Best Standard Def DVD Player under $8,000 used?


I am looking for the best possible Standard Def DVD player
that is BLACK. I have a Krell DVD Showcase now and it's
great but I am wondering if there is better to be had for
under $8,000 used.

I would like to hear opinions/comparisons of the video
quality for:

Krell DVD Standard
Linn Unidisk 1.1
Meridian G98
Denon 5910CI

Thanks
Tom
tom92602
Bullot,

Keep living the dream.....

I may be the only person who actually DID answer the original posters question, having owned every player he queried on except the Krell, and never even received any feedback from him!

You are sorely mistaken in your belief about ANY SD DVD player. Yes, the G98 is a great CD player, but scaled 480i and AC3/DTS don't come close to making up for the native 1080p video and uncompressed codecs of Blu-ray!
Best video quality.. I would say that the $499 Oppo BDP-83 is up there amongst the best. Denon A1BDCI would also end up there. Yes, those are BluRay players, but both perform admirably with DVD's as well.

For that kind of money, I would consider getting a HD-SDI modified player and a DVDO VP50Pro. It will be about half what you want to spend, but the picture quality will be outstanding!
kennyt...............I said the audio section of any $300 blu ray player will not touch the audio section of a Meridian G98!!! Who cares about video!! I realize he asked about video so........

When it comes to video, sure, HD, blu-ray! But I have to tell you, I have compared blu ray against my Meridian and the difference was not night and day! I can handle a few less lines of resolution for the amazing improvement the audio section of a G98 gives over any $300 blu ray. AUDIOgon!
You obviouslyhavent heard the new uncpmpressed audio of Blu-R
ray or you wouldn't feel that way
There sure are a lot of ignorant and rude people on this
message board. People like Skippybo and others whom
insulted me without having the experience are just plain
wrong, ignorant, and a bunch of jerks! Yes Skippybo you
are both wrong and a complete idiot!

I just bought the Denon 3800-BDCI Bluray player to try
against my Krell DVD player. This is Denon's $2000
Bluray and is currently available at a discontinued price of $580.

The Krell had far better DVD playback PQ than the Denon
3800-BDCI when playing the same DVD. This was on my
Pioneer 50" Kuro Plasma. The Krell DVD also blew the
Denon 3800-BDCI out-of-the-water when testing both for
playing Redbook CDs.

So the truth is $300 BluRays (or even $2,000 Denon BluRays)
do not match SOME very highend DVD players when it comes
to DVD+Redbook playback. All these idiots made false
claims without doing the trials themselves.

I wish the moderators would ban the rude people who mock
other posters. Especially when these same "mockers"
clearly don't have any idea of what they are talking
about. I can't think of anything more stupid than people
mocking people when they are themselves incorrect in their
statements.

When it comes to the best "DVD and Redbook" playback, just
buying $300 BluRay will not give you the best playback in
these 2 formats..
The meridian G 98 is good stuff. now with the G series comes dressed in silver with a dark glass top reminiscent of the 500 series. The G98 is an ultra-high-performance CD/DVD transport, complete with a powerful video processor and scaler capable of displaying broadcast quality video at a retail price of $5,995 to $6,495
I responded earlier and wanted to add. I have the Pioneer 09FD blu-ray and the Oppo BD-83, the former hooked up to a JVC RS20 projector and the latter to a Kuro 9th Gen. 720p 50" plasma. I also have an Esoteric UX1 and a Denon 5910 and owned what I regard as the finest DVD player ever made, the 18k Levinson No. 51. The Levinson was significantly superior to the Denon. The Pioneer with Bluray was superior to the Levinson, which is why I sold the Levinson. The Pioneer with DVD seemed also to be a bit better (more vivid) than the Levinson. I no longer use the BD or DVD player to decode the music as I now take the PCM feed into a DAC.

However, I did try the analog output; the Levinson was naturally the best of the lot and by far; you could also hook it up to an amp directly. In that scenario, it was very good, not as good as the Wadia 921/931 stack but clear, neutral and with excellent detail and soundstaging. Among the best CD players out there, too. There is one for sale here on this site for around 10k.

