CD playback. SACD sound. SACD bass management, picture, DVD sound.

Not that many multichannel SACDs available. Not fault of the machine, but for a while, it will be difficult to find music that you want to buy.

I originally purchased this DVD player at Best Buy for $229. Two weeks later they had it on sale with a $30 instant rebate, so I asked them to price match it and they did, bringing the price down to $199. For some reason Best Buy is not advertising the five free DVDs you can receive by mail with this DVD player. I looked at the rebate form that I download on the Web and it says you must buy the DVD player from a particpating dealer. I became alarmed that perhaps Best Buy wasn''t particpating. I called the number on the rebate form and was told that the rebate would be good if I purchased the DVD player from Best Buy. I hope Sony is correct because my 30 days return period is up in two weeks. I would return this to Best Buy and buy it from someplace else where I could get the five free DVDs. I orignally bought this to replace my Techniques CD player that is having trouble reading a number of disks. I have a Toshiba SD-2109 DVD player that is great, except playing CDs. I was skeptical that this Sony would sound good playing CDs, but thought I would give it a try. My wife, son and I A/B''d it with the Techniques CD player and were surprised that it sounded almost exactly the same, if not a little better than my old CD player. I''m sure its not as good as an Arcam or some other high end CD player, but the sound is surprisingly good. The SACD sampler sounds wonderful. I went out right away and bought James Taylor''s Hourglass SACD. Its heard to believe that Miles Davis'' Kind of Blue from 1958 can sound so real. It''s like having the band in your living room. Sony does need to get more multchannel SACD''s out there and they should make them hybrid so they play on CD players. This is a big advantage of SACD over DVD audio. I don''t want to buy a CD and an SACD of the same music and I''m sure most other people won''t either. The DVD performance of this machine is about the same as my Toshiba SD-2109 which I think is great. Although the Sony doesn''t have a zoom feature like the Toshiba. All in all I think this is an excellent DVD player for $199 with five free DVDs.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD-2109

A lot of features for $300; video performance as good as I’ve seen on non-HDTV, SACD w/ bass management, cool menu system, tons of connections, slim design, solidly built

Kind of “plasticky” and unattractive; SACD sound seemed a bit bright?

I owned this DVD/SACD player for less than one week. I was a little disappointed in the plastic build and (to my tastes) cheesy styling. I also thought, without any means of comparison, that the SACD playback sounded a little bright (in retrospect, it was not at all bad sounding). I therefore took advantage of Crutchfield’s return policy, and exchanged it for two players: the Sony 222ES SACD changer, and the Onkyo DV-C555 DVD player. I figured that the 222 would provide better SACD playback, while also having the quality build and styling I desired. The Onkyo DVD player was chosen for its predecessor’s reputation as an excellent, basic DVD player. Was the “upgrade” worth it? Not really… I got the build quality I desired. However, I also got a world of trouble with the subwoofer output on the 222ES player – a problem I did not have on the 500V. I found that with my Sony STR-777ES receiver, I had to adjust my subwoofer’s gain to nearly maximum (more than 20 dB) to equal the output produced by the receiver’s DACs on non-SACD material. I was only able to correct this by purchasing full-range, tower speakers (OK – twist my arm). The 222ES also did not include the same SACD demo disk, so I was unable to (belatedly) compare the sound. The Onkyo, while looking a little nicer, is bare-bones at best. Call me superficial (as you probably have already judged by my earlier statements on styling), but I really liked the 500V’s on-screen menus – they were cool, and made setup about as easy as can be expected. The Onkyo also does not have any Dolby Digital or DTS decoding, if that matters to you (I am beginning to think it would have been nice). And finally, the Onkyo’s in-player letterboxing sucks. I had several friends over for Apocalypse Now Redux – and while the detail and color were excellent, there were horizontal lines from the letterboxing conversion visible in nearly every scene! Granted I did not have the Sony very long, but I did not notice the same problem with it. Also, while I didn’t like all the plastic used on the Sony, it was very solidly built – and the metal-faced Onkyo does not seem any heavier or sturdier by comparison, and in fact, it even wobbles on its four feet! My final verdict? The Sony NS 500V is an excellent all-around, budget player. In my opinion (based on experience), SACD hardware is still not mature enough to warra

