Price Paid:  $170.00 from Abenson

Summary:
both video and audio sections are very good for this price point. sound is thick and connectivity options are many

Strengths:
sound and picture quality

Weaknesses:
none found yet

Similar Products Used:
philips, pioneer

Price Paid:  $175.00 from Navy PX

Summary:
Archenemy is correct. It's a little light on the low end. Could use a tad more warmth and low end extension to balance out the neutral, smooth mids and highs. But this is very minor. For stuff that needs a little more bloom to the lows I send it SPDIF to the Harman Kardon AVR7200 reciever for decoding. That one has better resolution and transparency, but isn't as smooth, refined, or as neutral in the top end as the Pioneer with recordings that aren't low-end lite to begin with. I notice this in particular when using the Etymotic ER4S through the Harman's excellent headphone jack, which is odd because people often say the ER4S has a lack of bass...probably just a problem with their headphone jacks. With this Pioneer, the Harman's internal DAC's, and the modded Denon DCM-370 changer I have, there's always one CD player that can make a given disk sound stunning. And if I can't, then it's probably because the speakers got bumped out of position. Make sure you use this in 5.1 channel under initial settings/setup, fixed volume, video off, and turn the digital outs off when listening in analog...though I think with SACD's that happens automatically.

Strengths:
Smooth. No transient edge distortion to the highs. No grit or peakyness. Refined.

Weaknesses:
Slightly lite in the low end and without the deepest bass on some material. This is not noticeable on discs you expect to have great bass, only on ones that are a little lean to begin with.

Picture is a little dark and contrasy, but TV settings can make it look just right. Reds are crushed and lacking in subtlety. Most new computer video cards with TV outputs will give you superior picture to most DVD players, though.

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Price Paid:  $900.00

Summary:
I have owned this unit for over 12 mths and am not looking to upgrade it any time soon. I use this unit primarily for CD listening, and find it suits this purpose perfectly. I compared it recently with an Arcam CD72T and found the only significant difference was the Arcam had a fuller mid-bass sound. DVD-A and SACD are also excellent - very lifelike and "musical".
I can't really comment on the picture as my TV only accepts composite inputs, but I have yet to find a DVD which causes a blocky picture or poor detail.
A good player all round!

Strengths:
Plays everything well, has every feature you could think of, and um, comes in black. Competitive with more expensive CD-only players

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Hitachi 505A

Price Paid:  $178.00 from Navy PX

Summary:
This is the overseas version of the domestic Elite 45a, but without some of the bugs of that unit or the "Elite" on the front. Don't buy one of those. This should cost you less than $200 at an online import shop and will be modded as region free with a simple service remote code. These units are the cheapest in the world that are truly SACD. NO SACD TO PCM CONVERSION! True universal player. Tad extra mid-bass and highs (very slight), but an overall warm, extremely transparent sound that bests even my HDCD Denon 370 (modded) with many HDCD's in terms of speed and overtones. The Denon has a slight gray scrim over its sound, though it does excel on HDCD Silva Recordings and acoustic rock. The Pioneer seems to do most other music better. It is a bit aloof sounding (as one reviewer put it) and I think the images are a bit exagerated in size. The dynamics are stunning, though. Not the most finesse in the world, but you can't have everything...and that's why I have the Denon and my turntables. Most surprisingly, the sound is not dry...not the most liquid, either, very balanced between the two. The Denon is definitely dry. Picture is excellent, and fine focus works well, though you'll want to turn it off on DVD's that have edge enhancement, which will make objects and people look slighly 2D. MP3's are quite good. The only drawback is that some people are saying it doesn't have complete bass management on SACD's and DVD-Audio discs even on this unit (45a is awful on BM...read that bowel movements heheheh...I mean bass management). But come on, folks. What the hell are you doing with small fronts, anyway. My ST4's cost me $750 a pair, have stereo subs built in, and don't require stands. You shouldn't be using non-full range fronts! If you don't, all the 655A will do is either not send SACD/DVD-A fronts-low end to the subs, or it will just drop the other channels. In both cases, you should just be listening to the 2 channel layer on the disc. I don't have a center or surrounds, my fronts are full range, and I'm getting audiophile sound for under $1300 (this unit, ST4's, biampable DVD-A receiver). Most multichannel SACD and DVD-A mixes won't sound right folded down into fewer channels by a home player, anyway. That's why they put 2 channel versions on most DVD movies or mix it for mono-compatability. Try listening to Flaming Lips DVD-A in 5.1 folded down to 2 channels...it sounds like crap on any system. Oh, and I now feel confident enough to put Audiophile up there on "which style best describes me".

Strengths:
no luma to chroma distortion out the component outs.

Weaknesses:
a bit aloof sounding, can't convert PAL to NTSC, can't play and zoom at the same time

Similar Products Used:
Denon 370, that crappy pioneer universal we got for the parents