Review Reasonably Priced Gear!
I received the December 2020/January 2021 issue a few days ago, and the products tested ranged from $2,500 all the way up to $20,000. This is all very expensive stuff and something that most people cannot afford, especially these days. Why not also review products that are good but affordable to most? There is no need to spend nearly five big ones for a streaming device when there is other good stuff at much more affordable prices. Finally, why not review turntables and other two-channel gear?
Francesco Tenti
/ Huntington, NY
Al Griffin Replies: We try to maintain an even mix of affordable and more premium-priced gear in but the price range of products reviewed in a particular issue can sometimes skew one way or the other. December/january was a good example of prices skewing higher. The February/march issue you are holding represents our attempt to right the balance by presenting reviews of more affordable products such as Yamaha’s RX-V6A A/ V receiver ($600), Elac’s Uni- Fi 2.0 surround speaker system ($3,000), Monitor Audio’s Bronze 5.2.4 Speaker System ($3,659), and Samsung’s QN65Q90T LCD Ultra HDTV ($1,900)— all excellent values. As for two- channel gear, we do regularly work that into the rotation (see the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Anniversary Edition loudspeaker review on page 62). Who knows, we may even dig into turntables in the near future, especially if more readers specifically request that coverage.
Sound & Vision,
discs. Additionally, with standalone SACD players seemingly targeting the most niche market of all, I am confounded that recently introduced players are stereo-only, completely ignoring the segment of the market seeking multichannel output. My understanding is that Pioneer’s premium UDP-LX500 universal player is no longer being brought into the U.S. due to the price increases caused by current tariffs. But even with those surcharges, it would still be less costly than the stereo-only SACD players being sold in the $3,000 price range. Other than searching the unreliable and overpriced used player market, is there any hope for a return of universal players or multichannel SACD players?
Russell Ertelt
/ via email
As big fans of silver discs used for playback of audio and video, we’re afraid the answer to your question is no. As you note, all recent standalone SACD players are stereo- only. And while, a few Blu-ray player models remain available, none of these are universal players with multi- channel analog outputs. Perhaps the best options for someone seeking a universal disc player at present are Sony’s UBP-X1100ES ($500) and UBP-X800M2 ($200). Both of these Ultra HD Blu-ray models support SACD and Dvd-audio playback and send multichannel audio to a preamp or AVR via PCM (a DSD bitstream option is available for SACD).
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