Pioneer 563 universtal DVD player for less $200

Well, since there was no response, I went out and bought one to try at home. Best Buy had it for $170+tax. Here is my current setup:
Preamp Anthem AVM-20
Amp Nakamichi PA-5
Speaker: Epos-11
Sub: HSU VTF-3 rosewood
(still selecting home-theater speaker right now)

Overall, Pioneer 563 is easy to setup with Anthem AVM-20. Bass management seems to be working ok for me. I will be doing test signal next weekend. Since I only have stereo+sub right now, I used Norah Jones's stereo SACD and regular CD for comparison.

SACD Direct-pass through sounds clean, details and analog-like. CD version has less air and instrument body.

Switching over to DSP bass management on Anthem AVM-20 shows the bass is very extended and well controlled. The less-digital sound is still on the SACD version.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the ability of the $200 SACD player. Will buy a few DVD-A and try them out in 24/192kHz stereo sound.

Will try out on the Avalon Radian HC/Aragon stereo system next weekend. As well as the Dynaudio Audience 52/Marantz sT-17 bedroom system.

Well, I for one am interested in your test results. If there is an inexpensive way to dabble in hi-rez, I want to hear about it. What other digital source(s) are you comparing with the Pioneer?

Curbach,

I am going to try using the Pioneer as a transport to up-sample CD output to the Anthem AVM-20's internal. It suppose to be able to do something close to 20/88.2. Not really sure, don't have the manual in front of me.

To me, the best test is to compare to analog recording instead. I am going to buy a SACD Miles Davis Kind of Blue to compare to 180g LP recording. I still have a VPI Aries/JMW-12/Benz Micro Ruby analog setup.

To me the test is not to say SACD/DVD-A is better or worse than analog or other CD player. It's just very interesting to see how a $200 DVD player can stack up to a $5k analog rig. Nice to finally see some real progress on the digital front.

Also, there are still too many variables in this high res DVD music format. I don't think it's wise to invest more than $1k. Essentially these player will be worthless in less than 2 years, considering the possibilities of SACD-2, bass management, DVI video output option and etc.