philips dvd 963sa

jblgy

Summary:
ased on word of mouth advertising, I thought I would try this player out. Specifications looked good and Philips is a large reputable company.
I found a dealer on the web and thought I couldn't go wrong. Unfortunately everything went wrong. Note that I won't fault the dealer who sold the player to me because the player was judged to be defective by Philips Customer Service.

The player requires some programming before using, but that is because the player is rather flexible.

I set the player for stereo playback according to the owner's manual. The player worked well for about one hour then it locked up while playing a CD. In this condition, the player wouldn't respond to the controls on the player or remote. I was able to extract the CD only after unplugging the player's power cord from the wall and allowing the player to reset. The player continued to lock up again and again. What I did hear before disaster set in was that the SACD playback was very good in its price class and the CD playback possessed good sound, but that CD sound was not as musically detailed as some Sony players in the same price class ($400-$600), but the was still good nonetheless. I would recommend the player based on its audio quality, but the inoperable condition is something to be aware of. If one wants to try it, be sure to buy it from a dealer who will exchange it if it is defective or is willing to provide a return and refund.
Strengths:
Good word of mouth advertising on musical play back. Good SACD playback.
Built in upsampling for CD playback, although I was unable to detect no difference in sound quality with or without upsampling engaged.
Weaknesses:
Caveat Emptor!! Poor quality control. My sample was essentially dead on arrival. Philips Customer Service is not the best group I ever dealt with and they required a lot of prodding to get them to help me.
Otherwise, the transport is noisy (ticky and much motor noise) and the remote is rather flimsy. The remote doen't even have an eject function. Even the Magnavox TVs I have owned have better quality remote controls.

