JVC SV-D723GD DVD-Audio/Progressive Player
March 2001The other issue is comb filter effect, where the compression tends to cancel alternate higher frequencies because of low resolution. On a 16/44.1 recording, that effect begins at about 10 kHz, well within the realm of human hearing. On 24/48 recordings, the comb filter kicks in a bit higher, but again, within the range of human hearing. With 24/96, the comb filter effect occurs above 20 kHz, above the threshold of human hearing.
So is DVD-Audio better than CD, Dolby Digital or DTS? Oh, mai oui. Is it better than SACD? Since both use similar sampling rates, but very different compression schemes, the simple answer is: I dunno. I was blown away by 24/192 SACD, but only two-channel mixes of that audio format will fit on a 4.7GB disc. When five-channel 24/96 SACD shows up later this year, we'll put it to the test, head-to-head.
Generally speaking, the audio from this unit is excellent. Senior Editor David Dritsas was amazed at the sound quality, relative to standard Dolby Digital or DTS, and it's true. The lone downside, in my opinion, is that it takes pretty good hardware surrounding the XV-D723GD to get this kind of sound.
We chose to use an Onkyo TX-DSD989, which has a six-channel input. Forget about using a digital input becuase your receiver doesn't decode DVD-Audio. While we may see such decoding in the future, it doesn't exist now. Denon's AVR-3801 (and AVR-3300) actually has eight-channel inputs, but we're still talking $1,000. Plus, good speakers are going to be a must. In this case, we used about $4,000 worth of DynAudio and Monitor Audio speakers. While that may be overkill, I doubt you'd hear the difference as well from Dolby Digital through an economy speaker system.
Rest assured, the sound is great. I just wouldn't rush out to the store and buy any DVD-Audio player unless you have the right gear, or plan to get the right gear in the very near future.
While I could go on all day about the audio quality of DVD-Audio and this unit (although I like the digital-to-analog converter in the Kenwood a hair better), this is also a high-performance video player. I immediately stacked it up against Toshiba's SD-6200, what I consider to be the current state of the art in progressive output DVD players.
For the most part, the JVC held its own. Color saturation was slightly lower, and I noticed a few more artifacts in my favorite line-doubler challenge scene, the opening sequence from Star Trek: Insurrection. While the haystacks in the scene stayed pretty quiet, there was a little bit more jumping around on the JVC. Test patterns showed a sharp, clear 480 lines of resolution. Other than a few more motion artifacts, I could only complain about the remote, which is not back lit and features many, many tiny buttons. It does have a jog shuttle, though.
I suppose you could imagine, at a list price of $899 (and a street price as low as $599, amazingly), this unit is selling like hot cakes. While I'll be reluctantly sending this unit back, I expect to buy one before mid year. I can't think of any product on the market right now that is as good a value and does so many things well. While JVC has something of an undeserved reputation as a single hitter, the XV-D723GD is a 500-foot homerun. II
JVC XV-723GD DVD-Audio/Video Player
$899
•DVD-Audio decoding
•Dolby Digital decoding
•DTS decoding
•Progressive video output
•Component outputs
•S-Video outputs
•Coaxial digital audio output
•Optical digital output
•Jog shuttle remote
Pros
It does everything quite well and adds nice cosmetics with an amazing value.
Cons
You need a six-channel input on your receiver or pre/pro. It has an annoying remote and the same weak menu system as other JVC DVD players.
While I could go on all day about the audio quality of DVD-Audio and this unit, this is also a high-performance video player.
Click here for a Price Comparison from eCoustics.com.
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