[Sab]

Just wondering whether upgrading my DVD player from the Pioneer 757 to an Arcam DV 79 or FMJ DV29 will improve the sound quality?

I do have a good procesor and power amp - AV8 and the P7.

Will all 500+ pounds DVD players sound the same when you use a processor and power amp such as mine?

I do not really want to pay about 1000+ pounds again.

Thanks in advance

[Welwynnick]

The 757Ai sounds great using the iLink connection, but that won't be appropriate to your set-up.

The DV79 may provide a great improvement in both picture and sound quality over the 757 in yours, and almost every situation, but it may depend on what display you use. If you have a CRT the PQ improvement may not be very noticeable, but if you have a high-def display of some sort with an HDMi or DVI input then you will get your money's worth.

The DV29 wil be slightly better again in all respects, but I'm not sure if at's worth the difference in cost. Given your excellent amps, and assuming you have a good display, I'd say it wasn't a difficult decision.

Nick

[Dom996]

I would say at the level of AV8/P7 the differences between DV79 and DV29 become very noticeable.

[Sab]

I am a bit worried about spending 1000+ pounds on a new Arcam DVD player when High Defintion DVD players are going to come out before the end of this year.

Obviously, DVD will still be our main format for a couple of years and there will be a war between HD DVD and Blueray DVD - just like SACD and DVD Audio.

At the moment my setup sounds good. Taking into account the fact that the Arcam DV29 is 18 months old makes me cautious to make this kind of investment.

Possibly there will be a new Arcam FMJ DVD player within the next year?

i moved from a 757 to a dv79 recently. sounds superb, and the picture is also much better. you wont regret it. As for HD dvd, i'm gonna wait a lot longer. i dont see the point of outlaying a large some of money for a first gen product, also there won't be enough films(in my opinion) in the first 6-12 months to justify it anyway

[booktrunk]

I guess you need to listen to a DV79 to help you decide. The 79 and 29 I think have the same results when it comes to picture so if you want the picture quality of the 79 over the 757 then it is down to you if you want to pay the extra for the better sound from the 29 as opposed to the 79.

But bear in mind the 757 is quite a good player and of course if you want SACD you will be out of luck with Arcam. Also the upgrade for the AV8 will only have HDMI video switching and will in no way use any hdmi Audio, so maybe it's worth considering a video scaler instead for video performance rather than a newer player?

[Monk888]

Maybe consider the Pioneer 989?

Excellent picture from the Pioneer, the DV79 will struggle to match and you can upscale with the Pio, also athough the Pioneer retails for £1000 you can find it on the internet for £730.


I would say the best two players under £1000 are the Arcam DV79 and the Pioneer 989. In terms of sound quality the DV79 is best, in terms of Video the Pio has it.

Cheers,

MP