DV137 vs. DV139?

Damian1978

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Hi guys.

Still having problems with the DV137 not reading the odd DVD or SACD. Fine with all CD's, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs etc....which is weird but have been offered a DV139.

Love the musical performance and looks of the DV137. Pictures are great from DVD, especially on film footage but have noticed the odd artifact on video material (such as TV shows etc).

How much of an improvement is the DV139? I assume as the VRS chipset does the de-interlacing some of my problems with video artifacts may go?

Does it share the same drive as the DV137 and is the build quality much better? Are they any more reliable?

Just want to know I'll be gaining something in audio and video on my setup.
 
This is a no-brainer: take the offer. I bought a DV137 and have regretted not having bought the DV139 ever since.

[Cheeky offer:] If you'd still prefer a DV137, take the offer and swap with me!
 
Ahem....there's a fair few pennies involved but I assume I will be able to get some interest free on it. Want the best I can get I suppose and considering I have over 450 DVD's it'll make them look great!

Hmmmmmmm......
 
Audio and Video are significantly better performance with the DV139. I still regret the day I let mine go. Am knocking about know with an Oppo for DVD, a CD37 for CD, and considering modifying the christ out of a Denon 2900 for DVD-A and SACD. Wouldn't have quite been the same performance level, but the DV139 would have done all of this in one box nigh on as good as my three different boxes can.
 
I knew I shouldn't have asked the question ;)

And for reliability?
 
A DV139 has a five year guarantee, as opposed to the DV137's 2 years (apparently 3 years in some countries).

[I'll give you the difference if you want to swap ;)]
 
Well I've just got the LG BD390 which appears (from initial testing) to be a better DVD player than the DV137. No artifacts seen on video material or rougher sources like the DV137 and quick and silent operation like the DV137.

So.....do I go for the CD37 instead now??? What's the audio like in comparison to the DV139?
 
Well I've just got the LG BD390 which appears (from initial testing) to be a better DVD player than the DV137. No artifacts seen on video material or rougher sources like the DV137 and quick and silent operation like the DV137.

So.....do I go for the CD37 instead now??? What's the audio like in comparison to the DV139?

Hi Damian,old pal if happy with the pq on the LG then get a cd37 as it employs Arcams only (to date) DSD wolfson 8741 dacs. Having owned a dv29 and cd36 i feel the lower midrange has been worked on with the cd37 being imo the best Arcam cd player to date(i am sure other cd 37 owners would agree with me) also i still had my avr350 when first hooked up to the cd37 get a dem of course then post back how you felt about it.

What happened to you changing to one of the last AV9/P7s whilst they were going?:devil:
 
Hi there.

The AVR350 began behaving itself again :)

I like the idea of a do all player like the DV139 but would be about £400 to £500 more than the CD37 and between the XE1 and now, suprisingly, the BD390 I have two great DVD players.

So....I guess theres less to go wrong in a CD37 to a DV139........
 
Hi there.

The AVR350 began behaving itself again :)

I like the idea of a do all player like the DV139 but would be about £400 to £500 more than the CD37 and between the XE1 and now, suprisingly, the BD390 I have two great DVD players.

So....I guess theres less to go wrong in a CD37 to a DV139........

Unless you really must have multi channel sacd vs pure dsd stereo only,although having owned a Denon 2900,i still preferred the Arcam for SACD playback,stereo or not.:)
 
So.....do I go for the CD37 instead now??? What's the audio like in comparison to the DV139?
Since SACD is 2 channel on the CD37 and 5.1 channel on the DV139, and your original post concerns SACD replay issues on a DV137, I'm not sure a "comparison" of these two functionally very different devices is sensible.
 
Ah...I may have confused people here. Only have 5 SACDs and don't listen to the multichannel soundtracks. Only found out there were problems with playback due to curiousity when it was having problems with DVD's.

For the sake of £400 I'm wondering to go for the DVD abilities of the DV139 or will I gain more from the better abilities of the CD37 (or will I even notice it on my current amp/speakers :rolleyes:)?
 
The snob inside me says the LG DVD playback can't possibly be as good as the DV139... but if you're happy with the DVD image you are getting from that or the XE1 (which is quite a cracker with DVD) then all roads lead to the CD37! Where is your priority between improving audio and video? The CD37 is a cracking CD player and would drop into your system perfectly, but your first post made it appear you were trying to improve the video side of things and make some gains in the audio department on the way rather than a more musical bias.
 
I want the BEST!! :thumbsup:

I have an audio bias to be honest but started this post before I set up the LG. The picture may not be as detailed but not one, one!, de-interlacing artifacts (well you get some jaggies) but got sort of de-interlacing artifacts on the DV137 on video material which used to annoy me. Also sort of sped up areas of the picture as if it struggle with some fast motion. Never seen that on either the XE1 or the LG so suprised the LG beats the DV137 in this respect.

If the DV139 is a massive improvement on the DV137 for CD and an improvement on the already excellent XE1 (which I love but don't love it's fan....hence my use of the LG right now) then I'd be tempted. If the CD37 is simply stunning for CD's then I could be persuaded to go into proper separates. Just concerned I'm at the limits of my speakers more or less as it's hard to tell any difference between the DACs of the DV137 and AVR350 for CD's.
 
For a mere £400 for a DV137 -> DV139 upgrade , it seems to me that you've been offered the bargain of the century. I wish somebody made offers like that to me ;)

Yes, a CD37 will probably give better CD replay than a DV139. It will also cost you 2.5 times as much to buy, and won't play DVDs.

