Very good detail and soundstage on both CD and DVD playback

Somewhat out-dated video DAC converters

Well, I finally got a real job and was finally able to upgrade my system. One of the first upgrades was this Onkyo DV-M301 changer. I primarily use this component to play CD's, and to that end I have been very impressed. Compared to my old Technicls SL-MC4 changer, this one really blew me away by allowing me to hear considerably more detail with a vastly improved sound stage. I could literally discover new dimensions to CDs that I had already been listening to for years. Also, while I already had a DVD player, this unit proved superior on the video end as well. The resolution was surpisingly clear despite having less impressive DAC's than some newer models. As expected, the sound was exceptional as well. Now that these models are older and the prices are coming down, I definately taking a look

disc storage space, easy and fast navigation and machine speed

no glaring deficiencies

I have been interested in purchasing this unit ever since I saw how handy my friend''s Pioneer Elite 301 disc player was to use. The players seem virtually identical with the minor excpetion that the readouts on the Onkyo are green and match the rest of my component readout colors as opposed to the Pioneer amber color. The price was higher than the Pioneer for seemingly no other reason other than the fact that it was an Onkyo product, so I held off until I found a good deal on Ubid. The player is very large but extremely handy and fun to use. The menus are helpful and easy to work, although it only allows for 12 characters when labeling discs. It also seems to override what I have labeled with what the disc is pre-coded for, which is annoying. So for example, disc 2 of Almost Famous is titled "Untitled" and reverts back to this over the "Almost Famous" label that I had tried to replace it with. This is annoying. The remote control looks cheap but is fairly well laid out and easy to use. The machine itself is very quick when skipping from disc to disc and it is really nice not to have to get up every time I want to change a disc. The single disc slot for rentals and such has handy buttons on the face of the player that make accessing it very simple. Good picture and sound quality as well and the initial set up menu is quick and easy. All in all, a good purchase. My set up: Onkyo Tx-Ds787 THX Select receiver Onkyo DV-m301 301 disc DVD player Sony single disc player 2 Sony VCR''s Infinity SM225 towers infinity center channel and 12" sub KLH rears speakers Playstation2

It looks GREAT! VALUE FOR THE MONEY! The sound is truely amazing!! The picture is incredible. I even like the remote.

none to speak of at the moment

This is the first Onkyo product I have purchased. So far I am very happy. It is very easy to use. The onscreen menu is a very nice feature. Being able to use a keyboard REALLY helps out. I have no problems with the remote at all.

I listen to a wide variety of music, everything sounds incredible and is very well refined. I now know what I have been missing from my music. I hear more little details than before from my old cd player (kenwood200 disk). I am currently running it with a lowend ($150) kenwood that only has prologic. I am waiting for the 797 to come out so this juke box can really shine.

I also watch a wide variety of DVD's Me Myself and Irene cooked my old panisonic. It now just says "NO DISK". When it was working, I thought the picture was very good, but it is nothing compared to this. No hesitations at all. the picture is very crisp and clean.

I purchased this unit to replace my cd 200disk cd change and my broken dvd player. In money alone, I broke even, but I am now on a whole different planet as far as quallity goes.

In closing, I would recommend this play to blind man for the music alone. It just happens to be an added bonus that the picture is as good as the sound.

my setup(dont laugh):
Zenith 27" TV
Kenwood ??-304 receiver
Onkyo DV-M301

Speakers are all Polk Audio:
center CS400i
front L/R RT55i
sub PSW-350
rear f/x300i (bipole)

goodbye.
PS. BUY IT, You wont regrete it!!

Similar Products Used:

panisonic dvd, zenith dvd

Can play DVD / CD / CD-R / CD-RW. Good picture and good sound.

Keeps losing new disk info. after being powered down. Video source selector is manual (via a switch on the back of the unit). Sorting only occurs on the first letter (i.e. Enya might show up before the Eagles).

This is my second unit and it is beginning to exhibit the same behavior as the first. I'll type in the artist's name and the title of the CD/DVD. After powering the unit down for an extended period of time, the newly input info. is gone.

All of my CD's are ordered from slot 1 to approx. slot 170 and the DVD's start at slot 300 and work backwards. The first unit I had would not keep the CD names after approx. slot 125 (though it did keep all of the DVD names). The second unit won't keep CD names after slot 162 and newly input DVD's aren't being stored either.

It's a shame... I really like this unit barring the problems mentioned above.

This is a follow-up to my post on 1/8/01.

First let me apologize for my bashing the DV-M301 in my original post. It turns out that the reason the unit was losing my disk info. is b/c I had it plugged into a switched outlet on my receiver. When I put the receive in standby mode, it completely shutdown the power to the DV-M301 which caused it to lose my disk information. Apparently, the DV-M301 somehow writes the disks input on the first power-on to non-volative memory. That explains why I never lost all of the first disks I input.