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-530D, Onkyo DV555

PROS: Decent price, good build quality with excellent build remote (especially at this price level), good video and audio performance, plus SACD play

BAD SONY: NO dvd-audio play, NO digital sacd output

SONY DVPNS500V is worthy entry level SACD bargain player, that provides good video performance, and good audio cd/cd-r performance; BAD Sony drawback is no dvd-audio play capabilities due to competitive marketing stupidity, plus lack of digital sacd outs due to greedy copy use control issues by major corporations. Recommended for people with good to mid level audio/video setups who want to try sacd play or replace older dvd players and get sacd as perk.

Similar Products Used:

KOSS portable cd player, Sony cd player, Philips cd and dvd players, Toshiba cd players

Sony Quality even at this price

cd playback

For the price,it excels.The sacd is a good primer if the format catches on.You can hear the smooth,round quality of the performance.No fatigue factor compared to redbook.The video is fine,reliable,and intutive.I recommend it,for the casual viewer.Not so great with regular cd''''s.No Biggie!

Similar Products Used:

none

I had read some reviews by people saying that this unit sounded "cheap", but for the price I decided to go ahead and give it a try anyway. All the things you have read about SACD being superior, less fatiguing, more detailed, smooth, analog-like are 100% correct. I can''t believe the sound of this $250 player!

SACD multichannel playback, excellent DVD quality, value for $$$

Build quality is about what you would expect from a $299 Sony unit - lots of plastic, distressingly light - I think it weighs only a couple lbs!

Hey - this little unit is a winner!

First the DVD - it's very good, sharp, smooth, with natural colors and good sound. It performs very well considering its price range, and although it does not challenge the more expensive top of the line units, I doubt anyone would be seriously disappointed.

What really sets this little player apart, however, (and of principal interest to audio buffs like me) is the SACD capability.

I've heard a lot of hype about SACD, and been wanting to hear it for myself. I figured that this would be an inexpensive and risk-free way to try out the new format.
Look, I'm an audiophile snob and a pretty realistic guy - from a little $299 Sony unit, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. I just wanted to see if, on the most basic level, SACD offered any perceptible difference from CD.

Honest to God truth - when SACD is played through my hi-fi audio system, this little plastic Sony delivers the goods in a way that puts some of the best $1500+ CD players I've heard to shame. Seriously. Yes, it really does have a warm, analogue feel. Yes it really does have greater resolution of detail. Yes it really does eliminate digital fatigue. I was able to compare the same exact album on CD and SACD, and even I was surprised at how dramatic the difference was. The fact that SACD sounds superior to high-quality CD playback on even this least expensive unit speaks volumes to me about the potential of this format - it's the real thing. I'm a believer now.

CD playback is another story - the CD playback on this Sony is only adequate, but I don't plan on using it for CD's anyway - I'm keeping my Arcam for that.

To any audio buff curious about SACD, you might want to think about giving this little thing a whirl. I believe that at $299 retail, this is the least expensive SACD-capable machine currently available.

My other components:
JM Lab Cobalt 810 Speakers
Arcam Alpha 9 intergrated Amplifier
Arcam Alpha 10P power amplifier
Arcam Alpha 7se CD player
Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling Interconnect w/ Discreet Shielding
Kimber Kable 4TC speaker cable, biwired.

Good picture, sound. SAudio. Many inputs

Somewhat slow access for CD use. No gold RCA connectors. Many inputs, confusing menus

After many years my Oynkyo CD player bit the dust so to speak. First the transport was getting progressivly more noisey, then the clamping mechanism broke. I wanted to buy a good single play CD player without going broke and if it could play video, so much the better.

