Yamaha AVENTAGE BD-A1060 on its way...

[Mellotronix]

...to my new mixing/mastering/listening studio. It's almost the last puzzle piece to be added to my little audio kingdom. I need a video monitor, but I can pick that up at Best Buy later this week.

So the Yamaha BD-A1060 does absolutely everything I need and then some. For $500 you get a player that:

• plays 3D and standard Blu-ray discs, SACDs, DVDs, CDs and rewritable discsstream videos and music from a DLNA-compatible PC or network-attached storage (NAS) device
• supports high-resolution playback of FLAC and ALAC (Apple lossless) files via network streaming and USB;
• up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution
• native DSD playback (.dff and .dfs files) from network and USB storage devices

It should interface well with the new Yamaha A-S801 integrated stereo amp that I recently purchased. I do have multichannel capabilities for SACD, Blu-Ray audio, DVD audio, etc. in my home theater room just down the hall, and while I occasionally enjoy listening to Dark Side of the Moon in 5.1 surround, I'm primarily a stereo guy. As a musician who records, produces, and engineers my own original projects, I have become more and more fascinated with good old fashioned stereo mixes. To my ears, a lot of surround mixes sound disconnected and thin. There are some exceptions, of course, but a good engineer can conjure magic with EQ, reverb, and compression to make two channels fill a room with coherence rarely found in discrete multichannel mixes.

Reviews anyone? Yeah, I know, we read them with healthy skepticism, but here you go.

http://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/...aha-bd-a1060-universal-blu-ray-player-review/

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/yamaha-bd-s681-bd-a1060-4k-upscaling-blu-ray-players/

--30--​

 

[Condorsat]

I've been interested in that unit as well. Always have had good luck w/ Yamaha gear since 1984 when I bought my first Integrated Amp.

Use to own a Sony Blu-ray ... used mostly for rentals but it died on me after 3 years & I never replaced it. Been using a Cambridge Audio Universal DVD player since ... it's 10+ years old now.

I like the CD mode & analog outputs for stereo. Don't even know what 3D discs are? ... must be something new.

Found a YouTube video of the unit below.

 

[Aspen]

Yes, a very interesting unit for me as well. Someday I will get one, perhaps once the panasonic dies.

 

[midnitejazz]

I just received mine a week ago. It's primary function is to be a cd transport to the built in Bryston DAC in my B60-sst integrated amp. I have been listening to it and compared to my old Oppo DV-980H it is a significant improvement in detail, imaging, depth and refinement. In other words it allowed the Bryston DAC to perform much closer to its maximum potential. This unit also adds greater flexibility with the addition of flac capability via its usb port. All in all a very good and less costly alternative to the current Oppo universal players.

 

[Condorsat]

I just received mine a week ago. It's primary function is to be a cd transport to the built in Bryston DAC in my B60-sst integrated amp. I have been listening to it and compared to my old Oppo DV-980H it is a significant improvement in detail, imaging, depth and refinement. In other words it allowed the Bryston DAC to perform much closer to its maximum potential. This unit also adds greater flexibility with the addition of flac capability via its usb port. All in all a very good and less costly alternative to the current Oppo universal players.

Assume you are using the CD mode? (4:22 in the YouTube video I posted).

 

[Mellotronix]

I just received mine a week ago. It's primary function is to be a cd transport to the built in Bryston DAC in my B60-sst integrated amp. I have been listening to it and compared to my old Oppo DV-980H it is a significant improvement in detail, imaging, depth and refinement. In other words it allowed the Bryston DAC to perform much closer to its maximum potential. This unit also adds greater flexibility with the addition of flac capability via its usb port. All in all a very good and less costly alternative to the current Oppo universal players.

I have had nothing but good luck with Yamaha gear. I've probably gone through 5 home theater receivers by now and have never had a single issue. They are quiet, powerful, reliable and they have enough setup options to satisfy tweaker wannabes like me. I like the bass management system in my Aventage home theater receiver--the A-S802 integrated amp has very crude bass management by comparison, but it has decent parts for the price.

Oppo does have a new player that looks interesting and for only $50 more than the Yamaha, it plays 4K video discs. I might pick one up to have on hand for my 4 K Sony TV. It may be a better deal than the Yamaha, but damn, the Yamaha sounds terrific through my new Yamaha Integrated amp with its 32-bit Sabre Premier chip and Sabre DAC. Pure direct and CD direct modes should be labeled "pure enjoyment."

I have not researched the competing Oppo, but it's likely to be outstanding.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_768UDP203/Oppo-UDP-203.html