Sony BDP-S5000ES vs Denon 2500bt Transport Bluray player (WHSV team question)

[jase fox]

Having just read the review in this mths WHSV mag of the Sony S5000ES bluray player, i must admit to say that it sounds like the most positive review ive read so far to date about a bluray player as it seems to tick all the right boxes however, how much better is the picture & sound quality over the Denon 2500bt? Or is it on a par? I do realise that the sony has onboard decoding etc & more outputs & such but its mainly in terms of PQ / SQ between the two players im more interested in?

In a word would it be worth trading in the Denon 2500bt for the Sony? Its not that i have any intensions of doing this but whatever the answer is to a question like this, is normally the most positive?

Cheers

 

[Davo2008]

Hi Jase!

I'd like to know that too! Although, it's best not to get too worked up about it. There's always going to be something better. If I could have afforded it, I would've gone for the 3800, but at £1600, you have to decide how far you're willing to go. I got my 2500 for £599. The Sony is going for over a grand, so, at nearly double the price, I would HOPE that there's a VAST improvement over the Denon! And as far as the reviews go, Blu-ray images are "jaw-dropping" for one and "breathtaking" ffor the other. And DVD images are "scintillating" for the 2500 and "awesome" for the S5000ES. So what's better? Jaw-dropping or Breathtaking? Scintillating or awesome?

" How big's your wallet" is the real question.

I reckon they're both pretty good though...........

 

[jase fox]

Davo2008:
So what's better? Jaw-dropping or Breathtaking? Scintillating or awesome?

P>This is exactly my point Dave Mate,

It just seems to me that everytime i read a review about a new bluray player its "this is the best weve seen" & "this is the pinnacle of bluray" etc even though you got your 2500 for £599 Dave it was still originally £900 ! I think my trouble is is that im so impressed with The denons PQ that its hard to believe it can be bettered by an absolute mile?

Its that up to now the Denon to me as had the best reviews so far, winning the group test & all that, but this Sony seems to be the new kid on the block (or the new player on the rack)!! Im just really curious as to how much better the PQ is with the Sony? I like yourself Dave would of been tempted with the Denon 3800 but im put of with the fact its still only profile 1.1 & not 2.0 ! & for £1600 youd expect it really.

Anyway ramble over with, ha

 

[VoodooDoctor]

If you look around on the net the 5000ES can be had for £899 currently. I'm very pleased with it so if you have the cash would definitely recommend it!

 

[jase fox]

VoodooDoctor:If you look around on the net the 5000ES can be had for £899 currently. I'm very pleased with it so if you have the cash would definitely recommend it!Have you by any chance compared it with the Denon 2500 voodooDoctor?

 

[VoodooDoctor]

Unfortunately not but on other forums people have said that it is a step up (and possibly more reliable).

 

[jase fox]

VoodooDoctor:Unfortunately not but on other forums people have said that it is a step up (and possibly more reliable).Im not sure if the word "reliable & bluray players" go with ea other as ive had problems with, pioneer, denon & sony machines ! I still think the software & hardware arent singing from the same sheet ha. I think this is going to have to be a case of find out for myself?

 

[jase fox]

Davo2008: There's always going to be something better.

P>I do agree with you on this Dave, but i just wished it wasnt so soon lol

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well we're looking forward to doing a high-end BD player Group Test, that's for sure. The Sony deserves its five stars at the price - which tells you a lot re how it performed against the significantly cheaper Denon (as you'd hope for with the big price difference!).

The Denon 2500BT remains the automatic choice if you've @£500-£800 odd to spend, though!

Next step pitting the Sony against the new Marantz (due in our test rooms tomorrow), the Pioneer LX91 (due soon) and of course the big-brother Denon 3800BD.... Exciting times.

 

[RodhasGibson]

Now your talking

looking forward to that for sure Clare.

 

[Rorschach]

jase fox:VoodooDoctor:Unfortunately not but on other forums people have said that it is a step up (and possibly more reliable). I think this is going to have to be a case of find out for myself?

Just demo the thing, i would.

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. Thanks, Rorschach.

 

[jase fox]

Rorschach:
jase fox:VoodooDoctor:Unfortunately not but on other forums people have said that it is a step up (and possibly more reliable). I think this is going to have to be a case of find out for myself?

Just demo the thing, i would.

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. Thanks, Rorschach.
Now thats what i call a positive response! Dont hold anything back now Rorschach, ha But yes on a serious note thats exactly what im going to do !

 

[Anonymous]

would retailers let you take one of those units home for testing, or that would be asking too much?

 

[jase fox]

EMSKY1:would retailers let you take one of those units home for testing, or that would be asking too much?
Yep they sure do allow home testing, well our hifi shop does anyway im not sure about the others, and i work there aswell so all the perks !!

 

[Rorschach]

jase fox:Rorschach:

jase fox:VoodooDoctor:Unfortunately not but on other forums people have said that it is a step up (and possibly more reliable). I think this is going to have to be a case of find out for myself?

Just demo the thing, i would.

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. Thanks, Rorschach.

Now thats what i call a positive response! Dont hold anything back now Rorschach, ha But yes on a serious note thats exactly what im going to do !

Would you see a significant improvement between the Denon and the sony as your tv is last year's model? Whichever is the better of the two, of course. Don't know if you will or not, just curious.

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. Thanks, Rorschach. What AV/HiFi shop do you work at?

