Build quality, sound, THX Cert

SlOW LAYER CHANGES......Man is this thing slow!

I posted a review for this unit under the DV-37 since this model wasn't listed at that time. This unit looks good, sound good, and has a good picture. It can be found on the web now for under $500 which is much more tolerable than the MSRP of $2000 back in 2001. The one thing that I hate about this player is the speed of the layer change. If you strive for perfection in your system this will drive you crazy! The player will pause for a good three seconds to make a layer change. I have seen $50 units that can perform a layer change almost without any pause at all. Pioneer claims this is the way the unit is, so if you don't like long pauses in the middle of your movies.. You may want to look into a different unit. Maybe Marantz or Integra 7.3 if you are looking for a THX cert dvd for under $1000

Similar Products Used:

NAD, JVC, RCA

Great unit, Well Built

None at this price point.

I see a lot of Audiophiles on this site, funny how the Audio Enthusiasts are the ones with the great equipment and meny of Audiophiles have Bose. Enough of the ranting. This is a great player. The video portion is fantastic. I have bypassed the built in line processor and am using a DVDO iScan Pro. It is something to be seen. Side by side comparisons with the Camelot and the Pioneer AX10 left me in amazement with the quality of this unit. As far as the DVD Audio the Multi Channel left an empty and somewhat false sound. There was no definition or sound stage. In a 2 channel mode it was a experience to behold, this is also true of SACD. We went through the quadraphonic phase some time ago, it seems people tend to forget past mistakes. But switch this unit to a 2 channel mode and look out. It is a unit to audition when you are looking for a DVD player. The menus are as good as it gets and it’s bell’s and whistles are present but when you get to what really matters this unit performs fantastically. Pioneer Elite PRO-720 HDTV Monitor, Proceed AVP2+6 Preamp/Processor, Proceed AMP-5 Power Amplifier, Marantz SA-14 SACD Player, Pioneer Elite DV-38A w/ DVDO iScan Pro, RCA DTC-100 DTV Tuner, B&W Nautilus 802 Main Speakers (Rosewood), B&W Nautilus HTM-1 Center Speaker (Rosewood), B&W Nautilus SCM-1 Surround Speakers (Rosewood), REL Acoustics Stadium III Subwoofer (Rosewood), Monster HTS-5100 Power Center, Marantz RC9200 Remote Control, All Cables By Kimber Cable, DV75 Video Cables, S-Video Cable, OPT1 Fiber Optic Digital Cable, Tonik Audio interconnects, Silver Streak Audio Interconnects, Hero Subwoofer Interconnects, BiFocal-XL Biwire Main And Center Speaker Cables, 8TC Rear Channel Speaker Cables, RCA DSA8900E HD Satellite Dish, Terk HDTV-60 HDTV Antenna, Terk FM Pro FM Antenna,

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic, Pioneer, Proceed, Marantz

Great sound on CDs, movies and DVD-Audio. Good picture quality, although I still have to splash on a good video monitor with HDTV capability to take advantage of progressive scan.

Price, but hey, you get what you paid for. My previous 2 DVD players died on me and they cannot play CDs as well.

Beautifully built Pioneer Elite component with Urushi wood panels and glossy black finish. The sound is fantastic, specially with CDs. I have quite a collection of CDs through the years and am very ecstatic that I have not wasted my money on the CDs. I am going through my whole collection and have not been disappointed with any piece yet. The Outlaw ICBM crossover completed my system which now produces the best sound I have ever heard in my home.

Excellent video and audio. Plays DVD-R, CD-R, DVD Audio.

The price unless you can talk them down.

I have only had this DVD player for (1) week, and it has yet to stop amazing me. I have been waiting 6 long months to buy the next component for my home theatre that would compliment my Panasonic TV. I managed to get the player of the shelf for $500 less than what they were advertising. I have been looking at reviews of players and having a real hard time deciding between this one and a much more expensive Marantz. I think I made a great choice in that I paid over $1000 less. If anyone is looking for a DVD player that can produce an absolutely incredible picture, do not hesitate to pick one of these up.

Excellent picture quality. Audio is excellent as well. Easy set-up.

List price is steep, unless you wheel and deal.

I have a Mitsubishi 40503 40" tube TV. It does not have component inputs and is also not progressive scan capable. The picture quality is excellent however, and when I do upgrade I'll be ready to go.

Similar Products Used:

JVC 2nd generation player.

I waited a long time for this product to be added to the reviews section as well!

This DVD player is hands down awesome! I mainly purchased this player because of its Ultra THX certification, ability to play DVD Audio and those DTS 5.1 CDs, and amazing progressive scan capability WITHOUT the chroma bug/error. This is one of the few DVD players that has all this functionality in this one box without the chroma bug. I believe the earlier pre-2001 models might have been affected though. But I tested my setup with Toy Story 1&2, Bugs Life, T2, etc and there is NO chroma bug to be seen.

