Blu-Ray player for High Res Audio

[Entrigo]

Hi,

Recently bought a “special edition” of a newly released album which included a high res audio blu-ray (as well as standard CD and half-master vinyl).

I thought I could play this in my PlayStation 4 but it appears I can’t - it’s the slim version and has no optical out and I have been told that playing through the TV (into my Wiim pro and then HiFi) wouldn’t work as the TV would compress the sound.

So, as I might buy more high res audio blu-rays in future, I thought I would invest in a blu-ray player.

Any suggestions for a good quality Blu-Ray (good quality especially for audio ofc), with analog out ideally, that could be found around the £100 on the second hand market?

 

[manicm]

Any Blu-ray player can play a Blu-ray audio disc.

 

[jetblack9090]

Now from a functionality standpoint as the other commenter commented, any Blu-ray player can play Blu-ray discs. However I'm a big fan of Sony Blu-ray players, not just for blu-rays but even for CDs. I've used one in a second bedroom system for many years as a general CD player and also have it hooked up to the bedroom TV so the wife and I can watch movies and stuff while we're lying in bed. I do use the coaxial output to The built-in DAC on the integrated amp I use and have been quite satisfied with the sound quality over the years.

Now I'm In America but if you're looking for something new with a warranty that has a digital output then I recommend the Sony bdp bx370.

It doesn't have any sort of analog out unfortunately, you have to go much higher up the range to achieve that, but it does have a coaxial output and of course a standard HDMI for the television. Addition to that stuff it also has built-in Wi-Fi and you can do limited streaming from certain services on the unit itself, although trust me when I say the built-in streaming services on Sony Blu-ray players pales in comparison to using a dedicated streamer.

But as I said as far as playing discs go I've been quite satisfied with the performance and it is what I qualify as "good enough ". Meaning it won't blow you away and you won't be sitting back thinking about how you're hearing stuff in your favorite songs that you've never heard before, however it will present a satisfactory musical performance that you can enjoy without thinking that you're missing anything or anything becoming overly annoying.

Anyway sorry for the long reply, just thought I would share my experience, and hope it all works out for you.

Edit: I just looked it up and unfortunately they don't sell the BX370 in the UK, however they do sell a similar player called the bdp s3700, it seems to have all the features I've already mentioned and seems to look and perform exactly the same, and it will only set you back 90 quid.

 

[Entrigo]

Now from a functionality standpoint as the other commenter commented, any Blu-ray player can play Blu-ray discs. However I'm a big fan of Sony Blu-ray players, not just for blu-rays but even for CDs. I've used one in a second bedroom system for many years as a general CD player and also have it hooked up to the bedroom TV so the wife and I can watch movies and stuff while we're lying in bed. I do use the coaxial output to The built-in DAC on the integrated amp I use and have been quite satisfied with the sound quality over the years.

Now I'm In America but if you're looking for something new with a warranty that has a digital output then I recommend the Sony bdp bx370.

It doesn't have any sort of analog out unfortunately, you have to go much higher up the range to achieve that, but it does have a coaxial output and of course a standard HDMI for the television. Addition to that stuff it also has built-in Wi-Fi and you can do limited streaming from certain services on the unit itself, although trust me when I say the built-in streaming services on Sony Blu-ray players pales in comparison to using a dedicated streamer.

But as I said as far as playing discs go I've been quite satisfied with the performance and it is what I qualify as "good enough ". Meaning it won't blow you away and you won't be sitting back thinking about how you're hearing stuff in your favorite songs that you've never heard before, however it will present a satisfactory musical performance that you can enjoy without thinking that you're missing anything or anything becoming overly annoying.

Anyway sorry for the long reply, just thought I would share my experience, and hope it all works out for you.

Edit: I just looked it up and unfortunately they don't sell the BX370 in the UK, however they do sell a similar player called the bdp s3700, it seems to have all the features I've already mentioned and seems to look and perform exactly the same, and it will only set you back 90 quid.

Thanks for the advice. The lack of analog out is a bit annoying, as the DVD would go into my Wiim Pro and the optical in is already taken by the TV (and would rather not have to swap every time).

In terms of any blu-ray being able to play it, I guess I wasn’t very clear - that I kmow, I was after suggestions for good players (obvs especially in terms of sound reproduction) within my budget - I know I could buy any blu-ray from £20 onwards and it would play the CD…

 

[jetblack9090]

Thanks for the advice. The lack of analog out is a bit annoying, as the DVD would go into my Wiim Pro and the optical in is already taken by the TV (and would rather not have to swap every time).

