Yamaha DVD-S1500 DVD Player
Manufacturer: Yamaha Electronics Corporation, 6660 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620; 800/ 492-6242
Price: $450
Source: Manufacturer Loan
Reviewer: Howard Ferstler.
This review is a bit longer than usual (even for me), because it will deal not only with an SACD/DVD- A player but will also discuss the viability of those two technologies in general. Consider it as a combination player review and one of my regular Skeptimania columns lumped together. In addition, Dr. David Rich will offer up a tutorial on DAC design, including comments about the converter in this player.
A number of my upcoming Scoping Software recording review columns will deal with specific SACD releases and will involve the use of the player being reviewed here. Some of those will also critique the technology in general.
Ireviewed the Yamaha DVD-S795 DVD player back in issue 80 and reviewed the more upscale DVD-
S1200 in issue 90. I liked them both, although I did point out that one could at that time get video and audio performance from lower-priced versions that was about as good as what they each offered. The Yamaha units had some notable features that set them apart from lower-priced models from the competition available at the time, however.
OK, now we have still another player from the company and one difference between those earlier Yamaha players and this new one involves price. The DVD-S1500 costs considerably less than both of the others, while at the same time delivering everything that they could and more in terms of picture quality and sound. It still is not dirt-cheap, but the price is in line with what serious audio enthusiasts who would be reading this “get sensible” magazine might care to pay for a good machine.
In addition, the DVD-S1500 can do something that neither of the earlier Yamaha players could do: deliver SACD and DVD-A playback. Its versatility goes well beyond these audio formats, however, because it can
also play Video CD, Super Video CD, CD-R and CD- RW (MP3 and JPEG supported), DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R and DVD-RW materials that have been finalized. What’s more, it can play back European PAL video DVD source material, in addition to standard, US source NTSC releases. Admittedly, the Euro-disc ability is something that would only matter to a handful of enthusiasts – and probably to only a very small handful indeed when it comes to those who would be reading this magazine.
The player is notable for its very low profile, being only 2.25 inches high. It is a standard 17 inches wide and is a bit more than 12 inches deep, and weighs in at a modest 7 pounds. This is in considerable contrast to the almost elephantine, but still very fine performing, Onkyo DV-S939 player that I reviewed in issue 86. The DVD-S1500 has a big edge even over the earlier Yamaha models when it comes to space/weight issues.
The small front panel is sparse and includes an on/off button and the usual stop, pause, and play buttons. However, it has no scan or skip buttons and leaves it up to the remote control to deal with those and other more esoteric functions. There are also several mode indicators, including one that shows that
the “audio-direct” feature punched in via the remote has been activated. (This function, which the Onkyo player also had, disengages the video circuitry to possibly enhance the sound with audio-only source material.) Other front-panel indicators include those that tell you that a multi-channel source is playing or that you are playing a disc that allows auto down- mixing from multi-channel sources. In addition, there is a special indicator that lets you know when a DVD- A or SACD release is being played, as well as an indicator that tells you when the unit enters the progressive-scan video mode.
The rear panel is a bit more expansive than the front. In addition to a detachable power-cable hookup, it includes the usual composite-video and S-Video outputs and also includes the now common, three-jack component-video hookups. There is also a “scan mode” switch back there that would be used if one had an HDTV monitor that accepted progressive-scan inputs. Optical and coaxial outputs for digital signals are also included (for Dolby Digital, DTS, or PCM), as