This DVD player is also such a breeze to setup. If you want to configure the audio outputs/language options, video options, etc, it is really simple and straight forward.

The front panel and disc tray feels kind of cheap with its material made out of plastic. I wish it was made out of more metal or aluminum like the Toshiba SD-9200 and other expensive Japanese model DVD players.

Other than that, there are none!

I narrowed my decision down to this DVD player and the Onkyo 939 player. I bought this one because I couldn't pass up the price for only $970 and the Onkyo I was only able to get it for about $1300-1400.

But I think this is the best DVD player I've ever bought and seen. You will be amazed with the performance of the audio and video.

My setup is:

Panasonic Tau-34" WideScreen HDTV
Panasonic TU-HDS20 HDTV/DSS Decoder Box
Sony A50 DSS Box
M&K Ultra THX 150 Series Speakers
Denon AVR-4802 Ultra THX Receiver
Monster Cable M Series all the way around. ($4,000 in cables alone)
And this DVD player. =)

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD-9200, Toshiba SD-6200, Pioneer DV-37, Onkyo 939

Picture Quality,Build,Style,DVD-audio,CD direct mode

Only Price & Avalability In Some Areas

It took a LONG time for this product to be included here for review. I purchased mine the moment it became available almost a year ago.
The DVD-Audio capability is the real reason for purchase & ("I just watch movies") people need not apply. The DVD-Audio quality it presents that far exceeds Most Red-Book CD Fare was worth the weight. The DVD-Audio of "Rumours,ELP's B.Salad Surgery, & Miles Davis's Tutu shows what a good DVD-A remix can do. Unfortunately many cd "remasters" bare too close a resemblance to the original.The DVD-38a also plays cds with excellent results(in cd direct mode). The Video quality is also a treat with many output formats to choose. There are two sets of analogue audio outputs which is a definite plus. I found the SVHS out provided a great picture as well as the component outputs to A Sony Wega XBR 32" monitor.
The price may be an issue to contend with but low priced DVD-A such as the JVC'S & Technics units do not measure up to it's performance. There are many new DVD-A's on tap for release in the near future so further Demos Await. A standard DVD player can't access the high resolution audio track or bonus material included in DVD-A software. I found many A/V salespeople in cd chains had no clue about DVD-A at first & Many customers were returning "defective" DVD-A's because of incompatability. The SACD competetion is still gaining the edge, but time will tell.
Equipment used for review: Sony 32" XBR monitor, Monster 950i interconnects,Monster M-1000i video cables,Denon 3802 A/V receiver,Monster 11awg raw speaker cables, Front channels:Ruark Crusader II's,Sonus Faber Picolo Solo Center Channel, Kef Q-35 Rear Channels........FRF

Similar Products Used:

Technics DVD-A10, JVC 723

what's not to like, video (with progressive scan) is exquisite, audio is exceptional and appearance is second to none.

none so far

I purchased this system for the Progessive edge and
DVD-Audio capabilities. Out of the box, this unit is pure
quality without spending a fortune. With Trib component
cables this player is remarkable, plus it's the most
handsome player on the market. Really, I'm not an audiophile, but if your going to spend serious money,
looks mind as well be a consideration, it's also fits
pretty well with the F-07 CD player.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha,Sony @ Pioneer Elite F-07

Excellent video quality, flexibility, styling

No Bass management for analog output ( DVD Audio )

I purchased this player in August, and have not looked back. It's progressive scan output yields a cinematic picture with outstanding clarity on my 57 inch Toshiba widescreen RPTV ( 57H81 ). I wanted a player that delivered a sharp image versus one that delivers a softer ( Denon type ) image. The DV-38A has picture adjustment settings in it's setup menu that allow you to tweak it, and save the settings ( it has 3 memory settings ). It has adjustments for black level, several noise reductions, white level, chroma level, y/c timing and more.

It features an automatic setup manager that will walk you through total player setup, or it has an expert menu that will allow more experienced users to do it on their own. I like the fact that this player will pass 96/24 signals through it's digital output ( two channel ) without downsampling them to 48 khz ( this feature can to toggled either on or off in the setup menu ).

DVD Audio playback is on par with that of other DVD Audio players in it's class as far as I can tell ( Excellent ). The player comes with a full function remote with a jog wheel, and keys that glow in the dark.

This unit being in the Elite family has the Urushi finished rosewood panels, and all around handsome design. I have read that this unit has the Chroma error ( bug ), however I have thrown several tests ( Toy story, Big Lebowski, Beatles Yellow Submarine ) it's way to try and get it to comb, and it has not!

Looking for a solid DVD Audio/Video player? Give the DV-38A a look. It's a little pricey, but well worth the investment.