In terms of any blu-ray being able to play it, I guess I wasn’t very clear - that I kmow, I was after suggestions for good players (obvs especially in terms of sound reproduction) within my budget - I know I could buy any blu-ray from £20 onwards and it would play the CD…

Okay, well as I said I know for a fact that Sony is a fantastic product, I've had nothing but great experience And luck over the years with Sony DVD and of course Blu-ray players and not just with their functionality but also of course the performance and the good enough sound quality that I mentioned.

It's my understanding that the wiim has a digital input in the form of a coax so it wouldn't be an issue to sort of do like I do and run the HDMI out to a television and of course watch blu-rays that way and then run the coax out for the sound.

As I perhaps alluded to when my wife and I are watching films and television shows on Blu-ray or DVD we simply use the sound coming through the HDMI, however when I want to play CDs on that Blu-ray player I use the sound coming out of the digital output of course as it runs into my integrated amplifier. Slightly convoluted I know but entirely functional and entirely satisfactory.

Are there better more high-end options available, yes, however even in good old Great Britain, you're going to have to pay more for that luxury. I do know for a fact that stores like richer sounds and others that deal in home entertainment often have open box or return products that they sell for less money than they do the same product new, perhaps that's a way you could get a Blu-ray player that's more to your liking and save a bit of money in the process.

If it were me, knowing as I do the quality of Sony products and the reputation that I feel their products have with me personally, I would buy the Blu-ray player I suggested, and if what I'm plugging it into doesn't have a digital input, I would simply add an external digital converter, luckily nowadays on Amazon you can get A great quality budget DAC for very little money and simply add that to your setup.

At the end of the day, as you might know, a lot of this hobby is simply how much money you want to spend to maximize your sound quality performance. From your original post I gathered that you didn't want to spend a ton of cash. That said of course the Sony is a great option.

Lastly, I don't mean to keep going on and on about Sony, truthfully I've just had great luck with their products over the years, they typically cost a bit more than other brands but I'm very much of the belief that you get what you pay for. Of course there are other companies that make great products, when I looked on richer sounds website I saw they sell a few Panasonic Blu-Ray players as well, and I've always been a big fan of Panasonic products additionally, so either way you went I don't think you could go wrong.

Bear in mind though nowadays any Blu-ray player that also has analog audio outputs is going to be a more costly proposition. Truthfully as I've already said the cheapest most cost-effective option is to buy a budget Blu-ray player of any brand and simply add an external DAC if you need that. That way you can have sound through your stereo and you can also have video through your television.

 

[Entrigo]

Okay, well as I said I know for a fact that Sony is a fantastic product, I've had nothing but great experience And luck over the years with Sony DVD and of course Blu-ray players and not just with their functionality but also of course the performance and the good enough sound quality that I mentioned.

It's my understanding that the wiim has a digital input in the form of a coax so it wouldn't be an issue to sort of do like I do and run the HDMI out to a television and of course watch blu-rays that way and then run the coax out for the sound.

As I perhaps alluded to when my wife and I are watching films and television shows on Blu-ray or DVD we simply use the sound coming through the HDMI, however when I want to play CDs on that Blu-ray player I use the sound coming out of the digital output of course as it runs into my integrated amplifier. Slightly convoluted I know but entirely functional and entirely satisfactory.

Are there better more high-end options available, yes, however even in good old Great Britain, you're going to have to pay more for that luxury. I do know for a fact that stores like richer sounds and others that deal in home entertainment often have open box or return products that they sell for less money than they do the same product new, perhaps that's a way you could get a Blu-ray player that's more to your liking and save a bit of money in the process.

If it were me, knowing as I do the quality of Sony products and the reputation that I feel their products have with me personally, I would buy the Blu-ray player I suggested, and if what I'm plugging it into doesn't have a digital input, I would simply add an external digital converter, luckily nowadays on Amazon you can get A great quality budget DAC for very little money and simply add that to your setup.

At the end of the day, as you might know, a lot of this hobby is simply how much money you want to spend to maximize your sound quality performance. From your original post I gathered that you didn't want to spend a ton of cash. That said of course the Sony is a great option.

Lastly, I don't mean to keep going on and on about Sony, truthfully I've just had great luck with their products over the years, they typically cost a bit more than other brands but I'm very much of the belief that you get what you pay for. Of course there are other companies that make great products, when I looked on richer sounds website I saw they sell a few Panasonic Blu-Ray players as well, and I've always been a big fan of Panasonic products additionally, so either way you went I don't think you could go wrong.

Bear in mind though nowadays any Blu-ray player that also has analog audio outputs is going to be a more costly proposition. Truthfully as I've already said the cheapest most cost-effective option is to buy a budget Blu-ray player of any brand and simply add an external DAC if you need that. That way you can have sound through your stereo and you can also have video through your television.

