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Redefining "Universal Player"

I saw some mention of how the ability to play Blu-Ray is now part of what is meant by "universal player". It's not a big deal in the grand scheme, but how can any player be considered universal that doesn't have a digital input? Seeing the latest Denon release is frustrating to me - looks like a great player, but no digital input. It just seems short-sighted to me.
kthomas

Showing 2 responses by kthomas

kthomas OP
911 posts
 
I am looking for high-quality conversion for a music server, with the ability to play the occassional SACD, DVD or Blu-Ray, and newly purchased CD without ripping it to my music server. I agree, Kr4, that if there is a pre/pro in the system, you can use a digital input and its internal DACs, but my goal would be to get the pre/pro out of the system. In my LR, space is limited, and I have an excellent setup for 2-channel sound, but I'm perfectly content with 2-channel movie playback and therefore don't need all the pre/pro functionality.

There are several examples of high-end, multi-format players with digital inputs. Simaudio, Linn and Wadia all provide players that do at least SACD and Redbook, plus a digital in, and the Linn SC does them all (minus Blu-Ray) with digital in. Esoteric and Ayre do not make players with digital inputs.

I would think a digital input would be one of the least expensive "formats" to support - no licensing, etc. - and provides a level of flexibility that many would want. In my case (and I'm sure others'), I would like to keep box count as low as possible, sound quality as high as possible, cost as low as possible, and flexibility as high as possible. Okay, I want it all :-)
kthomas OP
911 posts
 
C'mon Kal - I'd have plenty of shelf space if I didn't already have a TT :-)

Part of my point is the functionality it offers, but the other part of my point is that a digital input should be a very simple, very inexpensive thing to include, and it would make the box useful in another way that is becoming increasingly common. While I realize that the Netflix and Pandora sugestions are in jest, they're not in the same vein, IMO. The would require a network connection, software and storage, which would be a substantial addition in complexity and cost. A digital input would just be a small addition to feed the already necessary DAC circuitry.

Thanks, Jax2, for the Oppo suggestion. I have seen small writeups on it, but it's not clear if they will include the digital input. I know the new Denon mega-player does not.
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