Quote:
Originally Posted by JustAsking
I can’t figure out how to update my system. $1000 - $1500 budget. I’m looking at Marantz SR5005 ($800) with either low cost Sony Blu-Ray($150?) or Oppo BDP-94 ($500). I hear Sony's BD players are a very good transport to allow the Marantz to handle processing and amplification. Oppo may have better audio and video processing than the Marantz receiver, in which case wouldn’t I end up using the Marantz primarily as an amplifier? If I go the Oppo route, am I better off getting a stand alone amp like Outlaw 7125 and forego the receiver? Or is the problem that I give up room correction processing and speaker level adjustments? Does the Oppo’s additional $350 cost diminish a receiver investment, which may be better spent elsewhere? |
First of all, how large is your display? If you have a 50-55" class or under, the vast majority of blu-ray players will upconvert your SD DVDs well enough and you can forget about needing to let the receiver do the work. Look at
http://winstonsreviews.com/?page_id=63 for an idea as to which players are the best at handling DVD upconversion.
Second, the newer Sony players are NOT good transports if you are looking for another device to do the scaling and deinterlacing, as the Sony machines cannot output SD DVD in it's original 480i format. They output in 480p, which means that they've already done the deinterlacing which is the most critical part.
Third, the Oppos are great machines, but possibly overkill for your needs. There is another solution which will work just as well (and I can speak from experience as I own both solutions). Get a Denon 2310/3310 on clearance (last year's models) for $500-$580 at Amazon or another authorized Denon retailer. These both have the same ABT chip as the just retired Oppo BDP-83. The Denon implementation of the chip does not offer as many tweaking capabilities as the Oppo, but if fed a "source direct" (480i) signal for SD DVDs, they will provide the same basic upscaling and deinterlacing performance as the Oppo. The newest Oppo BDP-93 has a different Marvel chip, but is said to provide roughly the same PQ as the ABT chip in the BDP-83.
I have tested my Oppo upconversion against the Denon's upconversion and the PQ was identical at 106" just as I expected. Again, this assumes you don't need to tweak the picture with Edge/Detail enhancement & noise reduction (I never did), as the Denon implementation of the ABT chip leaves out these capabilities.
Now, for this to work, you need a player with the ability to output in "source direct". Unfortunately, the list of players which can do so is becoming fewer and further between. A list of players which can do so can be found in this thread. It's old, but has been updated recently toward the end with a *somewhat* comprehensive list (missing players such as the BDP-80 and BDP320/23fd).
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=19407815
Personally, I would get one of last year's Denons such as the 2310 for $500 over the Marantz. If you have a 55" screen or under viewed from normal distances, just get one of the players Winston has ranked highly for upconversion in his subjective tests. If you have a larger screen, get a player with "source direct" so the Denon can do the upconversion. Otherwise, get the Oppo (which is the best machine for under $500 but pricey). Either way, last year's Denon + the Oppo is still at the low end of your budget.