Any chance you can compare the DV139 with the Toshiba XE1 / LG for picture quality (e.g. take them to the shop)?
 
Sadly no. I meant CD37 £400 less than the DV139. I'm only getting £300 for the DV137 as trade in. Been trying to drive a hard bargain but in fairness I only paid £500 for a DV137 on clearance and only getting £100 knocked off from the same dealer.

It's not a local dealer so I may either shop around or try to see if I can get some demos.

Read a lot about the DV139 now and may be suaded that way now as it will be my (better had be) DVD spinner/CD spinner.
 
Well more proper testing of my new disc spinner (the LG) reveals it's good but still the XE1 produces a bit more of a focussed image on poorer recorded video material (shows more grain whereas the LG seems to mask it but not in a good way....being ultra critical here....would assume it would be more noticable on increasing screen sizes).

Still....the motion artifacts on video material are better on the XE1 and LG to the DV137...so....how does the DV139 compare to the XE1???? If the XE1 were silent we would now not be having this conversation :D but it's not and I also don't want to wear out the laser as it's my on HD DVD player.

Also, does the DV139 have the same mechanism as the DV137??? Mines not lasted long and has not been abused.
 
I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and suggest that the Azur 650BD universal player (BD, DVD, SACD, DVD-A, CD) from "the other" Cambridge company (due very soon) may offer a better solution at a decent price. Perhaps not the same performance as a dedicated single format player, but one that better suits a more restricted budget.
 
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I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and suggest that the Azur 650BD universal player (BD, DVD, SACD, DVD-A, CD) from "the other" Cambridge company (due very soon) may offer a better solution at a decent price. Perhaps not the same performance as a dedicated single format player, but one that better suits a more restricted budget.

Which appears to be based on the Oppo 83 BR player if I recall correctly...

Which I compared against my DV139 recently.

The oppo is not as good as the DV139 for 6 channel sound but the difference isn't that great either; and certainly not worth the extra £1500 or so!!

Also the Oppo will up scale DVD very well and has a great BR picture

Adrian
 
Which appears to be based on the Oppo 83 BR player if I recall correctly.

The CA 650 uses the same decoding chip set as the Oppo 83 i.e. Mediatek. I believe Mediatek offer solution design building blocks so things like menu appearance may look similar. I don't know if CA build the player of if it's made in the same place as the Oppo.

Looking at the 650 there are a number of important differences between it and the Oppo 83/831 -

1. 650 doesn't have an ABT VRS video post processor
2. 650 has a lower spec DAC and no dedicated stereo outputs
3. 650 has fewer video control options i.e. no user selectable cadence modes, no NTSC DVD IVTC to 1080p/24
4. 650 has more limited processing and calibration options i.e. no CUE filter, YC delay, noise reduction, image enhancement etc

On paper the 650 spec may be similar to the rumoured Oppo "lite" player but IIRC the CA650 is more expensive than the Oppo 831.

AVI
 
And to combat that spanner I've throw a screwdriver in the mix :D

Just got a new WIFI equipped Blu ray player in the shape of the LG BD390. Was looking at an Oppo for sometime and thought I didn't need all of it's universal abilities with having the DV137. DOH!

Anyways, the DV139 will surely outperform the Oppo for CD and SACD's?
 
And to combat that spanner I've throw a screwdriver in the mix :D

Just got a new WIFI equipped Blu ray player in the shape of the LG BD390. Was looking at an Oppo for sometime and thought I didn't need all of it's universal abilities with having the DV137. DOH!

Anyways, the DV139 will surely outperform the Oppo for CD and SACD's?

I guess it depends on how "out perform" is defined. A recent blind comparison session undertaken by some forum members did touch on listening to analogue CD stereo between the Denon A1UD and the 83. This was an aside to the main comparison but interesting non the less.

AVI
 
And to combat that spanner I've throw a screwdriver in the mix :D

Just got a new WIFI equipped Blu ray player in the shape of the LG BD390. Was looking at an Oppo for sometime and thought I didn't need all of it's universal abilities with having the DV137. DOH!

Anyways, the DV139 will surely outperform the Oppo for CD and SACD's?
I also was looking at the oppo. But i find it as ugly as sin,
Plus i dont need Dvd-a or sacd. How does the lg sound? I read that its not great. My other option is the cambridge audio which seems like the oppo in a nicer box... What i'd really want is Arcam to kill the competition and release their blu ray. And it to be inexpensive.
 
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Hi,

I'm not even going to waste time connecting up the LG via analog audio. I bought it as I wanted a nice looking, dts re-encoding, quiet Blu ray player. What has suprised me is it beats the Samsung BD-P2500 I had for DVDs and re-encoding HD audio.

Plus....no fan and Wifi built in too!

It's no CD spinner for me but that said it sounds fine via coaxial connection to my AVR but I think I'm gonna think about the DV139 as a DVD/CD spinner so have a great selection of players then.
 
And to combat that spanner I've throw a screwdriver in the mix :D

Just got a new WIFI equipped Blu ray player in the shape of the LG BD390. Was looking at an Oppo for sometime and thought I didn't need all of it's universal abilities with having the DV137. DOH!

Anyways, the DV139 will surely outperform the Oppo for CD and SACD's?


I have both, and did compare the two albeit in a ad hoc manner...

I did report my findings, but they both sounded as clear and detailed as each other in my opinion.

However, the DV139 had a more musical presentation, and a better image.

Adrian
 

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