Quality playback of regular CD's.

No progressive scan, won't playback CD-R's, weird color scheme

Good, but not great as a DVD player since it lacks progressive scan (which I wouldn't use anyway.) So far so good as a DVD-Audio player. The few titles I've got sound terrific, but I wish there were more out there to compare/contrast between.

Now for the important part, it's playback of all those CD's you've picked up over the last 15+ years. YOWZA!! It's like having a new collection, people. The "re-master" feature is absolutely WONDERFUL. I've got it feeding into an Outlaw Audio 1050 receiver, and a Boston Acoustics 5.1 system using their Lynwood 965's as the mains, and the sound is incredible. I got mine just after they started coming down in price, but apparently, before they hit rock bottom. :( Hey, if you can find one out there, either second hand or still on the "clearance racks", get it. You will NOT regret it.

Well built , Plays dvd audio

not many

This unit is well built sounds great and for the price even if it didn't work it would still be a find player. But it does work and rather well.

Using a Yamaha 2095 reciver and playing DVD audio it sounds great some of the DVD-audio music sounded just as good being played thought a DVD player with no DVD audio using DD optical cable to a reciver with DD and or DTS.

The DTS movies and the DD all sound great.
The picture is also wonderful. Using S-Video

The remote is fine the ease of use is good.
I guess the only thing that I don't like is the color of the thing.

Similar Products Used:

a few

Check out panasonic's web site (panasonic.com).
Several new DVD/DVD-Audio players coming out soon.
Some models have progressive-scan feature.
Prices cover large range (350$-2500$) as do features.

DVD-Audio and compatibility with other software formats.

Is only a fair CD player.

This is just a wonderful piece of equipment for the price (you can find them for $350 now). Its a decent CD player, a decent DVD player, and when you have the right software, its way cut above in DVD-Audio. The difference in sound from DVD-Audio to regular CDs is noticable, even to people who normally can not tell the difference between a Krell and a, well, Technics. The DVD-Audio sound is warmer, fuller, and more emotionally satisfying than regular CDs. You can not buy such a significant upgrade for this price - but you can and that's what's amazing. I have friends who pay more for vibration dampers than this upgrade costs.

Some people think it is a sell-out to embrace DVD-Audio when SACD is apparently better, but the cost of SACD is prohibitive for most people (you can find the Sony SACD player for $3K, used, at audiogon.com), and software will be limited for SACD until entry in to the format comes down in price and reaches the masses. (Though Sony controls that big Columbia book of records, it takes effort and money to upgrade to SACD and the suits are not going to let that happen unless there are customers out there to buy it.) Between the 24/96 disks that have been out there a while, and the new DVD-Audio stuff that is coming out now, there is already a fair selection of DVD-Audio software. What a joy it is to re-discover old favorites (e.g. Natalie Merchant, Neil Young...) in DVD-Audio. You just shake your head at how shallow regular CDs sound in comparison.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 67

great stuff for the price

In my last reiew I had mentioned that this unit does not play CD-R but it has an undocumented feature. It plays CD-RW.
I've tested this myself . This is not a hoax or a panasonic promotion.
With this added feature I think that there is no competioin for this unit in the market for the price range.

PRICE, BUILD QUALITY, SOUND & PICTURE

Need monitor(tv) to use all functions, slow initial loading

I purchased unit primarly as a CD player, and it delivers a 5 star performance. After doing much listening to Sony SACD players 3k+ and other 1k+ high end cd players I thought this unit would make a good cd player. When playing cd's for the new discounted price it cannot be beat! As a DVD player is is also extremely good, however my experience with DVD's is limited since my set up is gear strictly towards two channel stereo sound! I have place a TV in the middle of my audio set up to enjoy dvd's and consider the ability to play them icing on the cake. I leave the remastering switch off and play the unit in audio only mode when listening to music. I strive for the most accurate sound I can get for the money. I just want to hear the music and for the money this unit delivers while giving me more cash to spend on cd's.

