Replacement Blu-Ray player - please help

[12th Monkey]

Hi. I need (and would be grateful for) some help.

I have a Denon 2500BT BR transport, bought in early 2009. It started to throw the odd wobbly when I bought 'Rush' a little while ago, and tends to stick at the point where Lauda's lungs are being hoovered out. I've tried cleaning the lens but the problem never goes away - this disk is playable on a budget Sony I have upstairs, so it's not the disk. It also seems to object to bits of Battlestar Galactica and when I tried Apollo 13 last night it frequently got stuck. I think it is time to pension it off, but this is where I start to get confused.

I did a demo of The Cambridge Audio 752 and Panasonic DMP BD T700 a year or so back, when I had probelms with 'Rush'. My set is a Panasonic, and the set used in the demo was a Panasonic of the same size but 4k - my screen is not 4k. In short, I was a little underwhelmed. Degrees of detail and colour etc were comparable, but neither of these players (despite their reviews) handled motion anything like as well as the Denon does so I left it at that.

Now I feel I've no choice but to change the player, and I am scared I'll end up with something that delivers poorer picture quality - I'd rather put up with the Denon's temperamentality than end up with a poorer picture. I'm really only bothered about how it performs with films, as my hifi has always been separate from the AV side.

I read good things about the Cambride Audio CXU and the Pioneers BDP LX 58 and 88. I'm wary of demoing them at the local Richer Sounds as I fear I might get the same experience - what I really want is to get them to agree to a 'buy and return' if I don't get on with what I opt for, don't know if they will but will ask. My home setup is reasonably pampered (own mains spur/filter, good cabling, Thownsend Seismic Sink platform), so I am hoping that what I see at home will be better than I fear I'd see in the shop. Obviously I don't want to buy three players and return two, so this is why I ask if anyone has any first hand experience, or has read anything relevant. How much do I need to spend to equal (or beat) the Denon?

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[michael hoy]

Hi. I need (and would be grateful for) some help.

I have a Denon 2500BT BR transport, bought in early 2009. It started to throw the odd wobbly when I bought 'Rush' a little while ago, and tends to stick at the point where Lauda's lungs are being hoovered out. I've tried cleaning the lens but the problem never goes away - this disk is playable on a budget Sony I have upstairs, so it's not the disk. It also seems to object to bits of Battlestar Galactica and when I tried Apollo 13 last night it frequently got stuck. I think it is time to pension it off, but this is where I start to get confused.

I did a demo of The Cambridge Audio 752 and Panasonic DMP BD T700 a year or so back, when I had probelms with 'Rush'. My set is a Panasonic, and the set used in the demo was a Panasonic of the same size but 4k - my screen is not 4k. In short, I was a little underwhelmed. Degrees of detail and colour etc were comparable, but neither of these players (despite their reviews) handled motion anything like as well as the Denon does so I left it at that.

Now I feel I've no choice but to change the player, and I am scared I'll end up with something that delivers poorer picture quality - I'd rather put up with the Denon's temperamentality than end up with a poorer picture. I'm really only bothered about how it performs with films, as my hifi has always been separate from the AV side.

I read good things about the Cambride Audio CXU and the Pioneers BDP LX 58 and 88. I'm wary of demoing them at the local Richer Sounds as I fear I might get the same experience - what I really want is to get them to agree to a 'buy and return' if I don't get on with what I opt for, don't know if they will but will ask. My home setup is reasonably pampered (own mains spur/filter, good cabling, Thownsend Seismic Sink platform), so I am hoping that what I see at home will be better than I fear I'd see in the shop. Obviously I don't want to buy three players and return two, so this is why I ask if anyone has any first hand experience, or has read anything relevant. How much do I need to spend to equal (or beat) the Denon?

Any help greatly appreciated!

/quote]

I totally understand what your dilema is, I had a 2500BT myself and the picture quality was excellent.

The nearest in terms of a transport would be the Pioneer LX-88 and then the Denon 3313 UD, neither of these players were around when I changed and purchased a OPPO 95.

I am more than happy with the OPPO and have not demoed the two above so cannot compare.

Some will say that the Blu Ray picture is the same played on any device, I do not believe this but only you can judge for yourself.

I do agree seeing the player in a shop demo room is hit and miss due to the fact most demo room equipment is not set up very well.

 

[bigboss]

If you check blu ray player reviews on AV forums, this is what they say (check any review there):

As long as a Blu-ray player isn't doing anything it shouldn't, then 1080p/24 content output over HDMI should be identical from one player to another.

