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View Full Version : Arcam79 vs. Pioneer 59avi

vianet_c
08-30-04, 04:14 AM
Hi,

I've been looking for a DVD / audio player. I'd like to get your opinions on these two units.

Thanks in advance.
Joaquin Mejia
08-30-04, 07:11 AM
I had the same doubts as yours about a month ago. I couldnīt get a side-by-side demo of the 2, so I opted for the Pioneer. I must say I am very happy I did that, specially as the deinterlacer and scaler of the Pio seem to be better (well, thereīs no upscaler within the DV79). The colours are simply incredible.

I guess the Arcam sounds somewhat better, but the for me the Pio is good enough for films (I have a Philips SACD1000 for audio and concerts-operas).

I guess the new DV89 from Arcam is about as good as the Pioneer picturewise, and noticeably better soundwise. But it is double the price...
dwette
08-30-04, 08:02 AM
Originally posted by Joaquin Mejia
I had the same doubts as yours about a month ago. I couldnīt get a side-by-side demo of the 2, so I opted for the Pioneer. I must say I am very happy I did that, specially as the deinterlacer and scaler of the Pio seem to be better (well, thereīs no upscaler within the DV79). The colours are simply incredible.

I guess the Arcam sounds somewhat better, but the for me the Pio is good enough for films (I have a Philips SACD1000 for audio and concerts-operas).

I guess the new DV89 from Arcam is about as good as the Pioneer picturewise, and noticeably better soundwise. But it is double the price...

The DV89 is an older model, replaced by the newer HDMI enabled DV79. The Arcam players are all terrific. Excellent video, and best-in-business audio. I have a DV88+ modified with a SiI504 deinterlacer. I have not yet seen better video performance from any player, except for the Krell (at $8K or so).

I'm getting a new Samsung HLP DLP monitor with HDMI and will be auditioning the DV79 to compare its video performance over HDMI to my DV88+ over progressive component. Arcam also has a new HDMI player coming out in thier FMJ series, the DV29, which implements multichannel audio over HDMI.

All the Arcam players are first rate, and Arcam customer support is the best I've experienced ever (I also have their AVR300 surround rcvr and an older Alpha 10 integrated amp).

Dean
Joaquin Mejia
08-30-04, 08:21 AM
Sorry, I meant the FMJ29. I know the Arcams are very good. I think the DV79 is not on the same level (specially through HDMI and to a 720 display) as the Pioneer. Bear in mind the DV79 is not really high on the line of Arcamīs players. Its main attractive is the HDMI connection, but they have opted for a "cheap" deintelacer and no upscaling.
dwette
08-30-04, 08:33 AM
Originally posted by Joaquin Mejia
Sorry, I meant the FMJ29. I know the Arcams are very good. I think the DV79 is not on the same level (specially through HDMI and to a 720 display) as the Pioneer. Bear in mind the DV79 is not really high on the line of Arcamīs players. Its main attractive is the HDMI connection, but they have opted for a "cheap" deintelacer and no upscaling.

The FMJ players do have better deinterlacers (Silicon Image SiI504). But the DV79 is Arcam's top player in the Diva line (DV78 is the entry level), and the decoder and deinterlacer (Zoran Vaddis 5) are quite good.

I'm unconvinced by any benefit of upscaling a 480p signal in the player. If the scaler doesn't produce an exact resolution expected by the display internally, it'll get rescaled by the display, even if it's off by a single pixel. And in the case of the Samsung DLP it has a pretty good internal scalar anyway.

I'll admit I haven't auditioned the Pioneer to compare.
Joaquin Mejia
08-30-04, 08:56 AM
Many magazines and reviews have raved about the Pioneer 868/59 upscaling abilities. I can confirm that with my Epson TW-500 (720 native). It is much better than leaving the work to the display.
cmartyn
04-10-05, 09:23 PM
About to pull the trigger on a new inbox DV89 from authorized dealer. 850.00??? Too much? Good deal? What do you think?

I know its not the latest model with HDMI and all that but this is for DVD playback only into a KV32HS420.
BillP
04-10-05, 09:42 PM
In general, the Arcams are considered better for audio but not as good for video compared with the Pioneer 59ai.
dwette
04-10-05, 09:53 PM
Originally posted by cmartyn
About to pull the trigger on a new inbox DV89 from authorized dealer. 850.00??? Too much? Good deal? What do you think?

I know its not the latest model with HDMI and all that but this is for DVD playback only into a KV32HS420.

That's a great price for a new DV89. I would do it. I paid $1000 for a demo DV88 Plus about 18 months ago.