£1k to spend on an Arcam DVD player....

Mr Grumpy

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As per the title really I have around £1k to spend on an Arcam DVD player and was just after people's recommendations of what to try and where the best deals are right now.
I have heard good things about the DV27A and I have been put off the FMJ DV29 (though a little over budget in any case) due to a bad review someone posted a link to, amongst the tests it 'failed' was the layer change which was quoted as taking 2 seconds... :eek:
Doubtless some of you will be reading and wondering why I am limiting myself to Arcam only, well I have read so many bad things on here about Denons that I really wonder if it would be worth the risk.
I look forward to your responses.
 
27A 100%.

Don't worry about anything else unless you want to spend more or can get a really good 2nd hand bargain.
 
Yeah, the layer change on my DV79 is off-putting. It's really noticeable, but I'm prepared to live with it. Don't know how it stacks up against the DV27A, though. So I guess the DV79's out of the running too....

My DV79's only just been bought last weekend, but I'm liking it a lot! The pictures are excellent, and the sound from it is too. It might even replace my NAD C541i as CD player, but I'm going to do some more comparisons this weekend.
 
If you want Arcam and don't need HDMI then listen to General Skanky. DV-27a no question about it!
 
Hi, shame about your dislike of the layer change on the DV29, coz it is a stunning player. I don't mind a 2 sec pause in the middle of a 2 hour film, but hey, that's me.

To determine the best player, you need to decide on how you are going to connect it to your existing system. I see you have a 7200 (on my hit list also :) ), in which case the DV79 could be the best bet, as it has HDMI output, which via the right lead, could input into the 7200, giving a digital transfer. Or, go for the extra build quality of the DV27A and internal electronics, but using the component outputs. Give both a try and see which wins.

As I see it, they are your only 2 options with the £1K budget. Although, I'd still plump for the DV29, even at for the extra £600 ;)

Cheers

Andy
 
Very important caveat: I come from the audio world. I have a nice display which has been professionally calibrated, but I am otherwise not an experienced judge of video equipment or picture quality. The contents of this post is my uneducated, wet-behind-the-ears opinion and also includes my wife's commentary. No insult or injury is intended! That said...

I had an opportunity to evaluate the 78, 79, and 27A side-by-side earlier this week. (My local dealer let me take all three home at the same time.) A caveat on the 79: I unfortunately did not have access to an HDMI cable, so I only looked at component-driven progressive output. I evaluated with a Sony XBR CRT display and AVR300.

Here's what my wife (better eyes) and I (better ears) saw/heard...

- 78/79: Compared against our current Sony midlevel DVD player/recorder, both of these units had fantastic audio. I wasn't really expecting this because the players were both connected via digital coax at the time, but the improvement was, in a word, dramatic. (I guess this means we're hearing differences in the transport mechanisms?) I'll leave the audio superlatives to others: suffice it to say that both players sounded like Arcams. The video between the two was fairly close to identical, though we found that we slightly preferred the 78 over the 79 -- a surprise, given the price difference and official test scores. We also found that in both cases, when we began switching back and forth to/from the Sony with the same material and with DVE test patterns, we preferred (!) the *Sony* image: it was sharper, had better coloring and depth, and was slightly less green. Single-blind and with the sound off, my wife was always able to tell the difference and always preferred the Sony. She said the Arcams looked paler, grainier, and seemed washed-out. Ultimately, even though I was hoping to settle on one of these players (less money, same exterior design as the AVR300), I wasn't able to justify the price/performance ratio on the video side.

- 27A: We found this unit to be superior in every way to the 78/79 and to the Sony. There's really not much to say when something is essentially perfect! We were unable to spot any of the usual image flaws using DVE, and the same material that had previously looked better on the Sony was suddenly in another league -- nearly indistinguishable from network HD programming for depth, clarity, and color. Audio on the 78/79 was already well past "good enough" for film, and the 27A was somewhere a ways past that. We decided to keep this player and have really been enjoying it!

Others may certainly disagree and perhaps the addition of HDMI might change the equation, but in summary I'd say that if you can find a 27A still for sale, you should seriously consider it.
 
