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Review NaN of
Price Paid:
$60.00 Summary:
The Toshiba 3950 & 3960 received a lot of hype for outperforming other audiophile quality products for music playback costing $1K. Some even stated $2K and even higher!
Then, a group of modifications were published for even better music performance per others. I tried the player in stock form & performed the modifications including the D/A converter audio direct out with high-end coupling capacitors. Others boasted this 'direct out' was the end-all of mods to the Toshiba 3950.
Fact is, this 3950 is poor for music playback in any even entry level audiophile grade system with or without the modifications. Even my older Pioneer DV-333 way outperfomed the Toshiba 3950.
The Toshiba performance is sonically full of gritt with a hazy glare across the audio range. My DIY tube amp system with expensive speakers does not cover up much of anything. Simply,'garbage in, garbage out'.
On the other hand, the Pioneer DV-333 provided a more accurate presentation even with the old technology of 16-bit data. The Pioneer DV-333 simply sounded more relaxed, detailed & airy in its presentation.
So, do not believe the 3950 or 3960 hype. A audiophile quality digital format player will cost much more money. One gets what they pay for and at $60 the Toshiba 3950 is no bargain for music.
For DVD movie performance, the 3950 player is certainly a bargain at $60. The 3950 is reliable as well. My kids like the Toshiba 3950 DVD performance over the old Pioneer DV-333 hands-down with higher quality vidio performance. Strengths:
Reads any vidio format to date without any issues. No electronic or mechanical failures. I rate DVD performance at a 4 on a scale of 0-5 Weaknesses:
Poor for music playback. I rate music performance at a 1.5 on a scale of 0-5 Similar Products Used:
Old technology Pioneer DV-333
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