I almost bought the Pio BDP 450 day-before-yesterday evening. But I was not a 100% ok with buying a player whose real strength is the video capabilities (and not the CD Playing capabilities), when I'm not really likely to use those capabilities as much. I barely manage to keep up with my new movie acquisitions, so I don't really watch a lot of my older DVDs. I don't own any BluRays, and I don't really want to get into the habit of buying BluRays (which would eat into my LP and CD budget) just to additionally justify the new BR Player to me.
A lot of reading up on the Pio BDP 650 has given me the impression that the loading and spinning mechanism is not very much better than ordinary DVD players. Apparently the player is built by TCL for Pioneer (at a cost), and TCL's mechanisms are not very highly regarded. There are also quite a few user reviews that mention that the Pio makes quite the racket while loading discs (though it quiets down somewhat while actually playing). Somebody opened up a BDP 150 and a 450 and found that the loading and spinning mechs are the same. I read a separate surgery report of the 150, which mentioned that the mech is quite cheap and flimsy, and does not have any kind of shielding. Not very confidence inspiring, for my intended purpose.
I slept on it for two days and I've decided to buy what I
really need, without getting distracted by the need to justify the purchase with additional features and capabilities. What I want is a proper CD transport that I can use with my Rega DAC, one which does that
one thing to the best of its capabilty. The Pio BDP 650 maybe a really good BR and DVD player, but it just "also plays CDs".
So, I'm picking up a Marantz CD5004 today. I've managed to locate a black one in my city. It is somewhat higher priced than the Hifivision offer (which is now out of stock, and which only comes in silver). But I'm getting delivery today, and I don't have to worry about damage while shipping. The local dealer will also take care of repairs later, if any.
I'll pick up the Pioneer BDP 450 later,
if I feel I need a good
video player. Not likely.
Thanks for all the comments, everybody! I dilly-dally and fret a lot while taking purchase decisions: Especially when I don't really
need what I'm buying, and I'm just buying it for the extra convenience. All your comments really helped me with seeing the options and considering them. This way I'm happy I took the right decision. Talking to friends always helps!
I'll update with pics once I set up the Marantz and get it playing with the Rega.
@square_wave, a friend is getting a BNIB/NOS Linn CD Player at a great price (don't ask from where) and he was ready to give his old Oppo to me at a great price. This was 4 weeks back before the need (uh, want?) for the CDP hit me. It got sold the very same day I passed up on it
@iaudio, no itunes for me! The new version is getting favourable noises from itunes haters, but I'm not sure how long that will last. Also, I want to be able to physically spin CDs. For digital music playing and management, my Music PC kicks ass well enough for me!