The Wiim Pro has only one RCA line in and one optical in, no coaxial or HMDI (it only has coaxial out) - and the optical in is already taken up by the TV. So the only option is RCA Audio. I would rather not add another converter or component on the chain, especially not a DAC as the one in the Wiim is pretty good.

In terms of quality, yes, I am well aware of that, which is why I said “under £100 second hand” - I can’t justify spending £4/500 on a new player which I might use once every couple of months…

If no other suggestions are forthcoming, I guess I will just have to search eBay for blu-ray players with analog outputs, pick one and hope for the best!

 

[Entrigo]

Okay, well as I said I know for a fact that Sony is a fantastic product, I've had nothing but great experience And luck over the years with Sony DVD and of course Blu-ray players and not just with their functionality but also of course the performance and the good enough sound quality that I mentioned.

It's my understanding that the wiim has a digital input in the form of a coax so it wouldn't be an issue to sort of do like I do and run the HDMI out to a television and of course watch blu-rays that way and then run the coax out for the sound.

As I perhaps alluded to when my wife and I are watching films and television shows on Blu-ray or DVD we simply use the sound coming through the HDMI, however when I want to play CDs on that Blu-ray player I use the sound coming out of the digital output of course as it runs into my integrated amplifier. Slightly convoluted I know but entirely functional and entirely satisfactory.

Are there better more high-end options available, yes, however even in good old Great Britain, you're going to have to pay more for that luxury. I do know for a fact that stores like richer sounds and others that deal in home entertainment often have open box or return products that they sell for less money than they do the same product new, perhaps that's a way you could get a Blu-ray player that's more to your liking and save a bit of money in the process.

If it were me, knowing as I do the quality of Sony products and the reputation that I feel their products have with me personally, I would buy the Blu-ray player I suggested, and if what I'm plugging it into doesn't have a digital input, I would simply add an external digital converter, luckily nowadays on Amazon you can get A great quality budget DAC for very little money and simply add that to your setup.

At the end of the day, as you might know, a lot of this hobby is simply how much money you want to spend to maximize your sound quality performance. From your original post I gathered that you didn't want to spend a ton of cash. That said of course the Sony is a great option.

Lastly, I don't mean to keep going on and on about Sony, truthfully I've just had great luck with their products over the years, they typically cost a bit more than other brands but I'm very much of the belief that you get what you pay for. Of course there are other companies that make great products, when I looked on richer sounds website I saw they sell a few Panasonic Blu-Ray players as well, and I've always been a big fan of Panasonic products additionally, so either way you went I don't think you could go wrong.

Bear in mind though nowadays any Blu-ray player that also has analog audio outputs is going to be a more costly proposition. Truthfully as I've already said the cheapest most cost-effective option is to buy a budget Blu-ray player of any brand and simply add an external DAC if you need that. That way you can have sound through your stereo and you can also have video through your television.

OK wait - got it, if it’s analog output from the blu-ray it would use the blu-ray DAC not the Wiim. And that might be a hit and miss unless I go for premium players - which would be more than £100…

Hmmm external DAC it would have to be then.

Thanks again for the advice. Need to go and have a lie down now haha

 

[jetblack9090]

The Wiim Pro has only one RCA line in and one optical in, no coaxial or HMDI (it only has coaxial out) - and the optical in is already taken up by the TV. So the only option is RCA Audio. I would rather not add another converter or component on the chain, especially not a DAC as the one in the Wiim is pretty good.

In terms of quality, yes, I am well aware of that, which is why I said “under £100 second hand” - I can’t justify spending £4/500 on a new player which I might use once every couple of months…

If no other suggestions are forthcoming, I guess I will just have to search eBay for blu-ray players with analog outputs, pick one and hope for the best!

Okay, last suggestion and I think it should work without any issues.

So looking it up they do make what's called optical splitters, which means you can have one optical input on something and run two optical devices to that one input, and switch between them. The majority of them seem to be passive devices with no added electricity needed, however the majority of them also seem to be of the one in multiple out variety, instead of multiple in to single out.

In fact I found one that is simply a cable, with one Jack on one end of the cable and two jacks on the other end of the cable. Personally I don't see how it would cause any issue to simply plug the single side into your wiim, and then the other two wins, one going to your Blu-ray player and the other going to your other source.

Obviously this would mean you can't run both sources at the same time but that would be the same with anything with a single optical input.

In America at least it's also very cheap at $20 definitely worth a shot and something that's very easy to return should it not work.

Anyway here is a photo of it and looks pretty straightforward to me.

 

[Entrigo]

Ah that looks quite neat actually! OK brilliant. Have a few options to go on now. Will sleep over it and decide in the morning.

Thanks Jetblack - much appreciated!