DV137 versus Sony 350

[leeed342]

yesterday I decided to take advantage of my local Blockbusters offer on the Sony 350. My question is this.... Quality wise (both pic and sound), is there any reason to keep my dv137, bearing in mind I use it 95% for film watching and the rest for music listening, or should I try to get rid of whilst its still worth at least some pound notes. I guess I dont like having too many boxes!

Regards

Lee

[barrywi]

It may be worth you reading the thread I started below..."Value of 137" on a similar subject. I decided to keep my 137 just for cds and DVDs and at the moment use a ps3 for Blu Ray plus all its other facilities.

[leeed342]

Thanks Barry, I think for the money I would lose, its going to be wise to keep my DV137. Got to remember why I bought it in the first place I guess! Fantastic machine

Cheers

Lee

[blue max 2]

Originally Posted by leeed342

Thanks Barry, I think for the money I would lose, its going to be wise to keep my DV137. Got to remember why I bought it in the first place I guess! Fantastic machine

Cheers

Lee

Good choice Lee. There are much worse machines to be 'stuck' with

I am sure it will give you the best of both worlds.

Graham

[Slackadder]

I agree...

Best to keep it - I am sure that the occasional music session will make you happy to have the Arcam, plus I would think the DVD playback would be slightly better.

Anthony

[Liam @ Prog AV]

The only thing the Sony does is play Blu-Rays. The Arcam easily beats it in the DVD playback and audio department, and adds the benefit of excellent reproduction of CD, SACD, and DVD-A. The question is do you want to use any of these formats any more or less now you have a Blu-Ray player? The way I see it the DV137 is still doing exactly the same job it always has done so if there was a need for it then there is a need for it now!

[leeed342]

Yep, my thoughts exactly. I'm afraid I tend to slip into 'less boxes are better' syndrome, as soon as I have a doubt as to somethings use, I get rid of it.
However, I agonised long and hard over my DV137 purchase, and experienced so many 'eureka' moments with it , especially music, I would be daft to part with it.
I always regret doing that with my lp12/lingo/Ekos a good few years ago
Funny how we devalue products so quickly these days isint it? Nope, its settled. New blu ray to play with and admire fancy picture, Arcam dv137 for 'old' dvd and serious listening sessions

Yay!

Lee

[martin purnell]

Excellent response Lee! Funny that the LP12 is still around but I don't want to rub it in as you've no longer got it. I fancy that the DV137 will be the LP12 of the future except that it can't play vinyl!
I,too , agonised long and hard over bluray or the 137. I am really glad I chose the Arcam. It still amazes me how good a well set-up system can be. I watched Prince Caspian via my Sanyo Z3 pj at the weekend only instead of using the Eco setting went for full power....what a difference. Ok, the bulb won't last as long but definition wise, it really made a big improvement to the pq. We go on and on about improving your system just by buying good quality cables. But if you have a good front end (say the 137) and pj/plasma etc to match, you shouldn't be distracted into thinking "If only I had a bluray, the pq would be soooooo much better ..."
You now have the best of both worlds, and i have a feeling that in a year or so's time, many others (inc me) will do likewise ie buy an Arcam Bluray player on special at Sainsbury's and use the 137 for ordinary dvd! Actually, it will most probably be a Sony at the supermarket!
Now there's a conundrum....we already have a 137, so do we also need an Arcam bluray player that does what a 137 does plus play a BR disc? If we do, Ebay will be awash with 137s. I think you have it spot on.

Martin

[lee_ed]

Thanks Martin, appreciate that. Purchase of blu ray machine is now in doubt....only just discovered it dosent have multi channel analogue outputs, so posted elsewhere on the forum to ask if its any good to use with the AVR 350. Technology eh?

Lee

[lee_ed]

Well, I actually bought it, and am very impressed with the picture. Think I will stick it on E-bay, keep the free films, and upgrade to something like a Panny bd55 that will work audio wise with my AVR350

Lee

[shadow 8]

Blu ray just thumps dvd video big time, no contest. Don't know if the price of the 137 has dropped, but last time I looked it was more than six times as expensive as a Sony 350 with grossly inferior picture quality versus blu ray. I pretty much have stopped watching dvd since I got my blu ray. Given the obvious picture superiority and the OP's preference for 95% movies, cannot see any reason to keep the Arcam unless he would really get hosed on resale price.

[RobertPaulson]

Keep your DV137 purely for DVD, as it will play DVD's better than any Blu-Ray player. Also, not every movie is released on Blu-Ray, so chances are you will still buy DVD's for a while yet. Also, do you really want to replace every single DVD you own with a Blu-Ray? I know I certainly don't.

Also, just to add. The first Blu-Ray disc I ever saw was SWAT, played on a Samsung BD-P1000 through an Optoma HD80 on a 3m wide screen. Just after that I tried Blade on DVD from an Arcam DV29, through the same projector on the same screen and I seriously preferred the DVD.

With the right equipment DVD can still look better. I know that shouldn't really be the case, but I have seen it for myself.