Purchased this player due to the rave reviews on the super audio format. Sony even supplies a SA formatted disk with several songs. There are many Audio and Video inputs - 5.1 surround sound, super video, RGB video, 2 channel stereo.
Being the type that hasn't gotten out of the stone (stereo) age, I would only use the stereo inputs. Same with the video. My TV is a Kmart purchased, RCA 27" special.

The SA playback sounds just like a audiophile type analog recording. Warm, sweet, excellant sound stage. The Sony unit was acting like a much more expensive player in this format. Transport is very quiet, belying it's light plastic makeup, possibly getting noisey with time, we'll see.

Picture with DVD format is what one expects with the format. Very clear with letterbox format, though with a format that fits a standard TV screen, images are slightly elongated.

The menus are quite confusing and found myself restarting a movie or changing a setting without wanting to. Too many settings. I would say the problem has to do with Sony making a product that has something for everyone. Personally, I just want to play a movie in a format that fits my TV screen and play stereo recordings. The top menus should address how one would normally use the set then give the selections instead of giving every possible selection first. The manuel is just as confusing and doesn't help very much.

Regular CD format sounds very favorable, didn't hear any shrill or hard sounding artifacts in my recordings. Very surprised with the sound of regular CD format with this set. Thought for sure it wouldn't be in the same league as the Oynkyo it replaced. It may in fact sound a little better than my old set, though I can't perform a side by side comparison.

Other equipment or at least the ones I'm using now: Dynaudio TWYNN or DCM 12 loudspeakers, 10 watt tube amp or Onkyo 100 watt receiver, Monster interconnects and speaker cable.

Similar Products Used:

Oynkyo Integra CD player

Not a review for the NS500V.

Looking for reviews for it's brother model, the DVP-NC650V. Main difference is that it's a 5-disc changer. I think all other features are the same. Does anyone own this unit???

SACD playback - sold me on the format

CD playback - but what do you expect for less than 300 bucks.

Skeptical of the SACD/DVD-A war, I'd been holding back investing in a new format until this unit made giving SACD a try economically reasonable. I've not been disappointed. The dynamic range of the format is stunning, the inner detail fabulous (especially on strings). While I am a bit underwhelmed by transfers of some old recordings, recent recordings, especially Yo-Yo Ma's Solo SACD are to die for. It's tough to go back to Redbook. Actually, the least impressive SACD played on this unit sounds better than excellent CD's on my Arcam Alpha 8se, so from a value standpoint it's a wonderful deal.

I'm not a Videophile, so I can only say that I like the DVD playback on the Sony better than my old Pioneer DV-525. More options, easier access to video tweaks and a better menu system.

My system, in addition to the Sony:
Thiel CS 2.3's
Bryston 4BST amp & BP20 preamp
Arcam Alpha 8se CD player
Audioquest type 6+ speaker cables
Monster 350 & vampire interconnects CD & SACD to Preamp.
Cardas crosslink balanced interconnects, pre to amp.

Conclusion - buy this player to check out SACD. If the format sticks, invest later in one of the high-end players. Smart move for Sony in terms of getting SACD adopted.

I bought the first one in town.Right off the bat it sounded bright.(too bright for me)I was gonna give it the break in try.I kept it for just about a month & it never really got rid of the brightness.They talk about warmth & tubelike sounfd.All of which I didn't hear.I ended up bringing it back before the trial period was up.I traded it for the DVP-NS900V.& am glad I made the investment.(700 bucks more)It was everything they claimed & more.I eventually got an Outlaw ICBM bass management unit(249.00).I would like to tell you about the video section of this unit but can't stop playing the sacd's.
my system is:
Yamaha htr-5280 receiver
magnepan 12 fronts
nht vt-1a rear
magnepan center
velodyne12 sub
transparent cable & speaker cable