Some excellent and really helpful replies/advice there and a nice comparison review tvh3ad :thumbsup:

The way I see it, if going for a digital connection guaranteed a performance jump on it's own (all other things being equal) then I would be tempted to give the DV29 a second look and learn to live with the pause between layers - it's probably one of those things that after a while you wonder what all the fuss was about anyway. However from the majority of posts so far it does rather seem that the DV27A is a bit of a gem - as I would be expecting anyway given it's original rrp ;)
Finding someone stocking one at a good price and able to demo will be my next challenge...
 
for component, i'd take the 27 over the 29, 78 79 every time. as to hdmi, I'd still favour the 27, the hdmi idn't enough of an advance over component for me as it stand.

John
 
I'd strongly agree with all of this.

I had a Denon 2900 over component to a 42" Panasonic plasma.

The upgrade in video quality when i went for a 27A was remarkable, images are clean, sharp and almost 3D. I have not seen any player to match it, even over digital connections.

More surprisingly, I find that the audio performance was sufficiently close to my CD-93 (through an AVR300 and Quad speaker package), that I now, for the first time ever, only have two hifi 'boxes'! Girlfriend brownie points all round!

A
 
The 27a is absolutely 'the best buy' of the moment at its sell off price at £950.

It is unbeatable at this price.

It will be another story when the 27a goes forever.

The prog scan from this player is fantastic.

The sound from this player is fantastic.

I personally wouldn't recommend anything else at the moment.
 
How much was it from pj hifi?

Overture only for in-store customers....And temporarily sold out
 
www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk have several stores with ex-demo DV27's from around £1000. All Arcam retailers will only sell to people in their shops and not via phone/internet.

Current stores with DV27a's in stock:
Hull, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks (a DV27 and a 27a), Maidstone & Glasgow.

Mark.
 
A couple of months ago I bought my ex-demo DV27 from Joe Fernand; I would recommend checking with him since he has good contacts with Arcam and also had a DV27A available at that time. The machine is fantastic although the remote is slow; linked to a Panasonic SD plasma through a scaler, it's like looking out of the window. And the improved audio was equally apparent. I too was put off by too many horror stories about Denon DVD players.

I have looked at many Pioneer 868s linked to 434s via HDMI and I do think the Dv27 gives a better PQ (though this could well be influenced by wishful thinking of course).
 
I am wondering how the prices at sevenoaks vary so much?

i.e:hull 27a=999 tunbridge wells 27a=1199

do they price match their own stores????
 
I have mailed joe fernand recently.Not got a reply yet must be busy:)
 
Yes there does seem to be quite a variation in the prices. Maybe the price reflects the amount of usage/condition, otherwise it seems a bit strange.
 
It does seem a bit strange that the prices vary so much!
But then again the web site does not mention the condition of the DV27's and also 7oaks are franchises, so the prices are set by each store on an individual basis I assume.

Mark.
 
Call pjhifi, I know they will look after you for a 'new' player.

However, as stated, instore callers only.

Arcam policy.
 
PJ HIFI also do the SDI version of the 27 as well
 
I got mine from Audio T. They will price match and they sent it from Portsmouth to my local branch in Epsom for me to collect so it maybe worth checking their website to see if they still have any.
 
I am currently considering upgrading my 1 yr. old home theatre as follows:

Arcam AVR 200 --> 300
PMC 5.1 DB1 monitors --> DB1+ upgrade kit all around
Panasonic plasma 6UY (using component) --> 7UY with HDMI card
vanilla Panasonic DVD and old Dennon DCD 1520 CD --> Arcam DV79

With what I have read from this thread, I'm tempted to look into the DV 27A using component into the 7UY, as it is only EDTV. Does anyone have any specific experience with this combo (i.e. DV 27A into 6UY through component vs. DV 79 into 7UY through HDMI)?

I may be barking up the wrong tree since I have read elsewhere that the HDMI card for the 7UY is not compatible with the 50 Hz signals that appear to be the norm in the UK.

Thanks.
 
MarkE19 said:
It does seem a bit strange that the prices vary so much!
But then again the web site does not mention the condition of the DV27's and also 7oaks are franchises, so the prices are set by each store on an individual basis I assume.

Mark.

You are correct in your assumtion. The DV27A is not a machine being advertised nationally by Sevenoaks Head Office and therefore it is down to each individual branch to decide how much they want to ask for the machine. We sold ours several months back for £1200 as it was only on display for 2 months and in mint condition. I'm sure if you called the branch in question they would be happy to discuss a 'Buy It Now' price if were going to take it off their hands there and then.
 
I have mailed the sevenoaks store.will let you know what they say!
 

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