The Pioneer DV-F727 is the same unit as the DV-M301. I noticed the power issue when looking through the many reviews of that product.

For anyone looking for a DVD/CD-ROM jukebox... this is a great unit.

convenience of storage, high capacity, video and audio quality, loading speed.

owners' manual lacks detailed explanation in some areas, remote is a pain - especially the cursor control

Overall, this is a good unit for the price (don't pay the $900 retail - you can get it much cheaper). Audio and video quality are excellent! Hookup is easy. Jog control and custom files make searching and loading less stressful than many jukebox CD changers.

My only real complaints are that the remote has a cursor control (for screen entries) that is sort of like a flat joystick and it's easy to screw up when entering data. It took a while to get used to the remote and it's many functions - sometimes it's easier to get up and hit buttons at the unit instead of the remote. Frequently used buttons on the remote like "scan", "setup", "sub setup", and "search disc" are very small and you have to actually LOOK at the remote to find them. The owners manual doesn't go as deep as it should in some areas - like playing modes for CDs.

One more minor complaint: I like to change out 5-10 CD's frequently for playback at random. With this unit, I discovered that if you change out a disc, that disc has to actually be scanned and registered in order for it to be included in a group of CDs for random playback. If you're talking about changing more than 1 or 2 discs at a time, it can get to be a real pain.

Overall, it's a good quality unit. Don't let my being picky about some things scare you off if you're looking for a good deal on a DVD changer. This is a good buy for the most part!

Similar Products Used:

none

Excellent sound

Remote

I have thouroughly enjoyed the player in the moth that I've had it. The menu could be slightly more intuitive though. My only real complaint is that the remote is not compatable with my other Onkyo equipment.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo

Sounds great and movies look great.

remote of other onkyo products i.e. onkyo tx-ds787 will
not operate the dvm301 unless programmed. No big deal but you would think the remotes of similar named brand products
would be compatable

I've used the unit for several months now and am pleased with the purchase. I would buy it again if i had to. Its great to only have to touch your dvd's and cd's once.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

Organized my CDs and DVDs

Humming

I first really like it because it organized all of my CDs and DVDs so I don't have to put any CD/DVD in/out every time I wanna play them. However, recently, I just notice that it's humming and even louder when it starts new chapter for DVD. I first thought the problem of my Denon AVR5700, then I tried my Denon with RCA T100 digital DSS and I don't have any hum. I have 2 digitals out from Onkyo DV301 and they are both good cables. One is Tributaries optical cable and another is Monster coaxial cable.
Anyone owns this machine, please try on your receiver with low volume and you will find its hum really loud when it plays the next chapter.
Please email me at phuongung@yahoo.com if your player does not have the same problem.
Thanks

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD9100, SD5109, Panasonic DV120

*UNBELIEVABLE* Sound, Great Picture.

The menu system could use a re-design.

This is my current DVD/CD player and I love it. Until I can afford an HD Monitor this will remain my media king.

The pluses:
* Easy to insert new CDs/DVDs with the Auto Update feature.
* 96/24 DACs (Burr Brown) yes the ones that are used on the highly regarded Pioneer Elite DV line.
* Group all media into 1 of twenty categories (Video-Drama ... etc.)
* I like the display on this unit. It shows what group/media is selected so I can play and change CDs without turning on the TV.

The minuses:
* Only memory for 350 disks meaning if you have it full and swap more than 50, the extra disk title info won't be saved
* Disk navigation is a bit counter-intuitive at times, but I have a learning Sony remote so I made it intuitive in regards to myself.
* Menu doesn't auto recall a prior CD/DVD if moved to a new slot until selected.

All in all, for the money there is no way I could expect more in terms of picture and sound. Many reviewers have compared these quite favorably to the Pioneer Elite DV line and I can't argue. I use this exclusively for CD playback. Also kinda of a neat feature is the ability of this unit to take extra A/V input and mix it with the DVD or CD that its playing itself. Example ... play a VCR through it and show the picture from the VHS with the sound of a DVD or the picture from a DVD with the sound of the VHS etc. Not sure exactly what this means for me, but its there should I ever need it =)!

Oh, it also plays VCDs (not mp3 CDRs tho) on all but Green/Gold CDR media. Its also non-progressive nor does it have DVD zoom feature. Since I don't own a monitor that can do 480p .. progressive would be minimal at best and I don't have a need for DVD zoom.

In summary ... great DACs, great picture, can be found cheap, and minimal weakneses (for mid-level HTs). I grade hard ... so the fact that the menu system doesn't just stomp ass I give it an overall 4.