Pioneer LX500 BD player vs. Arcam BD players
Though a Sony OLED will likely be my next TV, unless quasi-free services like Kanopy, via my public library, are 4K, the rest of my source material will largely be from my own DVD and 1080p BD collection. I love the overall quality and features of my Oppo 95 but unlike my JVC XV-NA70BK DVD player the Oppo's zoom control does not let you “center” the zoomed image on the screen. I want a second BD player anyway and the manuals of the Pioneer LX500 and at least one of the Arcam models at least imply that they have this specific extra zoom functionality-though thanks to the BD Assn’s Oracle BD-J authoring platform some BD movies disable the player’s zoom and/or slow motion features.
LOL, but more of us than you may think detest the CE industry’s omission of BD player zoom controls. We are okay with losing resolution due to their occasional but hardly use as tools for eliminating bars, as aptly explained here, for example. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?s=7d39a92a06401e05818cb2a05905128f&p=17680370#post17680370
As my luck has it none of the stellar performing Oppos have this advanced zoom control; some like the Panasonic, Sony and McIntosh BD players have no zoom control at all. Ditto for any models from Marantz, and who like Arcam, Sim Audio and numerous other high end brands have phased out BD players from their lines.
And there’s talk among LX500 owners that pandemic or not Pioneer may not resume production of this or other players due to market perceptions and/or relations with their Onkyo parent or their marketing partner. https://www.soundunited.com/
As the LX500 and the Arcams likely all have Source Direct, my Sony OLED will handle the DVD and 1080p BD upscaling duties. But would anyone know how the LX500’s other video and audio performance aspects compare to any or all of the Arcam models?
I rarely use hardware players for music. But how might stereo DAC SQ via the RCA outputs from DVD and BD movies from the latest Arcam models compare to the LX500?
And please confirm that the Arcam BD model you have can zoom at least 2x or more, AND that it lets you then center any part of the zoomed image you want on the screen.
Does the Arcam’s slow motion have at least 4 steps and frame by frame control?
Does your Arcam remote let you adjust the volume and mute of the analog RCA outputs when fed to a non-Arcam amplifier or AVR?
Last but hardly least, how old is your Arcam BD player and do you know how much longer Arcam intends to stock critical replacement parts?
