12/21/2023

Budget SACD Player: Sony BDP-S6700 or BDP-BX57

The Sony BDP-S6700 is a moderately priced Blu Ray player that will play Blu Ray discs as well as SACD discs, as well as MP3 and FLAC files from the included USB port. This is a current model and also offers video streaming as a bonus. It will also upscale SD video to HD video. Seems to be a tremendous value for audiophiles.


Sony BDP-S6700 Blu Ray Player , Jeff Miller, by Crutchfield's Jeff Miller

Your home theatre system's jack of all trades

I've built a solid Blu-ray collection, so I'm glad to see Sony is still committed to making great disc players. The Sony BDP-S6700 won't play Ultra-HD 4K Blu-ray discs, but it will upconvert standard Blu-ray and DVD discs to near-4K quality for playback on your Ultra HD TV. And this versatile player also offers popular streaming video services and delivers serious picture detail to a 1080p screen.

If you're connecting to a home theatre audio system, the BDP-S6700 supports high-resolution movie sound formats, like Dolby® TrueHD and DTS® HD. It will play CDs, SACDs, and music files from a thumb drive. Plus, it offers a wide variety of streaming audio options.

Dual-band Wi-Fi means smooth video streaming...

Dual-band Wi-Fi gives you a strong, quick connection for streaming services like Netflix. And Sony's noise reduction technology improves the quality of your streamed videos. On top of that, Miracast™ technology lets you “mirror” what you see on your smartphone or tablet on your TV's big screen.

Sony BDP-S6700

Send sound from the Sony BDP-S6700 to a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones (not included) for late night viewing.

...and music streaming, too

If you're a Spotify® Premium subscriber, Spotify Connect lets you play your albums and playlists through your connected speakers. Or you can download Sony's free SongPAL™ app for iOS® or Android™. It gives you wireless access to the music stored on your phone, Pandora® Internet radio, and even music stored on a DLNA-connected server.

Beam sound wirelessly to headphones via Bluetooth

The BDP-6700's built-in Bluetooth lets you send the sound of your movies, shows, and other media to a pair of Bluetooth headphones. This helps with late night binge-watching. You can catch all the dialogue and hear all the loud, exciting sound effects without waking everyone up.

Product highlights:

Plays 3D and standard Blu-ray discs, DVDs, SACDs, CDs and rewriteable CDs

4K video upscaling for use with Ultra HD TVs

Dual-band Wi-Fi for smooth wireless streaming

Streaming video and music apps for playing TV shows, movies, and music, including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube™, and Pandora (subscriptions required for some services)

Bluetooth transmitter sends audio from player to Bluetooth-compatible headphones or speakers

LDAC Hi-Fidelity wireless music streaming to and from compatible sources

Miracast-compatible — screen-mirroring with Miracast-compatible smartphones and tablets

Quick Start/Load mode swiftly queues up a disc from the "off" position

Free downloadable Sony SongPAL app (available from iTunes Store and Google Play) helps connect the player to your wireless network and controls playback, and volume

Also gives you control over other compatible Sony speakers as part of a multi-room music system

Control the player and stream content from compatible smartphones and tablets with Sony's SideView app for Apple® and Android™ devices (requires both devices to be connected to the same wireless home network)

BD-Live and BonusView support for added bonus features with compatible discs (requires external USB storage device)

Remote control

Pays Region A Blu-ray discs and Region 1 DVDs

Technical Specs:

Selectable video resolution up to 1080p

Built-in audio decoding for Dolby® Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS®, and DTS-HD Master Audio

Plays AAC, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, MP3, WMA, and WAV audio file formats

Sony BDP-S6700 file format support:
Media: Bluray Disc (ROM/R/RE) DVD (+/-R/RW/R-DL/8cm) SACD, CD (R/RW) USB (FAT32/NTFS), External HDD (read)

Video: MPEG-1 (mpg, mpeg, mkv), MPEG-2 (mpg, mpeg, m2ts, mts, mkv), MPEG-4/AVC (mkv, mp4, m4v, m2ts, mts, mov, 3gp, 3g2, 3pgg, 3gpp2)

Audio: LPCM (mka), MP3, AAC (.m4a, aac, mka), FLAC (.flac, .fla), wma, wav, ac3

Sound formats: LPCM, Dolby Digital True HD, DTS HD Master Audio, DTS Neo:6, AV Sync, DRC, DSD

