| BUYING GUIDE & REVIEWS - DVD PLAYERS |
| PRICES SHOWN ARE THOSE AT THE TIME OF REVIEW |
| DVD Players |
£ |
Year |
Verdict |
| Arcam DV88 |
£899 |
Jul 01 |
Pricey but well engineered. The DV88 is one of the few DVD players which doubles up as a very fine hi-fi product. |
| Cyrus DVD7 |
£1000 |
Oct 01 |
One of the best sounding players around, the DVD7 is the player of choice for the discerning audiophile. PSX-R upgrade improves quality to super status. |
| Denon DV-939A |
£1200 |
Jul 01 |
A great 'universal' player that excels with CD as well as DVD video and audio formats. Pricey but extremely versitile, plus format and user friendly. |
| Denon DVD-1600 |
£499 |
May 02 |
Offering a tantalising taste of the new digital dream, this machine represents superb value for money. |
| Denon DVD-2500 |
£495 |
Mar 00 |
Good sonic compromise between murderously bright and hopelessly dull. No surround sound |
| Denon DVD-3000 |
£700 |
Aug 98 |
The Denon is a fine performer with CD and better still with 24/96. |
| Denon DVD-3300 |
£1000 |
Jun 01 |
A good CD player and even better with DVD-A. Detailed and neutral sounding, its a tad dry. Not the best build for the money. |
| Denon DVD-5000 |
£1500 |
Mar 99 |
Build is second to none. Sound is very solid convincing, but not as musical as the 3000. |
| Denon DVD-A1 |
£2499 |
Sep 02 |
Tremendously big, powerful sound, allied to supreme sophistication makes it the best DVD-A player around - at the moment! |
| Hitachi DVP-505E |
£300 |
Nov 00 |
Fine value DVD player with good if rather forward CD replay |
| JVC XV-D701 |
£500 |
Mar 00 |
Exhibits versitility but lack lustre when playing plain audio CD's. |
| JVC XV-SA72 |
£400 |
Sep 02 |
A good sounding and affordable player. Smooth and spacious sounding but lacks drive and excitement. |
| Kenwood DVF-R9030 |
£899 |
May 01 |
A great all-rounder that's good with CD's and excellent with DVD-A's. Bulky and fiddly to use, but still excellent value. |
| NAD T531 |
£330 |
Feb 02 |
Brilliant value DVD/CD hybrid with loads of useful features and a warm, smooth and musical sound. |
| NAD T550 |
£499 |
Oct 00 |
Great sound quality from CD and plays DVD video well. Lack of true 24bit/96kHz audio was disappointing. |
| Onkyo DV-S939 |
£1800 |
Nov 01 |
Not cheap but the most accomplished audio and video player around at the moment. Superb technical ability and build. |
| Panasonic DMR-E20 |
£999 |
Jan 02 |
High quality player and recorder, the DMR-E20 is a fine breakthrough machine that offers excellent value when all is considered. |
| Panasonic DVD-A350 |
£700 |
Jul 98 |
The A350 wipes out the CD-only competition at the price and threatens players up to £2000. |
| Panasonic DVD-L10 |
£1000 |
Nov 98 |
Isn't cheap, but it's an outstanding portable and a capable domestic device. |
| Panasonic DVD-RA61 |
£400 |
Aug 02 |
Warm sounding DVD player that is good with DVD-audio too but a mediocre CD performance. |
| Philips DVD 960 |
£550 |
Nov 00 |
Works well and gives good CD sound but awkward to use and does not play 24/96 properly |
| Philips DVD 962SA |
£399 |
Jul 02 |
Vivid dynamics and superb subjective 'bandwidth' make this a great audiophile player. Superb value. |
| Philips DVD R985 |
£900 |
Sep 02 |
Brilliant for its video capabilities, but don't expect it to make your existing audio system obselete. |
| Philips DVD R1000 |
£1299 |
Dec 01 |
A remarkably versatile machine that not only plays and records video but sounds good too. |
| Pioneer PDV-LC10 |
£1000 |
Jun 00 |
One of those 'must have' executive toys. Great if you can afford it. |
| Pioneer DV-6260 |
£450 |
Mar 00 |
Pleasingly musical and lively. dts and Dolby decoders are a plus. |
| Pioneer DV-747A |
£1000 |
Apr 02 |
Plays DVD-A, DVD-Video, Multichannel SACD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, DVD-R and DVD-RW. Phew! Superb all rounder with a dizzying array of facitilites, expensive, but top value nonetheless. |
| Pioneer DV-939A |
£1200 |
Nov 01 |
This isn't now the best value option on the market but it has good performance with DVD-A discs. Ordinary CD is good but not tip top. |
| Rotel RDV 995 |
£700 |
Sep 01 |
Not the best video player but easily one of the best sounding DVD players on the market. The one for the movie watching audiophile. |
| Sony DVP-S715 |
£700 |
Aug 98 |
The Sony is warm and smooth but lacks clarity and precision. |
| Sony DVP S725D |
£550 |
Mar 00 |
Bright sound with good detail. Surround sound, 24/96 convertor & full range of video outputs. |
| Sony DVP-S7700 |
£700 |
Oct 99 |
Looks good, sounds better. Deserves very serious consideration. |
| Sony PBD-V30 (portable) |
£700 |
Jun 99 |
The Sony is an engrossing performer in a sturdy and attractive design. |
| T+A DVD 1210R |
£1500 |
Feb 01 |
At last, a DVD player that's also a great sounding high-end CD player. It certainly makes music its priority. |
TAG McLaren
DVD 32FLD |
£2999 |
Aug 02 |
An excellent digital transport without doubt, but faces stiff competition at the price. |
| Toshiba SD-500SE |
£500 |
Nov 01 |
Not the best of the bunch when it comes to music but good picture quality. Lacks focus and control with CD. |
| Toshiba SD-510 |
£400 |
Aug 02 |
Detailed DVD player which is one of the few that works well as a CD. Decent performance from all sources, but it's still not time to ditch that CD player yet! |
| Toshiba SD-900E |
£1200 |
Jun 01 |
Its not the most neutral player around but it has a very involving, exciting and controlled sound. Equally adept with any format and very well built. |
| Yamaha DVD S795 |
£530 |
Mar 00 |
Exhibits versitility but lack lustre when playing plain audio CD's. |
