Other Source Component Reviews

While it's clear that Philips took a great deal of care with this player's audio functions, the DVD-Video functions seem like they were added as an afterthought. Aside from the obvious lack of progressive video output in a player of this cost, even the interlaced-video quality is nothing to get too excited about. Granted, the SACD 1000's performance with interlaced video is on par with similarly priced units like the Toshiba SD-9200, but it's certainly not at the top of its class. Of course, this may not even be noticeable on anything but high-end displays.

More annoyingly, the drive mechanism often clicked when DVD discs were used. I noticed this particularly while bouncing from test pattern to pattern on the Avia disc. I didn't notice it while listening to music, even when skipping tracks. I also noticed an odd pixellation at times when skipping tracks. This is certainly not a fatal flaw, but it's not the kind of thing you'd expect to find in a premium product, either.

While I think Philips has the right idea with the SACD 1000, I suspect that one might be better-served if the company rubs off some of the rough edges when they release its successor. As a video device, its performance is only very good. As a pure SACD audio player, though, it excels, matching the performance of the best in the category. It even does a decent job with CDs and Dolby Digital tracks. For people who love music, this SACD player is a stellar performer. You can put virtually any format of music disc into it, and the player will play it—and play it well. It's best to think of the SACD 1000 as a great audio player that can play DVD-Videos pretty well, too.

Highlights
• Seamless play of SACD, Dolby Digital, DTS video, and CD audio
• Built-in speaker management