I received the 2500 early this morning. As this was the subject of some debate, I thought I'd post my early impressions.
Is it better than the S-370 and PS3? Yes, but the improvement over the PS3 isn't "jaw dropping," as described in another review.
With Blu-rays, the picture is punchier, the colours more vibrant, while banding and noise are less evident. It also runs quieter than the S-370 (which whines a little with Blu-rays) and the PS3 (which of course sounds clunky in operation).
The 2500 produces a more focused and detailed sound, as well, while steering is seamless. I though the "transport" could only bitstream audio, but if I switch to LPCM the sound notably improves.
DVD upscaling isn't great, in my opinion. With the 2500 upscaling to 1080p, jaggies are obvious; but if I let my TV do the upscaling, images look much smoother. So DVD performance is far from a disaster, but I'll have to change HDMI output resolution whenever I switch from Blu-ray to DVD (or vice versa), which is a pain.
Build quality is solid, of course. It really looks and feels a quality piece of kit and will hopefully last for years.
So, was it worth the £178 I paid? Yes, but had I paid much more I might feel less enthusiastic. In short, Ronald, you're off the hook... just!
Is it better than the S-370 and PS3? Yes, but the improvement over the PS3 isn't "jaw dropping," as described in another review.
With Blu-rays, the picture is punchier, the colours more vibrant, while banding and noise are less evident. It also runs quieter than the S-370 (which whines a little with Blu-rays) and the PS3 (which of course sounds clunky in operation).
The 2500 produces a more focused and detailed sound, as well, while steering is seamless. I though the "transport" could only bitstream audio, but if I switch to LPCM the sound notably improves.
DVD upscaling isn't great, in my opinion. With the 2500 upscaling to 1080p, jaggies are obvious; but if I let my TV do the upscaling, images look much smoother. So DVD performance is far from a disaster, but I'll have to change HDMI output resolution whenever I switch from Blu-ray to DVD (or vice versa), which is a pain.
Build quality is solid, of course. It really looks and feels a quality piece of kit and will hopefully last for years.
So, was it worth the £178 I paid? Yes, but had I paid much more I might feel less enthusiastic. In short, Ronald, you're off the hook... just!