 

[Anonymous]

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Denon DVD2500BT into Australia. It is apparently due to arrive late this month. The Sony 5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player has been out here for quite a while now.

The Sony retails for approximately AUD$400.00 more than the Denon DVD2500BT Blu-ray Transport. This relates to about 150-180GBP.

The latest March 2009 issue of What Hi Fi probably won't be in the newsagencies here until the end of this month, so I shall probably have to wait to read the review of the Sony.

 

[Rorschach]

dantan:

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Denon DVD2500BT into Australia. It is apparently due to arrive late this month. The Sony 5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player has been out here for quite a while now.

The Sony retails for approximately AUD$400.00 more than the Denon DVD2500BT Blu-ray Transport. This relates to about 150-180GBP.

The latest March 2009 issue of What Hi Fi probably won't be in the newsagencies here until the end of this month, so I shall probably have to wait to read the review of the Sony.

It's a top notch player, one of the best apparently.

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. Thanks, Rorschach.

 

[Anonymous]

Would someone be so kind to summarise for me what What Hi Fi said, in relation to the Sony 5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player? Mostly in terms of audio quality.

I would like to know if it is significantly better performance-wise (especially in relation to the audio side) than my Pioneer BDP-LX71, which is a fine player, but let down by some freezing issues.

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't seen the review yet as the mag takes a couple of weeks to get where I am...

As an aside, I have to say, that for me this raises once more the slight weakness of the star rating...We're not taking about products years apart here, but a matter of months, and people are left in confusion as to which is the 'better' product, unless there is a direct comparison such as a group test...

"So what's better? Jaw-dropping or Breathtaking? Scintillating or awesome?"

Quite. With all the superlatives that get used, we end up diving for the Oxford English, trying to read between the lines and decide which of two 5 star products has it's nose out in front....

I know this has been discussed to death, so I'll leave it, but there's currently a fairly funny thread on another forum - Brit HiFiÿmanufacturerÿ- ÿcomparing all the HiFi mags and press...I couldn't help smiling when I read a particular post from one member, whoÿwryly made the comment that a minimum of 4 stars were almost totallyÿguaranteedÿfor any product in WHF......ÿ

 

[Andrew Everard]

dantan:Would someone be so kind to summarise for me what What Hi Fi said, in relation to the Sony 5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player?

Well, given that the issue is on sale, it should be only a matter of days before the review is available online...

 

[jase fox]

SC:
We're not taking about products years apart here, but a matter of months, and people are left in confusion as to which is the 'better' product, ..ÿ
My sentemence exactly SC, bluray players are certainly coming out the woodwork like ants, years ago in the days of VCRs back in the later 80s i bought a top end highly rated Panasonic VCR that cost me £500, but a replacement model that could better it wouldnt come out for at least 2yrs or so, it was the same with Amps, look how long the Yamaha DSP A1 was the one to beat? It was up there for ages being the best, I had that amp for around 5yrs as nothing came close to it but now you could change em every 6mth to a year now.

Technolgy has gone mad ! Mind you i wouldnt complain about this if i won the lottery !!

 

[Clare Newsome]

SC:
I couldn't help smiling when I read a particular post from one member, who wryly made the comment that a minimum of 4 stars were almost totally guaranteed for any product in WHF......

Wry comment? Total poppycock - typically around a third of products get three stars or less.

I do wish people would actually read the mag/visit the reviews on this website rather than relying on their own ignorance/prejudice

 

[professorhat]

SC:people are left in confusion as to which is the 'better' product, unless there is a direct comparison such as a group test...

I think that's what the auditioning process is supposed to decide for you. What people seem to really want is someone to tell them what player to buy as they can't be bothered to go and check them out for themselves.

 

[jase fox]

professorhat:
SC:people are left in confusion as to which is the 'better' product, unless there is a direct comparison such as a group test...

I think that's what the auditioning process is supposed to decide for you. What people seem to really want is someone to tell them what player to buy as they can't be bothered to go and check them out for themselves.

Also on the otherside of what youve just said there Prof i do alot of side by side comparisons with bluray players at the HIFI store, for one eg i did one with the Panasonic BD55 & the Pioneer LX70a now to me i couldnt tell any difference between the two which made me realise how good the Panny was for the price compared to the pioneer however, there were folk telling me how they thought the Pioneer wiped the floor over the Panny but i couldnt see what they were seeing, then this peticular guy told me "well i do use mains conditioners & top HDMI leads etc etc so we now go back to the mains & HDMI lead debate & thats do they make a difference? anyway, what were doing here or i am is simply asking the "experts" as to what the heading suggests.

And also to add to that in a way we are allowing someone i.e WHSV team to give us a big recommendation as to what to buy, if we didnt want that we simply wouldnt buy the mag, as thats what its there for, they do say between £200 to £500 this is the best player for that price bracket & the same for players at £500 to a grand & so on, & lets face it if you were after a player between any of those prices then ye your gonna go for it, as why wouldnt you? After all these are the experts & ive always gone by WHSV & ive never gone wrong.

 

[professorhat]

Hi Jase,

Yup, understand you're asking here for their opinion and no issue with that, my post wasn't really directed at you. It's those who insist that the ratings system must change so they can see exactly which is better than what just from the score awarded. I'm just questioning the motives of this as, surely the only benefit it can bring is someone can say "Well this got 84% and this got 82% so I don't need to audition, I will just buy the 84% model".

Pleased to be proved wrong, but please let me know what other benefit this would bring?