No DVD-Audio playback.
Similar Products Used:
Sony DVP 500 SACD/CD/DVD player(no longer available; no problems!) Pioneer DV 563 DVD-A/DVD-V/SACD/CD etc player (Universal player; no problems!)
Summary:
Well I recently bought a Marantz CD 6000 OSE Limited Edition just to cross-check my 963 SA.
This Player got very good ratings from various european hifi-magazines. Listening to it was an amazing jouney into the past. It sounded like sw-radio compared to my 963 SA. Where did the headroom went? Where did the detail went?
Strengths:
headroom. I mean a lot!!! specially with the upsampling turned on. A truly great feature.
Weaknesses:
too sweet. (Is it a weakness?)
Summary:
My impression of the unit is different than the negative reviews. It's built well, in fact very solid for the price. The upsampling for red book I have not experimented enough with yet to comment on. I can say that the SACD playback is very close to analog in my personal opinion and that is very good indeed. I don't own a ton of SACD's since this is my first player for that format. DVD playback is a cut above my previous Sony player and video output seems to be top notch as well. I'm not expecting $3000 to $5000 performance out of something I just paid $400 for and I can say I have seen $1200 units this makes look over-priced and underperforming. All in all I'm satisfied with the purchase and I think it is a good value. It's mated with Magneplaners 1.6QR, SVS subwoofer, Bolender-Grabner Center (my spelling is probably off here). Using Carver and Stratos amps and a Carver Pre-Pro (looking at Anthem to replace). Cables are Analysis Plus and Alpha Core.
Strengths:
Good build quality, excellent DVD playback and SACD on a budget.
Weaknesses:
I'm not really fond of the layout of the remote but once its programmed into a univeral who really cares.
Similar Products Used:
Sony, JVC, higher end products auditioned up to about $1500 and settled on this as a intro into SACD and a replacement for the current DVD player.
Summary:
An update on my previous opinion.
My 963 broke 1 week after I bought it. Though the warranty that came with my DVD player includes 90-day free exchange I was told by Philips costumer service that the player has to be repaired only. Well, when I received the “repaired” player from the Philips Factory Repair Center I found out that progressive scan didn’t work. (It worked before the player was mailed to repair center). When I plugged the player to power outlet and touched it aluminum surface it gave me a mild electric shock.
I figured that something went wrong at the repair center and that I wouldn’t like to try to fix the player again.
My attempts to exchange the player under the warranty have failed. Philips representatives told me that the warranty has been changed and refused to honor the warranty, which came with my player. They insisted on repair of the player.
At this point I have no choice but to trash 400-dollar unit.
Is it a good warranty? Is it a good service? Will I ever buy something made by Philips in the future? The answer is NO!
I could not appreciate the picture and sound because of the extremely short life of my Philips DVD player.
Strengths:
none
Weaknesses:
as above
Summary:
This player, while decent for the money, does not give high-end performance. Its presentation is too distant, with dynamics that are too reined in, resulting in a loss of texture and detail. While there is a certain delicacy to the sound quality, there is also a noticeably dry character to the sound as well, which is not pleasing to this listener. The upsampling feature degrades the sound even further - while the sound is smoother, there is an even greater loss of texture and detail, and dynamics are even more attenuated than before. The effect is very much like going back to an old 14 bit machine from the early or mid-1980's - not a happy outcome. For music, press the Audio Direct button on the front panel; this disables the video circuitry when it isn't in use, and the improvement in sound is not subtle. If this player is used only to listen to music, keep the video circuitry off at all times. I can not speak of this machine's SACD playback with any authority, having only three SACDs in my possession, but on the basis of my limited experience I do not hear more than a slight improvement, if that, versus redbook CD sound, at least over this player. As a stand-alone player, the Philips unit is merely okay, but wait - used as a CD transport in conjunction with an outboard DAC and digital reclocking device (such as the Monarchy DIP models), the Philips really shines. Dynamics, texture, and detail suddenly appear, and CDs become involving, at last. (This is true, at least, in my own system, incorporating an old Kinergetics KCD-55P processor and a DIP - results may vary with other components.) Recommended as a transport, especially for the price, although if you do not have a DAC with SACD capability, you will not be able to play the SACD layer on hybrid discs. If used as a transport, the Philips's upsampling will have to be defeated at the start of every disc or you will hear horrible noise, much like the sound from a dirty or damaged lead-in groove on an LP. Still, it's worth putting up with for the resultant performance - as a transport only.
Strengths:
Makes an excellent CD transport with the right ancillary equipment
Weaknesses:
Deficient dynamics (i.e. lacks pace, rhythym, and slam)
Sound has a dry character
Presentation too distant, too laid-back
Upsampling is not useful; degrades sound
SACD playback not impressive to this listener
Similar Products Used:
Marantz SACD player (street price around $1000)
Camelot CD player
Kinergetics KCD 30 CD player
Summary:
This unit is very good for what it does. The CD up sampling features makes your Red Book CDs sound better. The SACD is on almost as good as my Sony 777ES SACD Player , and the video is excellent using Faroudja DCDi chipset on the video end of things. Top notch CD Player and SACD Player and Video player wrapped in one nice package.
Strengths:
Excellent CD Playback and upscaling, SACD Playback is on Par with some Sony high end players.
Weaknesses:
No remote door open feature, a tad noisy at times.
Similar Products Used:
Panasonic RP-56/Sony 777ES SACD Player
Pioneer 563A and the Sony S-7000.
Summary:
I recently purchased this unit after months and months of reading up on all the great things that people were saying about sacd software that was becoming more and more available. My brother invited me up to his place late last winter to hear his new Sony SA-1 player that he had just incorporated into his $20k audio system. Realistically, my entire system barely reaches 1/5th of his investment, so I new not to get too excited. I invest more of my time listening to music than I do watching movies, but none the less, I was in the market of a unit that would have the flexibility that would meet my needs. My previous player was the Technics A-10, that served me well as a cd/dvd player. After comparing the two formats from the same artist(s), I was blown away by the difference with enhancement in resolution that the sacds offered. Much more natural sounding and improved location of intruments with many of the classical works. Shortly thereafter, went to Goodguys, auditioned the SA 963 and made the purchase, especially with the fifty bucks off that was offered. Sure, it does'nt perform like a $5k Sony SA-1, but for 450.00, I get above satisfactory video, excellent sacd playback and I especially like the upsampling option that enhances even your regular cd playback. I am one very happy customer so far!
My current system consist of:
Rotel RA & RB 1070 separates, NHT 2.5i speakers, MIT T-2 speaker cables (Bi-wire) and T-2 interconnects. All gear is connced to the Monster 3600 line conditioner along my RCA 32" stereo monitor.
Strengths:
Excellent sacd playback, very good dvd performance, upsampling capability and can read my cd-r's too.
Weaknesses:
Lateral range of remote is not very good. Wish the remote had eject feature.
Similar Products Used:
Parasound cdcp 1500, Pioneer 525 dvd player and Technics DVA-10
Summary:
This unit got a lukewarm review in the Absolute Sound, but the writer was comparing it to players 5-6 times its list price, which is $500 or $600. (It got a flat out rave in new The Audiophile Voice, which arrived after I bought mine.)

