DV89/DV27A or a DVD recorder??

[melchizedik]

I'm hoping that you can offer some good advice...It's about time I upgraded my existing system, some of the components are neary 20 years old, like my NAD 3150 amp!

I want to buy an amp, cd/dvd-a player and speakers (two) but am open to the idea of multichannel sound, although filling my room with 6/7 speakers is a bit daunting! Then I thought of buying a DVD recorder with a hard drive, instead of the cd/dvd-a player.

My lounge is acoustically live, and while quality is the main feature for me, I realise that I am not going to get the best from a system. So, is there a difference in sound quality say between a DV89/DV27a and a Pioneer 5100HS dvd recorder? I know that it doesn't play dvd-a, but it does play ordinary CD's. Is it actually worth spending money on a player that plays DVD-a?, afterall, it does appear that are questions about which format (DVD-a/SACD) is going to corner the market. Or should I buy a separate player for each format - although that would be very expensive and take lots of space.

If I opted for sky+ or similar, could I then transfer the data to my mac and then copy the programmes/films onto DVD-R/RW?

I did think of buyiing a Denon 2900 and a DVD recorder, but thought that there must be some compromise made to create a universal player at such a low price. Anyway, I particulary want Arcam, not only because they have a great reputation, but also because I want to support local industry!

I know this may not sound very clear, but I think it reflects my (muddled) thinking.

Any Ideas?

[sticker]

Hi,
If CD replay quality is important to you, you want a one box solution and you don't mind paying a fair amount, then imho Arcam is one of the few that can answer all three. There are of course others such as Meridian and Tag, but you are then talking about a lot of money. As far as CD replay is concerned, the DV27 is about on par with the CD players in the £750 to £1,000 range. The DV89 is probably in the £350 to £600 range. I've not heard the Pioneer 5100HS but I would have thought that it won't hold a candle to either of the Arcams. I habe heard the Denon and whilst its multi channel music was very good I don't rate it as a CD player. The problem with the Arcam's is that they are both pretty expensive and whilst the picture quality is very good, there are cheaper alternatives that are very close in picture quality.

You would be best to demo all the players you've mentioned to ascertain which fulfills your needs and budget. You probably ought to add in the forth coming Pioneers as well.

I rate my DV27 very highly, but as I said it is expensive, but for me it fulfilled my criteria of one box, great cd replay and great picture quality.


I'm of the opinion that the recordable market has yet to settle down with formats and HD. All formats have their pros and con's and the addition of HD is brilliant, but I think in 12 months time the dust will have settled. Sorry can't answer your query about copying to the Mac.
Hope that helps

Regards
John

[jont]

You could run the s-video output from sky+ to a capture device for the mac and then edit in imovie and out to dvd-r (/rw) in idvd but wouldn't be too fab quality-wise and quite time-consuming ...

Having a dvdr/hdd gives you the best options for programme recording/editing/sharing (and you can pick up a s/hand HS2 for around £400) although I would look at a separate cd/dvd player for a quality output, either DV89 or DV27 depends on your funds, although if dvd-a really isn't wanted then the new DV78 looks a good entry-level cd/dvd player ...

If you are keen on Arcam for the surround sound amp too then the AVR300 should be out I would have thought sometime Q1 next year and looks to be a stonking upgrade on the AVR200 model ... and I saw the engineering sample that was brought to the Event II in Guilford yesterday so it's not vapourware folks !! ... well worth checking out ...

Jon