I have not had Krell gear since the FPB and K Audio Video Standard (got it for a pretty penny when it came out - ouch). If Krell gear remains true to its sonic hallmark, it likely has amazing bass, sharp attack and perhaps a bit closed in or opaque rather than starkly neutral.

Since the new Denon A1-UDCI is now shipping, it may be worthwhile to investigate this unit. It has balanced audio out and the same famous Realta HQV chipset for DVDs plus Blu-ray so ideally you could get the best of all worlds. Plus it comes in black.

I like the Oppo BD83 hooked up to my TV and receiver in the family room setup because the image quality is fine and it is FAST.
The Krell is below the last 3 Oppo DVD players image wise. Why settle for substandard video playback? Features? Balanced outputs? You are using the digital output anyway. aside from prestige, what? When you watch a DVD, do you stare at the Krell or the screen? Oppo with Anchor Bay processing has image so shockingly good I have to eject DVD's to show people that it is NOT a Blu Ray DVD. Every movie when someone new walks in, 'Hey, allright! Blu Ray!' We just laugh. Poweramps? Krell all day long. DVD players? Oppo and then everybody else afterward. Check the DVD shootout, even the pre- Anchor Bay units from Oppo matched Denon's flagship 5910. For only about $300. The Oppo is every video editor's reference for good reason my friend. Even giant Lexicon from the Harmon group, with all their might and tech wizardry is repackaging/rebadging the latest Oppo to sell as their own. They admit it. If all comparisons were as easy as the Oppo hi fi would be so much simpler.
spend $300 on a Samsung Bluray then take the other $77oo and buy new speakers
01-11-09: Tom92602

Ok.. Nice work all you $300 BluRay payer lovers..
If only you had highend systems to appreciate the
gear I am wanting to discuss.

BluRay is slow to load disks, Disks are expensive and
I have a 500+ standard Def DVD library.
The PS3 and Oppo BDP-83 (which is $500, thankyouverymuch) are very fast to load. If you're budgeting $8000 and spend only $500, that leaves $7500 to upgrade your DVD library to Blu-ray. You should be able to buy at least 300 Blu-rays, and more likely replace your entire library of 500.

If you want better redbook, rip your CDs (losslessly) to a laptop and get a Wavelength Cosecant USB DAC for a mere $3500. I dare you to find a CD player that will match that.

Any way you slice it, $8K for a std def DVD player, even if it will play dinner plates, is throwing good money after bad. Go whole hog on an Oppo BDP-83SE ($900) plus laptop (say $800) plus Wavelength Cosecant DAC ($3500), and you have better playback in every format for $5200. Use the other $2800 to upgrade your video library to Blu-ray.
You want to spend $8,000 on a used SD DVD player? Sorry I can't answer that seriously...
I would never spend money on a old DVD player anymore. I sold my Meridian 800 DAXV4 one year ago for 4000 euro. New price was 25000 dollar. I was Lucky to get this amount. Time and technique goes on. These days you get better quality for much better prices.
These days I use the Olive 06HD as a streamer which outperforms almost any highend cd layer with ease. And I use the Onkyo BD-SD809 for bluray. This player has a clocklink and is the only player till 1000 dollar which can give a deep and wide stage. Was better in timing than my 800. 800 had more weight but was not that good as the 809 in all the layers of the low freq. The 800 had a better musical sound. But the high freq was better with the 809 as well. By using the clocklink of the 809 the stage is deeper and wider than my old 800.
Connect the 809 with a Audioquest hdmi coffee or even better with the Audioquest Diamond and you will outperform many cd player till 5000 dollar. I did many blind test with clients with very expensive players. They all bought the 809 with coffee or Diamond. They sold there source. At the end they had superior sound and some had even even extra money to do other things. Reinvesting by selling old audio is what i do a lot these days. I compare sources, amps, cables with the source. cables or even amps what they own. I sell them new better stuff for good prices. And I help them to sell there old stuff for good prices. I do this Always for free, for all my clients. I write and place there advertisements. I do the eamils and send them to my clients. Many shops ask money for this overhere, I do not want to earn 2 times money on a client.