Pioneer 676 Alternatives? (SACD & DVD-A)

[Simon Howson]

I have a Pioneer 676A in a living room, and was considering getting
another one for a bedroom. It will primarily be used for playing DVD-A
and SACD. I was just wondering if any other companies have put out cheap
SACD & DVD-A players in the same price range as the 676A?

Any ideas?

Simon Howson

[Simon Howson]

El Bastardo wrote:

> There were a few posts recently on aus.hifi about the Samsung HD747, in
> comparison to the Pioneer 676A, Example:
>
> "have you tried the Samsung hd 747.I got one of these for $249,
> it does everything the Pioneer does plus it has hdmi
> connectivity and upscaling ability.I found it to be awful on
> cd ,great on dvd and very listenable on dvd-a and sacd."
>
> Haven't heard the HD747 myself, but maybe worth a listen (I'll stick
> with my 676A for now).
>
> -- Geoff

Sounds like a great player... I wonder where they got it for $249
though! it is $499 RRP on the Samsung webpage!

Simon Howson

[Alan Rutlidge]

"Simon Howson" <simonhowson@NOSPAMyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:YxB_d.2743$C7.1357@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> El Bastardo wrote:
>
> > There were a few posts recently on aus.hifi about the Samsung HD747, in
> > comparison to the Pioneer 676A, Example:
> >
> > "have you tried the Samsung hd 747.I got one of these for $249,
> > it does everything the Pioneer does plus it has hdmi
> > connectivity and upscaling ability.I found it to be awful on
> > cd ,great on dvd and very listenable on dvd-a and sacd."
> >
> > Haven't heard the HD747 myself, but maybe worth a listen (I'll stick
> > with my 676A for now).
> >
> > -- Geoff
>
> Sounds like a great player... I wonder where they got it for $249
> though! it is $499 RRP on the Samsung webpage!
>
> Simon Howson

Apparently some guy Gordon here in Perth WA got his Samsung player from
Hardly Normal for $249. Posted in aus.hi-fi under the thread on the Pioneer
676A.

Here's one of his posts
news:4237daec$0$22222$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...

At that price I would consider getting one for the office. Cheap as..

Cheers,
Alan

[Simon Howson]

Alan Rutlidge <rutlidge@ wrote:

> Apparently some guy Gordon here in Perth WA got his Samsung player from
> Hardly Normal for $249. Posted in aus.hi-fi under the thread on the Pioneer
> 676A.
>
> Here's one of his posts
> news:4237daec$0$22222$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
>
> At that price I would consider getting one for the office. Cheap as..
>
> Cheers,
> Alan

I saw it in JB yesterday for $299, looks like it can only send upscalled
signal over HDMI, my TV only has component :-(

I wonder if the SACD and DVD-A quality is similar...

Simon Howson

[Alan Rutlidge]

"Simon Howson" <simonhowson@NOSPAMyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:GV2%d.4114$C7.825@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Alan Rutlidge <rutlidge@ wrote:
>
> > Apparently some guy Gordon here in Perth WA got his Samsung player from
> > Hardly Normal for $249. Posted in aus.hi-fi under the thread on the
Pioneer
> > 676A.
> >
> > Here's one of his posts
> > news:4237daec$0$22222$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> >
> > At that price I would consider getting one for the office. Cheap as..
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Alan
>
> I saw it in JB yesterday for $299, looks like it can only send upscalled
> signal over HDMI, my TV only has component :-(
>
> I wonder if the SACD and DVD-A quality is similar...
>
> Simon Howson

Simon,

I've wondered about those very same questions. Not that I'm in the market
for a replacement machine as I'm quite happy with my Pioneer DV-S838A for
DVD-V and DVD-A as well as my Sony SCD-XA333ES for SACD, but at $249 for a
second universal player it potentially represents pretty good value for
money even if the DVD-A and SACD performance is so so. As I said as a
second player for the office it my very well fit the bill just nicely. Only
problem now is to see if HN ant Morley will do the same deal for me as they
did for Gordon.

Cheers,
Alan

[Gordon]

"Simon Howson" <simonhowson@NOSPAMyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:YxB_d.2743$C7.1357@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> El Bastardo wrote:
>
>> There were a few posts recently on aus.hifi about the Samsung HD747, in
>> comparison to the Pioneer 676A, Example:
>>
>> "have you tried the Samsung hd 747.I got one of these for $249,
>> it does everything the Pioneer does plus it has hdmi
>> connectivity and upscaling ability.I found it to be awful on
>> cd ,great on dvd and very listenable on dvd-a and sacd."
>>
>> Haven't heard the HD747 myself, but maybe worth a listen (I'll stick with
>> my 676A for now).
>>
>> -- Geoff
>
> Sounds like a great player... I wonder where they got it for $249 though!
> it is $499 RRP on the Samsung webpage!
>
> Simon Howson
Hi Simon , The quote was from one of my posts about a fornight ago.I got the
machine form Harvey Norman in Morley WA.HN's list price is $349 , $269 for
cash and $249 price match with JB.
Gordon

[Simon Howson]

Gordon wrote:
> Simon , If you apply the region hack ,which I can give you ,the player will
> also upscale via component.
> Gordon

Is the region hack this: Region code hack posted by remarca, December 17
2004:

"Remove any disk from the player. Read the message NO Disk. Press repeat
76884789. Open the tray and insert a different region disk. Press Play.
I used on a region 4 player, which became free to all zone."

Will doing that allow upscalling over component?

Simon Howson

[Gordon]

Hi Simon,
Region hack as follows:Turn on Player. With no disc in tray:

1. Press the "Repeat" button on your remote control

2. Press the buttons 7, 6, 8, 8 and 4 on your remote control, in order one
at a
time

3. The number 4 will be displayed on the top left of your Television screen
display

4. Press the 9 button on your remote control for multi-region playback

5. open and close the DVD tray.
Upscaling over component is the activated.
Gordon

"Simon Howson" <simonhowson@NOSPAMyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:6_n%d.5331$C7.2767@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Gordon wrote:
>> Simon , If you apply the region hack ,which I can give you ,the player
>> will also upscale via component.
>> Gordon
>
> Is the region hack this: Region code hack posted by remarca, December 17
> 2004:
>
> "Remove any disk from the player. Read the message NO Disk. Press repeat
> 76884789. Open the tray and insert a different region disk. Press Play. I
> used on a region 4 player, which became free to all zone."
>
> Will doing that allow upscalling over component?
>
> Simon Howson

[Simon Howson]

Hi,

Has anyone had the chance to compare the SACD quality of the Samsung
HD-747 and the Pioneer 676A?

I'm quite happy with the SACD quality of the Pioneer, however, I
understand that it doesn't directly decode the signal to DSD, it
actually transcodes it to 192 KHz 24 bit before output, rather than a
direct DSD transcode (i.e. the signal has to pass through a few
aditional filtering stages.

Does anyone know if the Samsung operates in the same way? I suspect so
given its low price. But don't know for sure.

Simon Howson