Magnetar


Two Universal Players out there.  One is going for $1500 U.S., the other for 3K. I watched the YouTube review of the UDP 900 and the settings menu looks identical to the settings menu for my Oppo 105 and 203.

  Does anyone have any experience with them?

mahler123

I too have been looking for a universal UHD player for my 4K movies, SACD’ and DVD-A’s. I have a Sony UHD player that will play SACD’s but not DVD-A’s. The Sony is “cheap” (U700) feeling in that it is light and very “plastic”. I had been using my old OPPO for reading the discs for music but it has recently started to freeze up for no reason. I am interested in a player that is well built (weighs more than 2lbs!), has a good power supply, transport, clock, etc. The only names that pop up that will do this is Rivean and the brand mentioned here. I am interested more in build quality and reliability as my Marantz AV preamp does all the digital processing via HDMI. I really don’t want to pay for a high-end DAC in the player since this would be bypassed anyway. Anyone have any hands-on experience with either of these brands?

Sony refused to make their players compatible with DVD-A for the longest time, only relenting after DVD-A began to die as a format.  I have a Pioneer Elite that plays Blu Ray, DVD and SACD but it was discontinued years ago.  It also does a DSD to PCM conversion for SACD

I now own a Magnetar UDP 900. It is a real boat anchor. The transport is eons faster than anything else on the market and as a music transport is all you could ask for. I can’t speak to the DACs as I do not use them. What really sets it apart is the picture. Is it perfect? No. The buttons are too small and hard to find in the dark. I do not care for the front panel aesthetics. The remote is not backlit. In short if you have a high end system and need a universal transport you have no where else to go. The Panasonic is a tinker toy in comparison. 

I now own a Magnetar UDP 900. It is a real boat anchor. The transport is eons faster than anything else on the market and as a music transport is all you could ask for. I can’t speak to the DACs as I do not use them. What really sets it apart is the picture. Is it perfect? No. The buttons are too small and hard to find in the dark. I do not care for the front panel aesthetics. The remote is not backlit. In short if you have a high end system and need a universal transport you have no where else to go. The Panasonic is a tinker toy in comparison.

@mijostyn , Cool, good to know, I guess i’ll hop on the Magnetar bandwagon myself shortly. I am a sucker for them heavy thangsss.

I will be interested in the feedback.

@mijostyn can you comment on SACD, DVD-A, or Blu Ray Audio on this player?  What DAC are you using?