Professionally Calibrate with Bravo D1-Or replace

Capt:

I suppose if you can affort $1,500 to $2,000 for the Denon 5900 or Marantz DV8400 you could go ahead and get one of those. I have problems with each of them that makes them less than an ideal "universal" solution for both DVI output video and hi-res audio with coherent bass management. I hear what your concern is but I just don't see anything out there that will beat your D1 for video at this time. The D2 will be coming out in February but that may be too late for you and the build quality will not be up to Denon or Marantz' level I'm sure.


There will be some other DVI output or HDMI output DVD players out this year - again, too late for your concerns. However, we are in the middle of a particularly screwy transition. I have had my Bravo D1 for six months and, as long as I carefully clean the discs before I play them, I have no problems with this player. My advice is to go ahead with the D1 now and in a year or two when Hollywood, the FCC and the equipment manufacturers get their act together on digital content, upgrade.

I also generally have not had issues if the DVD is clean. But still, I suffer chapter skipping and freezing from time to time. Even with brand new CD and DVD's. I just don't know if this player would even survive a year. That would be a big waist of money. Besides the ergonomics and response time alone would justify getting a better player.


Anyway, my concern was more on the audio side. Even with the optical out I felt the player had sonic issues. Even my old Panasonic DVD player sounded better for CD's. So I went and bought the Marantz DV8400 just yesterday. I got an amazing deal.

WOW! For both movies and DVD's the difference in sound is like night and day. Huge improvement. Dialog is clearer. The bass in explosions sound more controlled. Does not reverberate as much. As for CD's, the difference is much more obvious. I can hear the individual instruments now. I just couldn't help, but get up to dance with the music. I guess my theory that the quality of CD/DVD players should not make a difference, was wrong. I figured that since no DAC at all is being done in the player, why should the quality of the player make a difference. There is no such thing as a better quality 0's and 1's.


What a pleasure it is to have the DVD draw actually open instantaneously when I press open. I think I'm going to name the payer "Flash". At the end of the year I'll have probably saved well over 24 hours of my time not having to wait for the D1 to respond. That comes out to like $40 dollars an hour, never mind the frustration. I'm happy with my decision.


I understand that nothing is calibrated yet, but out of the box and using my Marantz VP-12S2, the D1 had a very little sharper and better picture. However, the blacks and shadows were better with the DV8400.


I think I’ll use the D1 for an automated customized intro.

My gear:

Sonus Faber Cremona (Mains), Cremona Center, Cremona Sub, Concerto (Surrounds), NBS SERPENT-III Speaker cable, NBS Omega IV digital cables, Krell Showcase Amp, Showcase Proc, Bravo D1 DVD, Marantz VP-12S2, Monster HTS 5100, Stewart StudioTek 130 w/masking system, VOOM HDTV Receiver, Marantz DV8400, HD LEEZA


I already bought a new CD/DVD player. Audio is my bigger concern, so I bought the DV8400 as oppose to the 5900. I thought it sounded better after listening to them by the dealer. I could not tell the difference between the DV8400 and the Lexicon RT-10 (MSRP $3500) in a blind test IMHO.


The chroma bug that is being reported on the 8400 did not bother me. I brought the Toy Story DVD with me to my dealer. (Maybe the LEEZA will fix it anyway, once I hook it up, I just got it yesterday, my dealer insisted I try a home demo. He said I wont be able to return it.) Nor do I mind that it only outputs 480p. I tested the Bravo outputting 720p and 480p and I could never tell the difference. I even bought the Superbit “Fifth Element†to test this. That in it self bothers me, because the projector is suppose to have a top notch scaler and it appears to do the same job upscaling as the $200 Bravo D1. That’s why I am very skeptical about the LEEZA. Will I see the difference? But maybe it will clean up the VOOM signal. I seem to get some noise with my signal. Not that it would justify the cost. There is no content on VOOM anyway...