I needed a new DVD player, did a little Googling and figured, for $300, why not take a shot and add SACD functionality to my rig (Adcom electronics, Magnepan MG12 QRs)?

So far, I am very pleased. The SACD discs (of which there about 20 available that I'll ever want to listen to) sound very natural and make me understand what the high-end boys mean when they talk about a CD player having 'rhythm'. Very nice. I'm not a videophile, but the DVD seems to be quite fine.

What makes this player special is the upsampling on Red Book discs. My regular CDs sound significantly better on this player compared to my HK>Adcom DAC HDCD combo. Again, the word natural comes to mind, along with the elusive 'air' that the big boys prize so much.

For $300, and given my specific needs (i.e. DVD), I can't imagine a more cost effective upgrade for a modest system.

If this setup was audio only, I might have held out for one of the affordable SACD/DVD-A players that is hitting the market. That would double the number of hi-res titles I'd keep in my library.
Strengths:
Wonderful CD playback for the price. SACD and DVD in the same package.
Weaknesses:
Remote control does't work from too far off-axis. Have to use TV monitor to set advanced features/settings. No DVD-A.
Similar Products Used:
Don't remember the model numbers, this replaced a three year old Toshiba DVD/CD player and lives in the room next to an old HK CD player going through an Adcom GDA-700 DAC.
Summary:
Bought this player just to try out and see how it would compare to my tried and true Sony DVPS7700.Well needless to say it outperformed my Sony in both audio and video and I will be keeping this machine.Color saturation and accuracy is excellent in both interlaced and progressive output into my Infocus X1 front projo (with the progessive out having a slight edge).Audio upsampling to 24bit 96khz made a noticable improvement in sound quality.Giving a more open and airy sound,free of grain and harshness.
Strengths:
Stunning video quality and stellar audio performance make this machine shine.It easily put every machine in this price category(and many more expensive players)to shame.Plus it has upgradable firmware.
Weaknesses:
No disc eject on remote.Not able to turn off front display.Slow layer changes on some DVD's.
Similar Products Used:
DVD players from Sony,Pioneer,Onkyo,Marantz,JVC,Samsung.
Summary:
I replaced my second Denon 1600 whith one refusing to play any disc and the other had an H02 code whith the 963sa.

The 963sa, much to my suprise offers better video after a little adjusting of the many video adjustments in the menu.
The upsampling is nice but I think other posters here do not have a revealing enough systym to take advantage of it.
The player even outputs a 192hz digital signal if you have the gear that excepts it.

The sa-cd performance is fantastic and easily outperforms my 1500.00 Sony 9000es which is quite the trick for a player that generally sells for even less than 400.00 at this time.

I have had mine for around 8 months and my brother in law has had one around seven months whith absolutely no problems what so ever.
Some of the other posters whith quality control issues must be buying seconds or something as I have read 100's of posts on the 963sa and don't remember anyone ever saying there player died ect.
Strengths:
Major bang for the buck on every format.
Weaknesses:
For this price?....you have to be kidding.
I belive that anytime a 500.00 player is superior in everyway to a 1500.00 player it deserves maximum ratings.
Similar Products Used:
Sony 9000 es, Sony 7700, Samsung hd931,Denon 1600,Arcam dv-27,Denon 5900,JVC xa700 and a few more.
Summary:
Thought I would check out the reviews of a player I have not been too happy with. No surprises. I purchased this 962SA in March after reading a very good review about the unit then I went out and auditioned it and came away very impressed with the sound quality I heard on SACD's. Took it home and put it into to my Audio/HomeTheater system and it did not disappoint me with my equipment.
Theeeeen it began to happen...music skipping, music locking and DVD's showing errors and jumping. This began after about two months of use. At first I blamed it on dirty discs, since when i would clean them again they worked better. You dont know how many trips I also made back to the DVD rental store blaming it on their discs for all the skipping. I finally purchased a new unused disc and tried it again and the same problems occured.
Light blub went on and I finally had to blame the player. While it worked it was great but seeing the same complaints on this list, I really have to question quality control at Phillips. It is in the 2nd week at the repair center so I am still waiting. I hope it come back working better and loaded with any new software enhancements they may have developed. My unit clearly passed the 90 day warranty because I could not figure out who to blame quickly enough. The back of my booklet states it has a 2year free parts and labor which i thought was excellent.
I can only give it 3 stars. Although it performed well and to my expectations, it also disappointed in how quickly it deteriorated for me and many others. Reliabilty is a big factor with me when purchasing AV equipment and this is my first product from Philips. I am happy for all those who have had no problems with their equipment because its a real pain to deal with.
My equipment"
Marantz AV9000 pre-amp
Clase CA-100 amp
Sonus Faber Grandpiano speakers
REL subwoofer
Strengths:
SCAD PLay
Weaknesses:
parts, durability.
Similar Products Used:
Sony
Summary:
My Philips 963SA is a mixed bag:

