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decent universal player on beer budget??

Hey guys,

I am putting together a secondary system and am now looking for a source. The system is now comprised of the following:

Marantz SR4300 a/v reciever
Monitor Audio Bronze B1 speakers
Mission M30i speakers
Mirage NanoSub subwoofer

As for budget, I dont see or have the need for spending more than US$200. I would love it to be a universal if possible. I am looking at the Pioneer DV-588A for around $US120. Will this get me decent sound? What I like about the Pioneer is its ability to play just about everything including DivX. If the sonics match the flexibilty in formats by even an inkling, it should be worth it right? Right now I am using my pc , with an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card as a media center, but want to break away from that for the sake of conveience. The size of my room dictates that my speakers cant be placed optimally to use my setup for gaming and TV watching without some difficulties,hence the request. I will get studio monitors for my pc in the future.
Are there any other recomendations for units in this price range? Anything that you may have had experience with?
Remember this is a seccondary rig for my bedroom and not a state of the art HiFi.

Nothing in this setup has cost me more than US$300 a piece and I will love to keep it that way.

Thanks.
D
eccbo
10 responses Add your response
eccbo OP
24 posts
 
What kind of beer?

Preferably the one the guys buy for you... so pretty much free ;-))

I think I have decided to go iwth just a dvd player and forget the multichannel audio. Its impossible to find where I am and I dont see myself ordering much of them, so I will just concentrate on the other stuff. I would still like to have mp3, divx and recordable media playback.

How about these players:

Yamaha DV-S5750
Yamaha DV-C5650
Cambridge Audio DVD55
PIONEER DV-383S
DENON DVD1720DVD
YAMAHA DVS5751SL

D
fatcrider5fbc
21 posts
 
what kind of beer?
rwwear
2,867 posts
 
I bought a used Pioneer DV-655A for 36.00 on eBay that I like. It sounds pretty good. It is the Asian version of the DV-45.
eccbo OP
24 posts
 
Thanks guys for the replies

So I guess the pioneer is out of the question then?? I have good things about this pioneer range dating back to the 563, 578 and so i just assumed that this would also fit that bill. Is it that they only sound good modded??

I will have a look at all of the other recommendations.
soulbrass
246 posts
 
Denon DVD-2200; Absolute Sound recommended component. I've seen several at around $225-$250. Way better than the Pioneers in sound quality and video! Good luck.
hudsonhawk
137 posts
 
I've said it elsewhere, but I'm pretty happy with my Denon 1920 Universal. Does all its jobs nicely, and fits your budget.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Yamaha 6770 (5 disc) or 6760 (1 disc) - both play anything (except HDCD) and both are well under $300.

-RW-
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
With your budget and ancillary equipment I would pick a Marantz model that matches your receiver. Marantz has been sourcing Pioneer gear and modifiy the audio sections for better sound and replacing the faceplate with aluminum. Your SR4300 is a Pioneer. Take the top off and look inside. The big knobs are identical to Pioneer models as well. You can go with a DVD/CD combo if space is a premium. Buy the Marantz since it will match cosmetically and you might reduce remote clutter.
cinematic_systems
282 posts
 
If you don't want to mod and have an imported beer budget the Cambridge DVD87 probably could be modified but is a solid player out of the box. I think its $299
arni
313 posts
 
Samsung HD 841 can be found on eBay for less than $70. These players have been the subject of simple mods and received outstandig (informal) reviews as such (also branded as Toshiba 4960). Unmodded they sound surprisingly good too, better than my old Cal Audio DX-1.
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