Introduction Believe it or not, the market for high-end CD players is alive and well. Despite the introduction of new high-end formats such as DVD-Audio, SACD and now HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the fact remains that there is more music available on CD than on all the new high-resolution formats combined. The music lovers who have a large collection of music on CD still need high-quality players in order to fully enjoy the music that they have spent so many years amassing. The CDP-202 ($6,500) is the latest and greatest of the stereo-only “CD player” options in Classé’s Delta series of products. The Delta Series is the first new product series from Classé Audio since Classé became part of the B&W group. I place CD player in quotes when describing the CDP-202, as it will actually play just about any non-high-definition disc format other than SACD. The new Delta Series CD player screamed “well-made high-end ...

Introduction With so much media focus on the recent releases of HD DVD and Blu-ray, one could possibly see the demise of the current DVD hardware set just on the horizon. But early adopters beware: HD DVD is suffering from some brutal (perhaps even fatal) growing pains to overcome maladies such as painfully slow load times, frequent and amazingly frustrating reboots and excruciating integration issues with existing home theater systems, thanks to the fact that movie studios have forced HD DVD players to constantly have an HDCP handshake, which is at the root of most of people’s connectivity and switching issues. Blu-ray is better, but still suffers from many problems, including a lack of RS232 control, reported and admitted problems with the video output (even though it looks pretty good) and the fact that HDMI 1.3 offers as much as twice the video bandwidth going to your set. At this point, who could blame anyone ...

Introduction When Lexicon first introduced the RT-10 Universal Disc Player in 2003, it was considered by many an ambitious project. Subsequently, the Proceed Audio brand was discontinued and the Harman Specialty Group (HSG) was formed. Harman International formed HSG on the cornerstone of three key brands: Mark Levinson, Lexicon and Revel. The RT-10 would be scrutinized by home theater industry experts and consumers alike, not only because it was HSG’s first foray into source componentry – the Mark Levinson brand did not and still does not manufacture a video source component although the No. 51 will be available soon – but also because it came on the heels of Proceed’s $6,000 PMDT universal transport, which had a litany of reliability issues until it was eventually discontinued. In addition, Lexicon would enter this high-stakes reference-quality segment of the market by designing the RT-10 as a hybrid player featuring two new technologies: Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Audio ...

Introduction When Lexicon first introduced the RT-10 Universal Disc Player in 2003, it was considered by many an ambitious project. Subsequently, the Proceed Audio brand was discontinued and the Harman Specialty Group (HSG) was formed. Harman International formed HSG on the cornerstone of three key brands: Mark Levinson, Lexicon and Revel. The RT-10 would be scrutinized by home theater industry experts and consumers alike, not only because it was HSG’s first foray into source componentry – the Mark Levinson brand did not and still does not manufacture a video source component although the No. 51 will be available soon – but also because it came on the heels of Proceed’s $6,000 PMDT universal transport, which had a litany of reliability issues until it was eventually discontinued. In addition, Lexicon would enter this high-stakes reference-quality segment of the market by designing the RT-10 as a hybrid player featuring two new technologies: Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Audio ...

Introduction My audio/video system has changed dramatically over past couple years. A while back, my rack consisted of a CD player, SACD player, DVD player, VHS deck, preamplifier, surround sound processor and several power amplifiers. Of course, then there were the miles of cable it took to hook the endless string of components together. Not to mention the remotes. But that was then, and this is now. Today’s modern audio/video enthusiast has options, like receivers and universal disc players, which over the years have made huge strides in quality and performance, leaving a lot of the “traditional” solutions in the dust. Enter Denon’s 3910 single-disc, DVD-A/SACD Progressive Scan Universal Disc player, a source component that literally plays everything. One player, multiple formats: what could be better? I have been on the lookout for a good universal player for several months, because I’ve just had it with maintaining multiple players. Luckily Denon, as well as other manufacturers, ...