At the moment the optical storage industry is very intresting, while in the data/movie part there is a battle between several DVD formats, also the audio industry is on it's move.
Philips has introduced the SuperAudio format and then there is also DVD-Audio format that should be brought to the attention of the consumer. The best thing for a company to make nowadays is equipment that can handle all available formats and that's just what Pioneer has done with it's DV-747A model:
It plays DVD-Video discs, CDs, CD-R/RW and MP3s, and multichannel music from DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD discs, and can already be found via some online sellers for as little as £800 (2400 USD) in multiregion form, which further allows it to play DVD-video titles from around the world. |
It's truly a universal machine, even playing DVD-R/RW discs made on suitable DVD recorders (such as Pioneer's own), and has such niceties as 192kHz/24-bit digital to analogue conversion from Burr-Brown. This is combined with Pioneer's resolution-enhancing Hi-Bit and Legato PRO technologies, the latter taking the form of a four-stage user-switchable filtering system.
An on-screen browser makes it easy to navigate MP3 discs, which can carry vast numbers of data-reduced tracks, while there's also a bit-rate meter allowing the user to see how MP3 tracks have been encoded. Meanwhile quality with DVD-Video titles is enhanced by a 108MHz/12-bit video conversion system and the provision of a progressive scan output in addition to RGB-capable Scart sockets.
A really intresting device that is probably way to expensive for the average consumer, but I would say, a must have for every audio freak. Let's hope Pioneer will be able to sell a lot of them and is able to lower the price.
Source: Gramophone.co.uk
