damn, damn, damn....why now??

[steveinaz]

Audio Advisor has the Marantz DV-7600 DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-A (and anything else on a shiny disc) player $799. Arrrrrrrggghhhh....I might have to grab one.

[dorokusai]

If you can't go big, why bother?

[steveinaz]

I've been watching this for months, they sell for more than that on Ebay--used. Just a little strapped right now with Christmas, etc. That's a very nice player....

[Skynut]

GO FOR IT.

Just sneak a little out of the present budget for each person you plan to buy for.
They will never know plus it's the thought that counts.
They do not have to know you were thinking about yourself. ;) :D

[polkatese]

Steve, that looks like a great price for a universal player. I don't have experience with this, but a quick google took me to several negative feedback. One of them I cut and paste below. The part of having to change settings before you can enjoy the music, is clearly a downer, for me. Take it for what it worth, but if you could audition it at a B&M before you buy it, I would do that, if I were you.

One more thing, since we are going into 2006, I am sure the next gen universal players will hit the street soon. Btw, you can get a Denon 3901 refurb, from Dakmart (authorized dealer) for about $899, MSRP $1499. The Denon is highly recommended (i.e. a lot more positive than negative feedback). YMMV.

Strengths:
If you like the idea of having to go into setup menus to change settings every time you change disc formats, this unit's for you. A good, programmable remote control might be used to do some of this, but as far as I can tell, there is no direct way to adjust audio settings. You must go through the setup menus.
Overall sound quality is pretty good. The HDAM processing used by Marantz in this unit is worth the wait.
Video up conversion to 1080i is impressive!
If it is on a 5 1/4" disc, this thing can probably play it. Even picture discs from Wal-Mart can be viewed.

Weaknesses:

If you do not like the idea of having to go into setup menus to change settings every time you change disc formats, this unit's not for you.
Remote control feels cheap. Button layout is not intuitive. Should be backlit at this price point.
Supplied cables are not even Wal-Mart quality. I think most people are going to buy this player because it is HDMI compatible and performs up conversion up to 1080i. It requires a digital connection to do this and should have included one.

[steveinaz]

Thanks for the info, I'll definitely consider these points.