AudioRevolution.com's "Best Of 2002" List
The Best High-Performance Audio/Video Equipment You Can Buy
DVD Players (DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, DVD-R) Category Winner – Meridian 598
Camelot Roundtable Mark II $3,995 The Roundtable II is another step towards audio perfection in a DVD-Video player. With DACs that upconvert to 24/192 inside, the Roundtable is capable of making your CDs sound better than you might expect. It also has progressive video outs and a solid build quality.
Kenwood Sovereign DV5700 $950 With a Faroudja based internal video processor and a 5 disc DVD-video/DVD-Audio transport, how could this $950 DVD player be ignored? In straight up comparisons, the Kenwood avoided many motion artifacts easily seen on other internal DVD player video processors.
Marantz DV-12S1 $2,699
This DVD-Audio player has a surprisingly high-end sound that can compete with the best CD players on the market for 16-bit playback - then blow you away with intense DVD-Audio playback.
Meridian 598 $4,500 (and up, depending on configuration) The 598 is one of the first DVD-Audio players ballsy enough to actually provide a proprietary digital connection to other Meridian AV preamps. This high-end front end handles CD playback at a reference level, plays DVD-Video discs with a serious video processor and does DVD-Audio. It might be the high-end front end of the future.
NAD T571
$799
NAD has always squeezed every last drop of performance out of their sources and the T571 5 DVD changer is no exception.
Panasonic DMR-E30 DVD-R
$999
It isn’t that easy to bootleg your buddy’s copy of "Spider-Man," but you can rip music, store data and archive home movies with ease using this Panasonic DVD-R.
Sampo DVE-611
$119 – This multi-region player can play DVD-Video discs from all over the world, to the dismay of Hollywood studio home video departments. Love U.K. comedy? No problem with this easy to afford Sampo.
Pending Reviews: Meridian 800, Meridian 598, Panasonic
