Hi all you dvd fans I posted a ? earlier about my dvp-s7000 not playing dts format dvd's... thx for the help. Because I MUST have DTS (well you know what I mean), I am selling my S7000 (hopefully for $400), thus my $400 budget I really don't want to spend anymore than that (well, my wife doesn't want me too!!). I need your expert advice and wisdom in this. I will be hooking it up to a 555ES reciever. Thx for your help in advance.

How about Sony 660 changer? I have the 650D and it's a great player. Look at the 560 and 570D models too.

Thx for the info.... also, whats with Apex?? never really heard of them before, and I DO like the fact that they play mp3's!! I have a ton of em They are alot cheaper than my budget alows How do they preform??

Crazy Eddie's lists the 200 disc Sony changer for $425. Willing to spend a bit more than $400? Sounds like a deal to me.

[This message has been edited by steak (edited November 14, 2000).]

I have an Apex with loopholes (no longer available) that allows me to view any region. And play MP3 and read CD-R and CD-RW. I would still get a good primary machine and if I couldn't use a computer hooked to the stereo, get an Apex. They have newer models that may be decent. But from my experience it's purely a secondary machine. Aren't there standalone MP3 players now?

The Apex is OK as a secondary player. I would not buy it as a primary player. IMHO the two best brands to look at are Sony and Pioneer. They have several models under $400. Toshiba make decent players but they have had several problems WRT certain DVD's. Checkout the Sony DVP-S360, Pioneer DV-333 and DV-434. My advice, stay away from all other brands especially RCA, GE, Phillips, JVC, Panasonic etc.

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"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

Cloud,

I don't know about the other brands you blacklisted, but I think Panasonic shouldn't be on it. I think they had one bad 1st gen player that ruined their reputation, but they have since gone on to make very respectable players.

I've got to agree with ZenerDiode. I have the top of the line Panasonic and I can tell you that the quality and the price are top notch. I read a review not to long ago which had the Sony,Pioneer,Panasonic and a fourth which I can't remember. They gave the Pioneer the thumbs up for the best picture quality with the Panasonic being a hair behind it. They picked the Panasonic as the best due to almost having the best picture but also because it was much cheaper in price and it also read the DVD faster than any other model that they have reviewed. Now before all you guys start telling me about advertising dollars and how this can play a role in the out come of some reviews I can tell you that I have seen a number of players that range in price and for the money you can't beat the Panasonic. I won't say that it's the best but you would have to spend a fair amount of money to top it. Now here's the question,is that extra money worth the very small amount of difference that you get? When I say small amount I mean that I couldn't tell the difference and I challenge Mr Cloud to borrow a new Panasonic player and compare it to what he has and honestly tell me that the difference is worth the extra money.

You guys may be right about the Panasonic players, but you also have to remember that it's not just about quality but also about reliability and compatibility. I would still contend that in all these respects the Sony and Pioneer players come out on top.

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"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

For 400 bucks the best I think you can do is get the Harman Kardon DVD5 at Ecost for 399. The DVD at other places are 500-650 bucks for them. They play DVD, CD, and CDR's. You will not be dissappointed with it. My boss just got one the other day and it is very nice. Check out audioreview.com for other people's comments.

Thanks for all the input peeps!! Keep the info coming, I have about 4 days or so to decide... Is the 200disc dvd changer from sony worth $385??? So far it seems best for the upper end of my budget.. my other option is to buy a cheapy ($150 or so) and buy myself a new cdrw (scsi). so i can have some fun with Dreamcast games

"You've all done very well!" Mr. Grace

You can get a $500 player from 800.com and use the 20% off from the MSN wallet thing to make it a 400 buck purchase... check the bargains thread for info.

Robert George did a review of the new Panasonic RV80 over at Home Theater Forum. He said it had the best interlaced picture he'd ever seen. It uses 10bit 54mhz digital/analog conversion, something that has been used mainly on progressive scan players up till now. I know my Toshiba 6200 has a noticably better picture even using the interlaced signal than my Tosh 3109 did.
There have definitely been advances in digital processing in past year or so. I'd try to get the very newest player out there.

Sony 560D!

Nuff' said.

I have a Panasonic a120 which has DTS out (but not processing) which is fine if you have a DTS receiver, which I do. I can definitely recommend it. It's much cheaper than those others and I have absolutely no complaints.

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