Sorting out my "Digital" direction

[twich54]

Well my thoughts of a universal player came to a rather abrupt halt after listening to a Cary Cd303/300 last weekend and after a conversation with John Ratan of Audio Connection who informed me of one his customers selling his six month old 303/300.................. well it now resides where my Musical Fidelity once did ! Still have to resolve my DVD player issue, for the $$$ I'm hearing good things about the Oppo and Toshiba units.

In the meantime are their any other Cary owners who have swaped out their stock 12AU-7's for something else ?? I've heard good things about Telefunken, Siemens.

 

[mvhendel]

Have you tried the Ayre C5XE

Have you tried the Ayre C5XE http://www.ayre.com/products_detail.cfm?productid=13

 

[twich54]

Have you tried the Ayre C5XE http://www.ayre.com/products_detail.cfm?productid=13

maybe my post was not staightforward enough. For my budget / system I now have my Refrence CD player in the Cary, what I'm looking for in the DVD side is something less than ...say $300, I'm only using it for movies through my Infoucus front projector.

 

[Matten Logan]

are you looking for upconversion or just progressive scan capability?

 

[twich54]

are you looking for upconversion or just progressive scan capability?

Given my budgetery constraints , I guess I'm looking for the best bang for the buck. I will be the first to admitt my video(DVD) knowledge is fair at best. Basically it is to be used when the urge arises to go to Hollywood Video and rent a movie and the occasional DVD Conceert video.

 

[ralflar]

Dave,

The Denon 2910 is really decent. Tweeter had it for $550 for a while. OK, that is outside of your price bracket but I'd say it is more than worth that price. I do not know the cheaper Denons. The only one in your price range on Tweeter's site now is the 1730, which can upconvert to 720p or 1080i. Earlier this year I bought a $150 720p/1080i upconverting player as backup. The image quality is nowhere near that of the 2910, for instance, no blacks. Hopefully the 1730 is better than that.

Why not get one, try it, return within 30 days if you do not like it, or upgrade to a more expensive model within 90 days by paying the difference.

 

[SteveInNC]

Dave,

The Denon 2910 is really decent. Tweeter had it for $550 for a while. OK, that is outside of your price bracket but I'd say it is more than worth that price. I do not know the cheaper Denons.

I have a Denon 1920, which is an excellent player and has good reviews out in the press. It was right in the $300 range. It also supports DVDA and SACD, and has HDMI out. I feed mine to a 46" Toshiba DLP at 720p native. It uses Faroudja video processing and Burr-Brown audio DACs.
http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/418.asp

My only complaint is that when using it for DVDA/SACD, it puts a static image on the video out, as opposed to a moving screen saver or blacked-out screen. If you use HDMI output mode and don't have the video device active while playing one of the above, the HDMI light on the Denon will blink since it can't handshake the video (For crying out loud, just turn the indicator off if HDMI isn't available).

 

[mcblues]

tubes for cary 303/300

i have had the cary in my ascent i, conrad johnson system for 5 months. after rolling about 10 sets of tubes i ended up with the radio technique in first amperex bugle boy second rca cleartop third. the two you mentioned i heard good things about but were not available. how do you like the mL cary combination so far.

 

[twich54]

i have had the cary in my ascent i, conrad johnson system for 5 months. after rolling about 10 sets of tubes i ended up with the radio technique in first amperex bugle boy second rca cleartop third. the two you mentioned i heard good things about but were not available. how do you like the mL cary combination so far.

Mike, Good evening, Someone over at the Asylum mentioned the Radiotechnique as well as the Buggle Boy. Presently their are a pair of Phillips Heerlen (Holland) in the unit. Along with the stock electro-harmonix I've got a pair of RCA clear tops to try. As far as the combination so far, superb. i first heard this player at a freind of a freinds house and what it did to piano through his B&W's made me really take notice. A wide and deep soundstage was also readily apparent.

 

[Matten Logan]

we opened a 1730 at work, and its not very impressive. the 2910 is a far superior player. If you can get your hands on like an inexspensive pioneer elite 47i dvd player, theyre on closeout most places and on progressive scan they really look clean

 

[Munster]

For strictly DVD the OPPO is a no-brainer. At $200 it equals the video on my

Denon 3910. ($1500 MSRP).

 

[DrJRapp]

For strictly DVD the OPPO is a no-brainer. At $200 it equals the video on my

Denon 3910. ($1500 MSRP).

The new Oppo HD 970 also does HDMI....all for $149. Don't let the low price fool you, it's a quality device.