Similar Products Used:

sony & teac cd

Great DVD-Video, Audio, and CD player that will really make you happy and leave $$ in your wallet!

None

This is one terrific DVD player. Of course, it does a great job with my favorite movies with a very sharp, vibrant picture and all the adjustments typically found on higher-end players. DVD-Audio is outstanding in every aspect. The higher sampling rate and 24-bit wordlength really allow it to be what CD's are not -- smoother, not brittle, and lifelike. To those who would have you spend $3,000 on an SACD player, bear this in mind. You can buy the A10 and, with the remaining $2,600 buy a pair of Vandersteens or other terrific speakers. Terrific speakers are INFINITELY more important to what you hear than your DVD player.

The DVD-A10 is a real gem for the price of a regular rock.

Plays: DVD-A, DVD, CD, VCD and CD-RW. Great video and built in decoders for DD and DTS.

Doesn't play CD-R. No progressive scan.

The CD Remaster function really makes this purchase worthwhile. I agree with others that poor recordings are more easily revealed. It's not such a bad thing to know that anyway. I've enjoyed listening to my older CD's all over again.

DVD-Audio? Well, it's just a wait and see situation with the recording companies. The DVD-Audio discs I have purchased, play great on this unit. I highly recommend ELP's Brain Salad Surgery as a reference DVD-A Disc.

Special thanks to Johnson Abraham for discovering this player's ability to read CD-RW's. It only adds to the value of the purchase, especially for those that are just purchasing the player for the current price of $399.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Picture, sound, features, everything!

None that I have found yet.

When I bought my Toshiba, I thought it blew the Sony away as far as the picture was concerned. It was much sharper and more vivid. This Technics, however, blows away the Toshiba in every respect. The picture and sound are superior. It doesn't get any better than this, and you get DVD Audio for nothing. I haven't had much experience with the DVD Audio yet, since all that I have is the sampler that came with the unit, but the selections on the sampler certainly sound incredible. If you don't buy anything else this year, buy this DVD player. It is a steal!

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD-3109, Sony DVP-S300

cd playback, build quality for the money

no zoom feature (that I can find, anyway); a bit "bright" sounding on some discs

Overall I think this is a good product, especially given how cheaply it can be had now. So far I have been impressed by cd playback, though on some discs it sounds a bit on the bright side. The good news is that it never sounds "hard" in the midrange, which sometimes goes along with "bright."

DVD audio performance really depends on the disc. Some sound quite good, some not.

I also have a few "DTS 5.1 cd's" and was dismayed to find that this player handles them like my Toshiba: The first second or so of the first track is cut off. This does not happen on every disc, however, so it probably has more to do with some problem with the disc mastering more than the player. (The Toshiba also had a glitch with HDCD playback wherein on some discs one would hear a "click" at the beginning of a track. Because my HK cd player did not produce these clicks, I thought that maybe the problem with DTS cd's was player dependent and wouldn't happen when I got a new player. Oh, well.)

Video quality is about the same as the Toshiba. I notice some artifacts, particularly when the camera pans over something bright that has a repetitive vertical pattern such as a lamp shade, heater, window blind. But this could be a function of my tv as well, which is a fairly inexpensive Sharp.

Yes, while I have dived into Home Theater, I am much more of an audiophile than videophile. I can't imagine spending a lot of money on a TV set unless my income significantly rose. I do, however, have a pretty good audio rig, with Vandersteen 2Ci speakers in front and rear, a Vandersteen center channel, no sub (but the Vandy's have good bass and I'm not into "action" movies anyway); Marantz SR8000 receiver; and various other gear (VCR's, cassette deck, turntable, etc).

I'm happy I got this player. I jumped when I saw the price drop significantly because my guess is that subsequent players will have a lower build quality for about the same $$. And I must say that those who have totally trashed this player and/or DVD audio in general must have some axe to grind, because this player certainly reveals DVD audio to have decent, though not strictly "high end", sound.

Similar Products Used:

no dvd-audio players; but a Toshiba 3109 DVD player and numerous cd players from H/K & Sony