Sony S360 or a little more?

[da_grudge]

Hello. I´m in a way to buy my first blu ray player. I have a Pioneer 508xd.

I heard the sony s360 is a really good player. Would it be good enough for my tv?

To be honest I also don´t want to spend much more money that that, otherwise probably would go to the S760.

But maybe there is something in between really worth...

Thank you for your help.

 

[Anonymous]

The Sony will be just fine.

 

[Audioholic]

I disagree _ Seeing that you have what might be considered a premium quality 42" Pioneer plasma TV, I think you want an appropriate quality source - The S760 is propoertionally a lot more money than the Sony BDP S360, which can now be bought for £150, but it effectively borrows technology from their flagship. That said there is nothing at all wrong with the S360 and it's certainly not going to dissapoint - it's just that if you've bought a Pioneer TV, which are renowned for their deep blacks and amazing real contrast levels, I'd imagine maximising it's potential is important.

 

[simonlewis]

Isn't the 508xd a 50" tv & not a 42".

 

[da_grudge]

yes my tv is 50 inch.

So you say that the 360 is good but for my tv the 760 will be a big difference?

What about the s560?

tx

 

[dave_k]

I've decided to buy a S360 for my Panasonic 42" Plasma based on What HiFi's reviews and awards. It'll be my ffirst player so I think i'll be more than happy with it but i'll let you know what i think. It's replacing a cheap dvd/scart setup so i'm expecting good things

 

[da_grudge]

Thanks.

I would also really appreciate if someone from What hi-fi could give me some opinion...

Tx

 

[Clare Newsome]

Happy to. What are you planning sound-wise?

 

[da_grudge]

Thanks Clare!

Well, to be honest, itïs not my priority, as I will use it only for movies (and perharps some music concerts).

So, I expect it to have good audio and decode hd audio ( my arcam avr350 doesnït decode it), but I donït expect to listen to cds or dvd-audio or sacd ( I think my oppo 981 and dac magic 2 mk2 do a pretty good job on this)

My main concern about the picutre is that I have a big tv, so I donït know if the 360 is good enough for it.

Thank you again

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd go for the 'S760 on a set of that size and quality, personally. The 'S360 is a superb player, but the 'S760 offers a big step up in terms of picture and sound performance (plus some neat extra features such as the wireless connectivity).

We're reviewing the 'S560 in the next issue, by the way - I can reveal in advance that essentially it offers the same picture quality as the 'S360, but some of the extra features (including wi-fi) of the 'S760.

 

[da_grudge]

Ok, thanks.

I will take it in consideration. I will probably wait a little bit more, as the price difference between the 360 and the 760 is still very big...

Anyway, thank you so much for your help.

 

[Sorreltiger]

One more thing - and it's VERY important. Your Arcam receiver will only accept HD sound formats via its multichannel analogue inputs. Although the 360 will decode HD audio onboard, it doesn't have analogue outs. The 760 does (from what I read), so you will have to make the jump up in price anyway!

 

[da_grudge]

wow!! Is this really true? Only hd through analogue?

Why???

If so, it doesn+t make sense to buy the s360 as I wonït be able to get any sound...right?

 

[Clare Newsome]

You'll be able to get sound (via optical connection into your Arcam), but it will be 'core' Dolby Digital/DTS, not full-fat HD variety.

That's why I asked about your sound set-up! The Sony '760 with its analogue outs will give you a better performance all-round.

 

[Big Aura]

not forgetting the s760 will be a much better player for DVD upscaling that the s360 (I believe/hope/wish). Clare - do you concur?

Cheers

 

[Clare Newsome]

Absolutely - hence stressing it's an all-round sound and vision upgrade

The 'S360 is a superb player - one of the true bargains of the AV world - and like the 'S350 before it, i've been recommending it to loads of people who want a great Blu-ray/DVD experience on a budget/for smaller screens/where you're not adding an external sound system. But if you want to invest more in your home entertainment/have a bigger screen/want to explore HD audio more, than the step-up products offer big benefits.

 

[Anonymous]

The S560 might have analogue outs as well as I believe the S550 did, Claire/anyone am I right on this?

 

[Big Aura]

560 has the analogue outputs, but appears in all other respects to be the 360. The 760 has the bettter processing tech from the 5000 player and wifi etc.

 

[Clare Newsome]

IIRC, the 'S560 doesn't have multichannel analogue outs, just stereo. I'll double-check.

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:

Absolutely - hence stressing it's an all-round sound and vision upgrade

The 'S360 is a superb player - one of the true bargains of the AV world - and like the 'S350 before it, i've been recommending it to loads of people who want a great Blu-ray/DVD experience on a budget/for smaller screens/where you're not adding an external sound system. But if you want to invest more in your home entertainment/have a bigger screen/want to explore HD audio more, than the step-up products offer big benefits.

Although not applicable to this persons needs, surely if your bitstreaming to a capable amp then the audio processing isn't as important?

@ Big Aura, Interesting point about the video though, as I'm looking at replacing my S350 so this might be a possible candidate to look at.

 

[Big Aura]

here's a useful comparison.

 

[Clare Newsome]

DocK:Clare Newsome:

Although not applicable to this persons needs, surely if your bitstreaming to a capable amp then the audio processing isn't as important?

Well the decoding part certainly isn't crucial, but that's not the only element that can effect sonic performance: even the quality of the connectors can make a difference!

 

[Big Aura]

Looking at that comparison page, for the s760 Sony claim:

Power Consumption (in Operation) 32W
Power Consumption (in Standby) 0.19W (in Normal Stand-by Mode)

The "6 second" start-up is from "Quick Start-Up". I imagine this is different to "Normal Stand-by Mode", but there's no contact email for Sony on the site to ask that question. Does anyone have any views/thoughts - particularly those who work in Sony Centres?

Cheers

 

[Clare Newsome]

Big Aura:here's a useful comparison.

Not very useful, actually, as it's wrong. I've just been down to our test rooms, and can categorically confirm that the Sony BDP-S560 DOESN'T have multichannel analogue outputs, only stereo.

There's a nice backshot of the player on Amazon.com here (click 'larger and other views', under the main product pic; and yes, the US and UK models are the same in this regard).

Our review of the Sony 'S560 player appears in the Ultimate Guide to Blu-ray, out today.

 

[Big Aura]

Done a bit of googling and found a review here (WHF - the site is called Treehugger.com, so not a "competitor" in the traditional sense!!), and (on the Sony s350, but I assume the numbers are similar) it reports:

"The player features a quick-start option that can reduce its power-on to tray-open time to an impressive 6 seconds; however, the player's standby power consumption when using this feature jumps from a miserly 0.3 watts to 9.3W...If you forgo the quick-start option, the S350 ranks as the most energy-efficient disc player that I've tested."

Not exactly the super solution - you'd nearly be as well leaving it switched on all the time! A pity this info doesn't make it onto Sony's site.