Bear in mind these reviewers are THX and ISF certified professional TV calibrators as well, so they know what they're talking about.

I had a budget Panasonic BD60 after demoing and comparing with Denon 2500BT and PS3. Found no difference in blu ray picture quality. I now have Oppo 103D for its superior build quality. Again no difference.

 

[abacus]

Most players (Like TVs) have processing modes to make motion better, however in most cases they make things worse and turning them off solves the problem.

I would hang fire on upgrading (Unless you are desperate) as the new generation of Blu-Ray players are due towards the end of the year, (They will have all the latest codecs and 4K Blu-Ray capabilities) and while you may not need these features now, sometime in the future you will, (Due to the natural upgrade process) so you will at least help to future proof yourself.

The main difference between cheaper Blu-Ray and the more expensive, is their ability to upscale DVD and their onboard features, as these days Blu-Ray playback has been sorted. (Differences (If any) will be minimal)

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[bigboss]

Most players (Like TVs) have processing modes to make motion better, however in most cases they make things worse and turning them off solves the problem.

I would hang fire on upgrading (Unless you are desperate) as the new generation of Blu-Ray players are due towards the end of the year, (They will have all the latest codecs and 4K Blu-Ray capabilities) and while you may not need these features now, sometime in the future you will, (Due to the natural upgrade process) so you will at  least help to future proof yourself.

The main difference between cheaper Blu-Ray and the more expensive, is their ability to upscale DVD and their onboard features, as these days Blu-Ray playback has been sorted. (Differences (If any) will be minimal)

Hope this helps

Bill

+1

 

[Series1boy]

Most players (Like TVs) have processing modes to make motion better, however in most cases they make things worse and turning them off solves the problem.

I would hang fire on upgrading (Unless you are desperate) as the new generation of Blu-Ray players are due towards the end of the year, (They will have all the latest codecs and 4K Blu-Ray capabilities) and while you may not need these features now, sometime in the future you will, (Due to the natural upgrade process) so you will at least help to future proof yourself.

The main difference between cheaper Blu-Ray and the more expensive, is their ability to upscale DVD and their onboard features, as these days Blu-Ray playback has been sorted. (Differences (If any) will be minimal)

Hope this helps

Bill

if you are desperate, then there are the Denon 1713 or 3313 players if you are like me, a Denon fan. However, as above I agree and all players are the same for BD if all processing is switched off. But if you can wait for the new 4k players, very expensive and probably loads a firmware updates at the beginning, then wait.. Or you could just buy a cheap player from richer sounds or simular retailer to keep you going..

 

[12th Monkey]

Thanks for that, everyone. I'm skeptical about all delivering the same result, but prepared to consider it. I'm not expecting this player to last forever - 4-5 years would be more than acceptable, and I'll be surprised if 4k has taken over by then, particularly as my collection of BR & DVD discs is quite large - whatever plays them and does so well is more important to me than watching the latest offerings in a new format.

Based on this line of thinking, I might try the cheaper of the Pioneers. Apollo 13 plays perfectly on the cheapo Sony that I mentioned in the OP, so the Denon is starting to show its age. Unless there are any other suuggestions?

Thanks again. I'm usually pretty decisive, but the rather mixed results when I last demoed have made me a bit more cautious on this one.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Superfi, Sevenoaks and Frank Harvey you can buy and then return if you are not happy. I am waiting for the new Oppo 4K ultra hd player to come out before purchasing again. Sevenoaks do have an ex-display Pioneer BdP-lx88 player going for £950 - not bad.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Thanks for that, everyone. I'm skeptical about all delivering the same result, but prepared to consider it. I'm not expecting this player to last forever - 4-5 years would be more than acceptable, and I'll be surprised if 4k has taken over by then, particularly as my collection of BR & DVD discs is quite large - whatever plays them and does so well is more important to me than watching the latest offerings in a new format.

Based on this line of thinking, I might try the cheaper of the Pioneers. Apollo 13 plays perfectly on the cheapo Sony that I mentioned in the OP, so the Denon is starting to show its age. Unless there are any other suuggestions?

Thanks again. I'm usually pretty decisive, but the rather mixed results when I last demoed have made me a bit more cautious on this one.

The Pioneer 450 has bugs on some, but I think the 58 is okay, there was ex-display on Sevenoaks for £380 a few weeks back but has been sold.

 

[bigboss]

Pioneer players can be buggy. Look at Panasonic, Sony or Oppo.

 

[12th Monkey]

OK, thanks again for your thoughts.