Kenbcool's blog: "HI END AUDIO & VIDEO"

THERE IS A NEW UNIVERSAL DVD PLAYER THAT IS CAPTURING ALL KINDS OF AWARDS FOR BOTH ITS AUDIO AND VIDEO QUALITY. IT IS A FINE AUDIO PLAYER OF CD, SACD, DVD-AUDIO. IT DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB ON DVD-VIDEO AS WELL. THERE ARE OTHER MACHINES ITS MATCH OR BETTER. ALL COST MUCH MORE, SOME INTO THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. I WILL PLACE A PICTURE OF THE UNIT IN A SPECIAL BARGAIN PHOTO ALBUM. IT IS AVAILABLE AT A VERY RELIABLE INTERNET VENDOR (ALSO BY PHONE) CALLED MUSIC DIRECT. I HAVE DEALT WITH THEM FOR MANY YEARS AND THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY GOOD. PRICE IS $149.00 THE NAME OF THE PLAYER IS THE OPPO & IT HAS WON SEVERAL AWARDS. THIS IS A REPRINT OF A REVIEW: Any misgivings I had about pairing a $149 disc player with a $50,000 system were quickly laid to rest. So how good can a $149 player be? The Oppo is very good! Using its internal D/A converters, the Oppo produces listenable, detailed, extremely satisfying sound from pretty much every optical disc format currently available. I was impressed by the Oppo DV-970HD!” - Wes Philips, Stereophile, May 2007 Oppo DV-970HD Features and Specifications • High definition up-conversion to 480p/720p/1080i • Unique "Audio Only" mode • Compatible with CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW and DVD+R DL • 4-in-1 flash memory card reader • USB interface for expanded connectivity • Frequency: 20Hz – 20kHz (±1dB) • Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >100dB • Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0.01% • Remote control with "glow in the dark" keypad • Discrete ON/OFF IR code • Compatible with DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, • DivX, Xvid, Audio CD, HDCD

OK YOU'VE DECIDED TO BUY A NEW SYSTEM. HERE'S HOW TO START: ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU WANT THE SYSTEM TO DO. IS IT FOR MUSIC ONLY? DO YOU WANT IT TO DO VIDEO AS WELL? WHERE AM I GOING TO PUT IT? AND THE LAST QUESTION IS DO I WANT TO BUY IT ALL AT ONCE OR START WITH WHAT I CAN AFFORD NOW AND ADD TO IT LATER? AM I UPGRADING OR STARTING FRESH? DO I WANT SEPARATE COMPONENTS OR IS A RECEIVER THE BEST WAY TO GO? ONCE YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ITS MUCH EASIER TO GO SHOPPING! FOR MUSIC SYSTEMS UNDER $2000 AN INTEGRATED AMPLIFER SHOULD BE THE HEART OF A SYSTEM. FOR AN AUDIO/VIDEO SYSTEM UNDER $2000 A RECEIVER IS BEST TO HANDLE AMPLIFICATION AND SWITCHING NEEDS. TODAY'S PRODUCTS OFFER MUCH MORE THAN EVEN JUST 5 YEARS AGO. MANY "EXPERTS" WILL TELL YOU THAT SPEAKERS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE SYSTEM. THEY ARE WRONG. EVERY PART OF THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE CABLES, ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT. HOW DO YOU RATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTS TO GET THE BEST SOUND FOR THE MONEY? SIMPLE..START AT THE SOURCE. FOR CD OR DVD BASED SYSTEMS THE PLAYER SHOULD BE PURCHASED 1ST. THEN THE AMPLIFICATION AND LASTLY THE SPEAKERS. ALL CABLES HAVE A SOUND. YOU NEED TO PICK THE CABLE BASED ON THE TYPE OF SOUND YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE EG. POWERFUL BASS, SMOOTH HIGHS, MORE DEPTH, FAST TRANSIENT RESPONSE. WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU WILL HELP YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT BRAND OF INTERCONNECT AND SPEAKER CABLE. IN GENERAL LESS EXPENSIVE COMPONENTS HAVE EDGY HIGH FREQUENCIES AND LOUDPEAKERS TYPICALLY NEED HELP WITH FREQUENCY EXTREMES AND TRANSIENT REPONSE. BY THE WAY THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "ROCK" SPEAKER. YOU CHOOSE SPEAKERS ON THEIR ACCURACY AND HOW THEY COMPLEMENT THE REST OF YOUR SYSTEM. KNOWING THE WEAKNESSES OF YOUR EQUIPMENT HELPS YOU CHOOSE A CABLE/INTERCONNECT THAT WILL COMPLEMENT YOUR GEAR. THE NEXT POST WILL CONTAIN SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. I'LL HELP WITH GIVING YOU GEAR TO CHECK OUT AND THEN YOU CAN CHECK OUT SIMILARLY PRICED GEAR ONCE YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.

I'VE PUT TOGETHER SOME PHOTOS OF VERY HIGH QUALITY AUDIO AND VIDEO GEAR. WHAT MAKES SOMETHING "HI END" IS NOT THE PRICE, RATHER ITS THE FAITHFULLNESS TO THE ORIGINAL SIGNAL. NONE OF THE PRODUCTS I'VE LISTED ARE THE MOST EXPENSIVE--FAR FROM IT. WHEN IT COMES TO PRICE THERE IS A POINT OF DIMINISHING RETURNS. THESE PRODUCTS REPRESENT THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND ALL OUR SUPERB VALUE FOR THE MONEY INVESTED. I ALLOWED MYSELF ONE INDULGENCE IN PLACING THE 24 KARAT GOLD CLEARAUDIO PHONO CARTRIDGE IN THIS GROUP. THERE ARE SEVERAL CARTRIDGES AS GOOD THAT ARE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS LESS. BUT HEY YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, RIGHT? THERE IS A MIXTURE OF TUBE AND TRANSISTOR GEAR. TRANSISTORS CAN SOUND VERY GOOD, BUT IF YOU WANT TO GET SOUND CLOSEST TO REAL LIFE TUBES ARE STILL THE ANSWER FOR MUSIC. FOR VIDEO TRANSISTORS ARE THE WAY TO GO. THE PRICES OF THESE PRODUCTS ARE BEYOND THE REACH OF MOST CHERRYTAPPERS. I'LL BE PUTTING TOGETHER ANOTHER FOLDER OF MORE AFFORDABLE BUT HIGH QUALITY HIGH VALUE GEAR. I'LL BE MAKING A SUGGESTION FOR DIFFERENT SIZE LOUDSPEAKERS BUT EACH ROOM IS DIFFERENT AND ITS UP TO THE BUYER TO LISTEN TO SEE WHAT FITS HIS/HER TASTES. THERE IS AN ABSOLUTE WHEN IT COMES TO SOUND...THE SOUND OF LIVE UNAMPLIFIED MUSIC. YOU CAN GET MANY OPINIONS ON WHAT WOULD BE BEST. ULTIMATELY ITS THE BUYERS MONEY AND IT SHOULD BE HIS/HER CHOICE. THE ULTIMATE TEST OF ANY SYSTEM IS THE AMOUNT OF ENJOYMENT IT PROVIDES.