I agree Scion Racer and think that is exactly the reason why dealers are important.

A good dealer will demonstrate a product so a consumer can make that determination for himself.

Buying from online retailers you don’t know what you are getting and while electronics are very good today, it’s important that no matter how much money you spend that consumers visit their local electronics dealers.

Thanks for your insight. I didn’t know low quality HDMI decoders caused some of the handshaking issues. I’ve experienced my fair share of handshake issues over the years, but all occurred on fairly high-end equipment (which should have high quality components you would think).

I guess to each their own, but I do think that consumers should have specific features in mind when shopping for players, rather than just assume a player is best because it is commands the highest price point.

Scion Racer, don’t overlook the role of a power supply either. Good ones provide good stable power and don’t feedback into the signal path.

Not all HDMI chipsets are created equal either and sometimes its inferior HDMI chips that cause the handshake problems with HDMI.

Good DACs also allow people to use their disc players to play CDs too and this enables them to free up the space in their systems that would be dedicated to a good CD player.

I agree with your general point however in that the electronics of today are generally pretty good and they are superior to products of years past.

I see your point Bob. The higher quality DACs will be useful, but ONLY for multi-ch. analog audio, and if you are forced to use component interface.

However, if you are using an HDMI connection from the player to produce BOTH video and the lossless audio, then Blu-ray playback will be equivalent in quality to every other player out there. There is TONS of evidence out there that concludes that video quality is equal across the board for BD playback. A $300 LG will be the same as a $700 Denon for BD quality.

What you should be paying for is higher quality chipsets for DVD playback, and other format support (DVD-A, SACD, etc.).

P.S. On-board decoding of the 2 lossless formats is standard now as the decoders only contribute marginally to production cost. Even the lowest-end Insignia BD player can decode the formats.

P.P.S. A WiFi dongle is also very inexpensive to parts producers, and thus doesn’t add much to fina product cost. Even Insignia offers internal WiFi.

That’s a big point that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you’ve heard the uncompressed audio formats then you know how important this feature can be. This allows users to keep their existing electronics while still getting the latest in home theater processing.

Also, NAD uses better DACs, power supply, circuit boards and a much sturdier housing than many of the discounted products on the market and the same goes for the Anthem and the other products that are beginning to appear on the market from the performance manufacturers. 

Before you knock the product go visit a NAD dealer for a demo.