Toshiba SD9200 Progressive-Scan DVD Player

Toshiba's luxurious SD9200 DVD-Audio/DVD-Video player will surely bolster the company's reputation as an industry leader. It offers not only top-of-the-line, flicker-free progressive-scan video, but super high-resolution audio performance, too. And it's built like a tank. This is one high-ticket item that's worth every penny.

Since this is one of the first of a new breed of DVD-Audio-capable players, let's talk about the audio first. What makes DVD-Audio sound so good? To begin with, it uses a DVD's massive storage capability to produce spectacular, advanced-resolution two-channel or multichannel music, which can also be accompanied with value-added video features like text, slides, and concert footage. This format specification calls for (and the SD9200 offers) 24-bit/192 kHz digital-to-analog converters (DACs) designed to deliver the full sonic benefits of a two-channel DVD-Audio performance. With its astounding 144 dB dynamic range and a frequency response from approximately 2 to 100,000 Hz for two-channel stereo audio, DVD-Audio marks a significant milestone in the quest for audio perfection. DVD-Audio can also deliver up to six channels of full-bandwidth audio and still provide advanced resolution far superior to that of CD for multichannel programs. The surround-sound result is sonic purity and performance that are absolutely faithful to the multichannel digital masters--and total immersion in the music.

Our test material was a reissue of Fleetwood Mac's timeless Rumours and a fresh release from the former Toad the Wet Sprocket singer Glen Phillips. The sound on both was indeed spectacular, offering the perspective of being in the middle of the musicians with the Fleetwood Mac disc, and of being seated in the room near the musicians on the Phillips album, which was, in fact, recorded with all the musicians in the same room.

For full appreciation of the SD9200's audio capabilities, you'll need to hook it up to a surround receiver offering six-channel analog inputs (left, center, right, left and right surround, and subwoofer). You'll need the analog inputs because the resolution of the DVD-Audio signal is incompatible with current receivers' digital-audio inputs. Getting the full sonic benefits therefore requires using feeds from the player's MLP-decoded analog outputs--making the use of good analog-audio interconnects a must.

The conventional stereo sound, from standard CDs to both types of DVD, is astonishingly rich and detailed, thanks in part to the player's HDCD precision filtering and decoding. The HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) decoding process provides true 20-bit resolution from the growing number (5,000+) of HDCD-enhanced discs, which all play on standard CD and DVD players, but offer enhanced playback with the proper decoding. The patented precision filtering enhances the playback sound of conventional CDs, too. (The only drawback is, the player itself utters a small click when it encounters an HDCD signal, so if you make mixed CDs with HDCD and non-HDCD tracks, you might want to consider housing the player in an enclosed shelf to keep the clicking from interrupting playback.)

Now let's talk about the video performance. The SD9200 came through beautifully, with sparkling clarity and impressive color fidelity, whether we used the ColorStream Pro progressive-scan component-video outputs on a high-resolution screen or standard composite-video outputs on a standard TV. Images were clear and sharp, colors rich and true, and we detected no artifacts during fast-motion sequences.

Even without using the progressive-scan feature, the player's 540 lines of horizontal resolution bring noticeable, if subtle, improvements over standard, 500-line DVD players. The image is further bolstered by two levels of "3D digital noise reduction" and 10-bit 54 mHz video DACs. A fun strobe feature shows a desired sequence of a DVD frame by frame for careful analysis, while "capture" lets you sample a frame to use as a background image on your TV.

The only corner Toshiba seems to have cut in this design is in skipping out on DTS 5.1-channel decoding. This means that to enjoy movies or music CDs with DTS soundtracks--which sound, on the whole, better than their Dolby Digital counterparts--you'll need to feed a digital-audio output to a DTS-decoding receiver (take your pick of either optical or coaxial connection types). And this means that you'll have to switch between your receiver's multichannel analog-audio input for listening to DVD-Audio programs, and the receiver's digital input for listening to DTS-encoded DVDs and CDs. Not an ergonomic nightmare, but definitely an inconvenience.

Still, with the SD9200, Toshiba has outdone itself in audio quality, video quality, product appearance, and build quality. Should you buy one? Only if someone else doesn't buy one for you! --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• Stunning sound and picture
• Sense of ease in audio presentation--the sound just is
• Loaded with minor niceties (strobe, capture, etc.)
• Sturdy, elegant build
• Fast disc-read time on CDs and CD-Rs
• Dolby Digital decoding
• DVD and CD Text compatible

Cons:

• Unit clicks audibly (in the room, not in the speakers) every time it senses an HDCD signal
• Long skip time between songs on DVD-A
• No DTS decoding (requires use of both analog and digital outputs)