Photo: JPEG (jpg, jpeg), gif, png, mpo (not DLNA)

Front-panel USB port to play music, movies, and images from external hard drives and thumb drives

HDMI output

Coaxial digital audio output

Ethernet port for Internet connectivity

10-1/16"W x 1-1/2"H x 8"D 














SONY BDP-BX57 Blu Ray Player

Another even lower-cost option is to get the older Sony BDP-BX57 Blu Ray player. It is readily available on eBay for around $50. It also has the traditional older RCA line output jacks. It will play Blu Ray discs at 1080p resolution, CDs, SACDs, and DVDs. It also has built-in Wi-Fi video streaming and offers USB input for MKV, MP4 video files and MP3 music files.
















12/09/2023

Vintage Audio: Sony STR-DA2000ES Receiver playing PC audio

I got this older Sony  STR-DA2000ES receiver to complement my PC/Stereo music center. It can now play FLAC/MP3 files from my HP i7-4790 desktop using an 8 TB internal SATA drive, or stream Internet radio. The DAC in the  HP i7-4790 desktop is the Realtek ALC221 chipset. The ALC221 chipset supports 16/20/24-bit output at 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rates, which is in excess of CD quality 44.1khz audio.

The STR-DA2000ES will fill your room with rich, dynamic, incredibly precise 7.1-channel surround sound! This receiver's high-end Sony ES construction and circuitry includes an innovative Digital Drive amplifier that delivers a whopping 120 full-bandwidth-rated watts x 7 channels of home theater power. Combine that brawn with some serious brains — dual 32-bit processors equipped with Dolby® Digital EX, DTS-ES®, DTS 96/24, and Pro Logic® II decoding — and you've got a 360°, wraparound soundfield that plants you squarely in the middle of the movie action! You can even set the 'DA2000ES to automatically transform 5.1 and 6.1-channel Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks into thrilling 7.1 sound.

Dual-room/dual-source output lets you enjoy 7.1 surround in your main room while a housemate listens to a different stereo source in a second room (receiver, amplifier, or powered speakers required in second room). Wide-range frequency response and analog multichannel bass management let you make the most of high-resolution music sources like SACD and DVD-Audio. The learning/multibrand LCD remote gives you easy control of all A/V gear, and features macros that you can program to execute a series of system commands with a single button-press.

The 'DA2000ES offers loads of connectivity for system-building, too, including component video switching with 80MHz bandwidth for flawless HDTV transfer, 5 digital inputs, 5 A/V inputs, and more! It's also got two multichannel inputs, including a 7.1-channel input to keep you prepared for future formats. Front-panel A/V and optical digital inputs allow quick and easy hookup of camcorders, game systems, and portable audio players.

This receiver's beefy construction is ES all the way, featuring an ultra-sturdy frame-and-beam chassis, an anti-resonant aluminum front panel, and dual power supplies. This meticulous attention to every aspect of the 'DA2000ES's build allows it to deliver consistently excellent A/V performance every time you turn it on!

Product highlights:

  • 120 watts x 7 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.6% THD
  • Digital Drive amplifier
  • Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, DTS 96/24, DTS Neo:6, and Pro Logic II
  • Sony Digital Cinema Sound modes
  • dual 32-bit processors
  • dual-room/dual-source audio capability (line-level stereo output with volume control for 2nd room)
  • digital and analog multichannel bass management
  • composite-to-S-video conversion
  • two multichannel analog inputs (one 7.1, one 5.1)
  • component video switching: 2 in, 1 out (80MHz bandwidth)
  • digital inputs: 4 optical (including 1 front-panel), 1 coaxial
  • optical digital output
  • 4 audio (including phono) and 5 A/V (including 4 S-video & 1 front-panel) inputs
  • learning/multibrand LCD remote with macros
  • on-screen display
  • Control S, for simplified operation of compatible Sony gear
  • 2 sets of main speaker outputs
  • 20 FM/10 AM presets
  • 16-15/16"W x 6-5/16"H x 16-1/8"D
  • warranty: 5 years

    Source: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-t0dAe6OjSI6/p_158STRDA2K/Sony-ES-STR-DA2000ES.html