Mchd1
The 9500 exceeds the performance of the 8400 considerably and the 59avi as well since they were both the same transport. They had the 12/108 v-chip and the 9500 has the 14/216 and it is clearly(no pun) better. The color and depth of the picture (panasonic 34"HDTV widscreen)is much more than I was used to. I also had a chance to watch the new McIntosh MVP861 and felt the marantz outperforms it as well. And I love Mcintosh. I haven't had a chance to listen to the 861 on SACD yet but I would not replace the 9500 as a DVD source.
The 9500 exceeds the performance of the 8400 considerably and the 59avi as well since they were both the same transport. They had the 12/108 v-chip and the 9500 has the 14/216 and it is clearly(no pun) better. The color and depth of the picture (panasonic 34"HDTV widscreen)is much more than I was used to. I also had a chance to watch the new McIntosh MVP861 and felt the marantz outperforms it as well. And I love Mcintosh. I haven't had a chance to listen to the 861 on SACD yet but I would not replace the 9500 as a DVD source.