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Redefining "Universal Player"

I saw some mention of how the ability to play Blu-Ray is now part of what is meant by "universal player". It's not a big deal in the grand scheme, but how can any player be considered universal that doesn't have a digital input? Seeing the latest Denon release is frustrating to me - looks like a great player, but no digital input. It just seems short-sighted to me.
kthomas
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I see your goal Kthomas. I recall that perhaps PS Audio is coming out with something like you describe, but I'm not certain.

FWIW, I have never considered SACD/CD players universal machines. IMO, a truly universal player must include DVD-A, but that's nit picking since DVD-A an SACD formats have been marginalized.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
I would like to keep box count as low as possible, sound quality as high as possible, cost as low as possible, and flexibility as high as possible. Okay, I want it all :-)

My Oppo 983H is a universal player of sorts and has USB 2.0 input for PC based digital media. CD, DVD-V, DVD-A, SACD, CDR...probably missing something else too. Oppo should be coming out with their BD-83 pretty soon, though its release has been pushed ahead several times at this point. That player is supposed to add BluRay capabilities to the foundation of the 983H (which is also a superb DVD video player which rivals, though falls just short of, BluRay when upsampled via HDMI to 1080). I cannot comment on the actual analog audio output of the player, but others seem to like it. I use it only as a transport and run the digital out to an external DAC. Oppo prices relative to the Billet'N'BlueLED crowd are relatively affordable.
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I would think we have to add netflix and pandora streaming to "such a universal player";NO???
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,424 posts
 
How about LP?

Kal
kthomas OP
911 posts
 
C'mon Kal - I'd have plenty of shelf space if I didn't already have a TT :-)

Part of my point is the functionality it offers, but the other part of my point is that a digital input should be a very simple, very inexpensive thing to include, and it would make the box useful in another way that is becoming increasingly common. While I realize that the Netflix and Pandora sugestions are in jest, they're not in the same vein, IMO. The would require a network connection, software and storage, which would be a substantial addition in complexity and cost. A digital input would just be a small addition to feed the already necessary DAC circuitry.

Thanks, Jax2, for the Oppo suggestion. I have seen small writeups on it, but it's not clear if they will include the digital input. I know the new Denon mega-player does not.
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