1. The video is very good.
2. CD sound is better than average, but
upsampling is not much of an
improvement. 96K upsampling sounds
better than 192K, which has
sounds "flat" in the mid range.
3. SACD sound is quite good.
4. Reliability is questionable. Unit
started skipping on CDs and locking
up so controls wouldn't work after 2
months.
5. Philips doesn't honor warranty.
Warranty calls for exchange. Philips
chose to repair. Repair has worked
ok for 3 weeks. Too soon to tell.
Strengths:
Good video performance and SACD sound. Has coaxial out, which I prefer for link to my outboard Bel Canto DAC2. DAC2 produces better sound than Philips' internal upsampler.
Weaknesses:
Not reliable. Philips doesn't honor exchange warranty. Upsampler of questionnable value.
Similar Products Used:
Panasonic XP50. Also has very good picture quality and good CD sound. XP50 also skips on some CDs.
Summary:
I bought the Philips DVD963 after reading article after article over the past few years in numerous magazines about the virtues of upsampling. DACs and Players with upsampling have been very expensive up until now. (The 'lukewarm' review in The Absolute Sound was actually the model DVD962SA -without upsampling.) The designers of the new model were confident enough of its worth and good effect that they made it very easy to do AB comparison by having a button on the remote that can easily disengage the upsampling circuit.
This unit is a tremendous step up in sound quality at this price point. As someone else on this site has pointed out, the transport on this unit is excellent. But you must turn off upsampling to get digital coax output to your outboard DAC. I have also noticed that dimming the display way down improves the sound slightly. I have never noticed this effect when dimming other players I've owned. Conversly, in my system, engaging the 'audio only' button seems to have no discernable effect. Changing the power cord to a heftier one borrowed from a Parasound EQ unit gave me a bigger sound (sound stage?). Also, the better the interconnects the better the sound. Duh (but more so on the Philips than any other equipment I've used.) to get the best sound for two channel reproduction you must use Left and Right channel out from the bank of six channel outputs! Read the manual. Also there is a 'night mode' for audio in the menu. This effectively compresses the audio so you won't disturb others late at night. I called Philips- it will affect CD and SACD playback. Loud passages will become softer and soft sounds made louder- presumably to better hear the dialogue on movies. Go in the 'set menu' and make sure it's off. You might want to disable the auto-shutoff feature in order to 'burn-in' the 963SA. I left it on for four days -it helped.
My wife and I both make our living as musicians. She is a cellist in a professional Symphony orchestra and I as an organist and pianist in church music and accompanying.
When I listen to recorded music, I enjoy the laid-back but finely detailed reporduction through the Philips DVD963SA and Vienna Acoustics Mozart speakers. The SACD sound is wonderful as one would hope. For me, however, the improvement of upsampling on Red Book (regular) CDs is most significant since I have many more CDs on hand and many more to choose from when purchasing recorded music. The Philips is also used as a DVD player in the same system for 'home theater'. It appears to be more than adazuate to that task.
My wife, whose ears I trust, says the DVD963SA has given us the most noticeable improvement in 20 years of upgrades. My teenagers use it for their music every chance they get.
The rest of my system consits of a Yamaha 2095 7.1ch AV reciever. 100 watts per channel. 20 bit DACs when used that way. 46 lbs. (Has tone control bypass) '98 vintage. A parasound 150 room 5 band equalizer and a Magenta ADE 24 analog digital enhancer- both between preamp and amp. Monster M50 nad AR 130 HT interconnects and Kimber Kable lowest priced speaker wire. A seven speaker configuration with Vienna Acoustics Mozarts as main L&R speakers. Also a modest KLH Sub. to add extra bass.
Strengths:
Versatile and great value for the price $$$ The Sound is very close to that of much more expensive units. Very easy on the ears - no CD listening fatigue.
Weaknesses:
Not priced high enough to be taken seriously by upscale HI FI magazines. (Audiophile Voice excepted)
Similar Products Used:
Toshiba 3205 with HDCD chip