Premiere Design

D&M Holdings is the corporate umbrella under which both Denon and Marantz live, so it's no surprise that the flagship Denon DVD-A1UDCI (reviewed by Shane Buettner for Home Theater) and Marantz UD9004 universal disc players are both based on a common platform. So why is the Marantz $1500 more than the already very-expensive Denon?

Marantz claims it's because the company paid so much attention to the UD9004's audio performance—not that the Denon is a slouch in this regard—adding technology found in its SA-7S1 flagship CD/SACD player. But whereas the SA-7S1 can play CDs and SACDs (2-channel only), the UD9004 can play both formats (including multichannel SACD) as well as Blu-ray, DVD-Audio/Video, and various compressed A/V formats, such as MP3, WMA, and AVCHD from a disc or SD card. Interestingly, the UD9004 includes both the Realta HQV and Anchor Bay video processors among the internal components housed in a copper-plated chassis.

Two HDMI outputs—which can separate the video and audio—join 2-channel balanced and 7.1-channel unbalanced analog-audio outputs as well as coax and optical digital-audio outs. An Ethernet port allows online firmware upgrades.

Unfortunately, those firmware upgrades are not likely to include 3D capabilities. For that, you need the just-announced UD7005 or UD5005 universal player, both of which will be available in the next couple of months. Both models will play 3D Blu-rays and every other type of optical disc, and they provide access to online content from providers such as Netflix and YouTube as well as DLNA capabilities to share content on a home network. The only difference I can find is that the UD7005 provides a 32-bit audio DAC and 7.1-channel analog outputs, while the UD5005 has only 2-channel analog outs.

The UD9004 has received raves from the audiophile press, but it's hard to justify spending $6000 on it when the UD7005 and UD5005 will list for $900 and $500, respectively. I look forward to seeing if the new players can inspire similar accolades.