[Captain_Danger]

Without wanting to stir up a hornets nest here, I just want to ask a question...

Is there a real performance benefit in buying a player that costs £2000 - £5000, over a player that costs £200?

How much better does that extra few thousand pounds make films look and sound?

The reason why I ask is because whenever I went into HiFi stores in years gone by and saw the latest and greatest Denon beast playing on a plasma, although it looked very good, it didn't look £4000 worth better.

Can someone offer an objective opinion?

Ben.

[rhino2k]

In a nutshell i would say no!

I would not pay that amount unless i literally had money to burn, i have a LX51 and it does a fine job, cant see how the picture could be much improved upon, its near perfect on the kuro

This is the player i would recommend to people alough the panasonic bd35 is meant to perform pretty much as good i think

Than again as i say above, IF i won the lottery i would consider it, but only if it had real features that made it stand out.

The money would be much better spent on a new amp for most setups

(there was a review of players on here at tlc broadcast, goes into detail of this subject and they test the units too)

[kingfats]

Originally Posted by Captain_Danger

Without wanting to stir up a hornets nest here, I just want to ask a question...

Is there a real performance benefit in buying a player that costs £2000 - £5000, over a player that costs £200?

How much better does that extra few thousand pounds make films look and sound?

The reason why I ask is because whenever I went into HiFi stores in years gone by and saw the latest and greatest Denon beast playing on a plasma, although it looked very good, it didn't look £4000 worth better.

Can someone offer an objective opinion?

Ben.

Hi Ben.
Some feedback here on three BD players Denon A1UD costs £4500.
Plus TLC BD player shootout video.
Main thread.

[sapper]

Originally Posted by kingfats

Hi Ben.
Some feedback here on three BD players Denon A1UD costs £4500.
Plus TLC BD player shootout video.
Main thread.

LOL KF

Partially due to browser "not responding" glitches you beat me to it!

Also in the Arcam Section there is a my brief comparison of a £2000 SACD/DVD-A player agasint a £600 unit!

My conclusion was that the Arcam was a better sound but not £1400 worth!!


Adrian

[Captain_Danger]

I guess its the law of ever diminishing returns. You can't add quality that isn't there.

Is the difference between good and bad players with Blu Ray smaller than the gap between the good and bad DVD players of old?

I saw some shocking DVD players in years gone by, but also saw some really amazing cheap ones too.

[kingfats]

Originally Posted by Captain_Danger

Is the difference between good and bad players with Blu Ray smaller than the gap between the good and bad DVD players of old?

.

I'm yet to see a bad Blu-ray player to be honest PQ wise anyway.

[Vipers @ Zinc-HT]

I guess this question will be answered when we do the Blu Ray player shootout at TLC on 20th Sept. The idea is to do blind testing so we don't know which players we are using, we are aiming to have a selection of players right across the board going upto the A1UD, should make some interesting results.

Personally I believe there is a difference, especially after seeing what an amazing picture the A1UD produces, trouble is even I would struggle to jutify the cost of £4500, doesn't stop me wanting one sooner rather than later though

[kempez]

Originally Posted by kingfats

I'm yet to see a bad Blu-ray player to be honest PQ wise anyway.

And the man's seen a few players

I've watched a fair few players myself (and own a couple), and none of them have been bad, even the bargain Sammy BDP-1500 I got for the parentals is pretty darn sweet

[sapper]

Originally Posted by vipers

I guess this question will be answered when we do the Blu Ray player shootout at TLC on 20th Sept.

Very interesting indeed..

Enjoy!!

[IWC Dopplel]

I really think you need to see for yourself, I bought a Denon 3800 over a Pioneer 51 after intending to buy a 51. The A1UD is fabulous and better than the 3800 and although I hanker after one at £4.5k its no go.

People who believe that a £1000 system (not BluRay player) is not compromised are not living in the real world. Then again those that spend £100k on a system probably aren't either.

There are step changes at certain price points and the law of diminishing returns applies but those who buy budget and kid themselves that the only difference is brand and casework often haven't listened to higher quality kit.

If your enthused, interested and passionate about film then your buying decision will be different to others

[Captain_Danger]

Will be interested to find out the results of the blind test...

[kempez]

Originally Posted by IWC Dopplel

If your enthused, interested and passionate about film then your buying decision will be different to others

Whilst I agree with the rest of your post (components/build/quality is cheaper in lower end players, Amps, speakers etc), not all of us who are passionate about films can afford the exact players they want. I know I certainly want to replace my BD35 with something else but cannot afford to right now

I also think there's far less noticeable PQ difference between the low end, mid range and high end in BRD players than there was (is) in DVD players.

I am not, however, denying that there is a difference Again the law of diminishing returns comes into play.

[kingfats]

I think you can enjoy and be passionate about film at any level money shouldn't really be a factor there.

[kempez]

Originally Posted by kingfats

I think you can enjoy and be passionate about film at any level money shouldn't really be a factor there.

Yep, pretty much what I meant

[confused88]

Even if there is a difference the decision whether to buy the 5K player should depend on the value of the rest of your set-up. If I had 5K to built a home cinema I would consider a 500£ player. A 5K player would require at least a 60" Kuro or a 5K-10K PJ to begin with othewise you should rather spend on getting a high end PJ/TV first instead of a high-end player and there is more to add to that list.

[nbat58]

Originally Posted by kingfats

I think you can enjoy and be passionate about film at any level money shouldn't really be a factor there.

Couldn't agree more.

[IWC Dopplel]

Originally Posted by kempez

Whilst I agree with the rest of your post (components/build/quality is cheaper in lower end players, Amps, speakers etc), not all of us who are passionate about films can afford the exact players they want. I know I certainly want to replace my BD35 with something else but cannot afford to right now

I also think there's far less noticeable PQ difference between the low end, mid range and high end in BRD players than there was (is) in DVD players.

I am not, however, denying that there is a difference Again the law of diminishing returns comes into play.

I agree with you on all points, the point about the buying decision is its a personal decision. The personal decision will be about how important to us the item is in the context of how much we are prepared to spend on AV verses say clothes, cars, football tickets or whatever. This is about choices we make, not about how much we spend.

My personal decision on affordability and the value to me of a £4,500 bluray player is it's a no go. For me if it was £1,500-2,000 then I would buy. We all go the same decisions, if I was less passionate about film, the price point would be lower. If I had a greater income it would be higher and visa versa.

I agree wholeheartedly that passion and enthusiasm have nothing to do with money, peoples shopping list obviously does (unfortunately so otherwise I would have the A1 !).