]

Maxflinn,

I do not live on Mainland UK and my local shops have very limited products to demo. So unfortunately a fair chunk of my purchases are on blind faith without testing, based on reviews and a lot of forum assistance. I also think you generally get what you pay for, so going for the next price range in a product type should get you a corresponding increase in performance. Blu Ray players seems to buck this which is why I am having such difficulty nailing one down.

Paul

 

[Sorreltiger]

Which is precisely Max's point. Many people have said that the improvement in PQ for blu-ray between 'budget' players and more expensive ones is negligible. After that, the deal breaker could be features: the Cambridge if you want SACD etc and the Sonys if you want iPlayer and other network connectivity.

 

[Anonymous]

PaulF:
Maxflinn,

I do not live on Mainland UK and my local shops have very limited products to demo. So unfortunately a fair chunk of my purchases are on blind faith without testing, based on reviews and a lot of forum assistance. I also think you generally get what you pay for, so going for the next price range in a product type should get you a corresponding increase in performance. Blu Ray players seems to buck this which is why I am having such difficulty nailing one down.

Paul

i know what you mean, demoing isnt easy for me either sometimes..i agree with sorreltigger that the differences between budget players (on pure 1080p blu-ray playback) and more expensive ones is very marginal at best, ive not compared expensive players, but many that have have found little to no difference..

i could find no difference between my old ps3, my current sony s363 or a friends sony player (cant think of the model number but its the first ever bdp from sony) with blu-rays, but my 363 appeared better at upscaling dvd's..

there does appear to be differences with audio though, most agree on that, im thinking of changing myself to get better sound, not sure what to get though, probably a sony s370..

 

[chudleighpaul]

I was a panel member on "The Big Question" a few months ago and we could not tell the difeerence in pic quality between a budget player (Sony) and a player costing well over £1000. In fact one panel member slightly preferred the budget model.

 

[kinda]

Hello Andrew,

Obviously it's valid to state what you'd buy but were you recommending the player to the poster to fit with his requirements? If so obviously it would be interesting to hear the reasoning.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks all for the posts, appreciate eveyone taking the time to respond. Understand the point on picture (this is what a lot of previous debates seem to come back to, a minimal difference here) but the audio does seem to make a difference. Currently down to two, Cambridge v Marantz. Going to have a think and then make the plunge!

Thanks