I think Blu-ray players are about where cassette decks were circa 2000, when the final high-end models were released, like this monster from Sony: Only today's high-end Blu-ray players aren't nearly as impressive, the market for esoteric audio having shrunk so much. Budget models in the $50 - $150 price range will continue to be produced for a few more years, the same way cheap cassette decks persisted until around 2010, but the writing is clearly on the wall. If you want a universal player or a 4K player, now is the time to buy one because I don't think good ones will be available much longer (and multi-players are probably all either out of production or going out of production soon).
I hope you are because I would like to buy an extra one but not right now. I missed out on the 1100 because I was too slow and there is always something else needed. In it's last months the price had come down a lot, like $450 or so then suddenly was no longer available and prices went to double that.
One could always just buy a less expensive 4K player and use an older universal player. Some don't want to have multiple players in their rack or have the room to do so. But if one has the room there are options to have both 4K and universal disc playback.
I bought a re-boxed (but new) X800M2 a month ago from Amazon.ca's Warehouse Deals for $300 (taxes in). I've just finished setting up a third HT system - this time in my workout area - using spare pieces of gear and a used ($40) Pioneer 7.1 AVR. I had planned to use one of my two spare Sony BDP-S5100s in that system, but given that they can rip SACDs, and the X800 cannot, I prefer to not wear them out doing anything other than SACD ripping. You can still buy new X800M2s off Amazon.ca for $398 (plus taxes), but I also suspect that's only until all their inventory is sold. The X800M2 in the workout HT will only be used for streaming audio and video content from NAS via ethernet cable. Jeff
I still use two Oppo DV-980 units specifically because they will play disks that the Sony X800 and X800M2 cannot. Most notably DVD-A-Rs. Of course Blu-ray disks being the exception. Jeff
I bought an X800M2 several months ago to replace my Oppo BDP-83, which couldn't play a newer Blu-Ray (Gentle Giant's Freehand), and use it fairly frequently. First for my collection of music stereo/multichannel SACD, DVDA, & Blu-ray discs. Secondly to play DVDs & 4K BDs that the streamers don't have. Plenty of good films made it to DVD but not the streamers. It's performed flawlessly so far. I didn't know Sony stopped making them. Maybe I'll pick up another while I still can as a back-up.
I don't have any DVD-A-Rs so I didn't know that but it isn't surprising given Sony is also a music company, not just a hardware manufacturer. I still might try to repair my 2 DV-980H units, I have nothing but good things to say about the player.
It has been reported that the Sony UHP-H1 can be used to rip SACDs but I haven't tried to figure out how to do that. My luck with hacking players hasn't been good, I always screw things up/
The process (described elsewhere) is really simple (once you know how) and there's really no chance to mess up the player. Once or twice a year I pull one of my rip-capable players out of storage and within minutes it's working on an SACD. Jeff
My 800M2 has worked great for a couple of years though I am guilty of using it for discs that don’t really need it (ie CDs). But when I use my Arcam CDP as a transport the sound loses something. Maybe I need to try a better optical cable with the Arcam or go coax. Next time the 800M2 goes on sale I’m going to buy a spare.
Sounds that way to me, though there are variables that could explain it. The Arcam feeds my DAC via Toslink, the Sony via HDMI. I’m thinking the different inputs/cables factor in. The Arcam set up sounds a bit thicker, some loss of definition. I should try running both with identical coax cables and see what happens.
Turns out my old Blu-ray player was "rip capable" but it died and I didn't even bother trying to fix it, I just shipped it off to Goodwill. Whoops! Good news is they're fairly common in the used market...
The Sony has some processing it can do, doesn't it? Maybe that's enabled. Your DAC may have different settings as well for different inputs.
I am not too surprised there is some difference but I wanted to see if some of it can be attributed in part to the connections. I think that Sony is very well shielded and have a fairly solid chassis but if anything I thought the Arcam being a dedicated music player would sound better. Out of curiosity I would try coax on both with the same cable on both. I use the Sony as a CD player and other than for not having a display I am fairly happy with the sound but I have never compared it vs a dedicated CD player only against other universal video players and so far it's been the best as a CD player.
By the way, great to see you have a DAC with HDMI inputs, we could do with more availability in that front.
The manufacturers apparently have to pay some ungodly licensing fee to produce HDMI devices, which is why HDMI is so rare on boutique D/A converters. Still, they need to become the standard, as they're the only reliable way to get high res and multichannel protected audio from disc spinners that support those formats (including Blu-ray audio, which is the cream of the crop but not widely available in the market).
(I do wonder if USB C will eventually supplant HDMI, though - it's a much easier cable to use and more reliable, and I don't know if it comes with the stupid licensing fee - although disc spinners are going extinct so quickly I don't know if they'll still be available by the time HDMI is finally displaced.)
Is it more reliable, you mean the cables don't break or are there less handshakes problems? I had some problems with HDMI I have to replace cables that break and a receiver HDMI board went bad turning it into a brick but despite that I can't see HDMI disappearing anytime soon. I think physical media players will also linger for a while longer but people using them are a dying breed. Consumers are serving the studios exactly what they want, total control.
Yeah, USB C is much more reliable. The connector is simpler and more robust and the cables are thinner and more pliable. It's starting to turn up on computer monitors and graphics cards, so it's probably just a matter of time before it displaces HDMI on computers and then spreads to widescreen tee vees, soundbars, receivers and streaming devices. Disc players probably not, just because I don't see those being manufactured much longer. If they're still being produced in 5 years, maybe. Although I suspect by that point they'll all be legacy designs targeted toward old people who haven't upgraded to streaming yet, a lot like the last batch of VHS and then DVD players, and they'll only offer the legacy HDMI connectors...
4K players won't go out of production until 4K/blu ray/Audio disc production ceases. At this rate, it will take decades until we will all happily consume lossy DRM-ridden formats.
Not sure what manufacturers pay for HDMI licensing or how those fees are structured. It can't be that crazy as there are many Blu-ray players out there for well under $100 with some below $50. So if a high end DAC manufacturers wanted to add HDMI I'm sure they could. Unless HDMI licensing fees were less per unit for big companies like Sony and Panasonic.
The licensing fees aren't just per-product - the manufacturer itself has to pay a huge sum of money to become licensed. That's the blocker. Most of the boutique manufacturers can't afford the lump sum, and the big guys like Denon and Sony stopped making external D/A converters over a decade ago. I'm not even sure there is a per-product fee, although I assume there is one...
won't happen- they could have used displayport from the beginning on consumer devices but HDMI was already too entrenched . . . and that's only more true now. If they didn't use it back then they won't now.
It allows me to decode DSD from my SACDs natively. The main reason I bought the Bryston. I’m sure that feature cost me plenty (seems to me the BDA2 predecessor without HDMI retailed close to a grand cheaper) but I’m OK with that.
