While there are plenty of sub-$500 Blu-ray players offering a performance level that’s sure to satisfy most consumers, there are only a handful of players designed for extreme audiophiles, videophiles, and those that demand the very best at any price. If you’re willing to invest the money and have the necessary associated equipment, these high end and ultra-high end Blu-ray players offer far superior build quality and deliver the best possible performance.
Denon’s top of the line Blu-ray player is one smokin’ unit complete with a price tag of $1,999. Expect state of the art video scaling from legacy DVD-Video titles from the Relata video processor, audiophile-worthy CD playback and solid build quality. I have seen this machine on a Christy Digital 2k video projector screening Blu-ray discs like The Dark Knight and The Godfather on a (get this) 19 foot screen and the Denon DVD-3800BDCi had all the resolution needed to keep up.
While most Blu-ray players cost under $500, uber-high-end company, Goldmund, is out with a $16,900 player that harkens back to their reference turntables, Compact Disc players and other reference source components. Goldmund thinks nothing of assembling a $1,000,000 home theater system and what is a good 7.1 system without a Blu-ray player. While the Edios isn’t up to date with each and every new profile update like some of the less expensive machines, it does have the build quality that audiophiles demand in hopes of reducing jitter, digital hash and other audio/video maladies.
The Blu-ray functionality of the Meridian-Sooloos server is downplayed but it can do it. Anyone who has played with this ultra-slick server knows that its Apple iPhone-like interface on a 17 inch (or larger) touch screen is nothing short of jaw dropping. The audio quality is nothing short of excellent and the video and ease of use is stellar. People with the money to invest will take about three minutes to fall in love with the $10,000 plus Meridian-Sooloos system. Be sure to add a few extra TBs of hard drive space.
$1,995 is a lot of money these days for a Blu-ray player, but get what you pay for with the Marantz BD8002. Like most Marantz products, the player isn’t ultra-feature loaded but it comes packed with performance that blows away the cheapie models. For playing back state of the art films like The Dark Knight, you can’t do much better.
In a world where Blu-ray players suffer from tremendous downward price pressure, Denon has a few players for those of us who want a more beefy machine. Built like a tank, the Denon DVD-2500TBCI has nice video upscaling, which sets it apart from the competition. Sonically, DTS Master Audio and Dolby True HD never sound better than coming from the Denon Blu-ray machine, and unlike the cheapie Blu-ray decks you don’t have to be ashamed to put a Compact Disc in your player and hit play.