Onkyo DV-S939 DVD Player.(Evaluation)

Manufacturer: Onkyo U.S.A. Corporation, 18 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458; 800/229-1687; www.onkyousa.com

Price: $1,799.95

Source: Manufacturer Loan

Reviewer: Howard Ferstler

Hey everybody, ultra-high-fidelity DVD-A sound reproduction is finally here, and I now have both a player and some software to play with. Below is a review not only of that new player but also a partial review of the new technology itself, including a discussion of a serious problem with DVD-A as it is now configured.

In addition to being a standard DVD video player, the Onkyo DV-S939 (hereafter mostly referred to as the 939) is fully able to deal with DVD-A program sources. It can also output progressive-scan video for upscale HDTV monitors. What's more, the device is THX-Ultra certified (only for the standard DVD performance parameters, however, since none had been determined for progressive scan and DVD-A at the time the player was introduced), which means that it is one serious piece of hardware. For $1800, it better be.

For some time after I got this player I did not have any DVD-A program material to put to the test. However, while waiting for some to show up, I definitely had a chance to work with its more conventional features, and those proved to be very good. Indeed, its picture-exhibiting abilities were exceptional, and by a narrow margin this player exhibited the best video images I have seen yet from a DVD player, and I do not even have a TV monitor that will accept progressive scan.