What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
13 AUG 2007
Arcam DiVA DV135
If you must do it all from one box (and music is your priority), give this new player a thorough audition
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Despite some manufacturers’ diffident efforts, the high-def disc-player market is improving. So, the relevance of a DVD player as expensive as this one is starting to look a little questionable – but Arcam was never about to jump aboard the costly high-def bandwagon while it thought there was life in the old DVD dog.
The concept of the universal disc player is far from a new one, but they’re often a letdown when it comes to music-making. That’s not the case here, though, where the DV135 scores comprehensively is as a CD player.
Even a recording as testing as Yusef Lateef’s Live Humble can’t ruffle the Arcam – it has an effortless grasp of timing and integration.
The DV135 is no shrinking violet
Music is delivered in an orderly, confident manner, but the DV135 is no shrinking violet – there’s plenty of dynamic shove available and significant low-frequency presence.
But as a DVD player, the DV135 doesn’t impress quite so much. Despite having the ability to upscale images to 1920x1080i resolution before outputting them via HDMI, the Arcam is no more accomplished than some less-expensive rivals.
The Lives of Others looks smooth and lustrous in the DV135’s hands, edges drawn credibly and skin tones utterly believable. But there’s a shortage of fine detail and, relatively speaking, deficiencies where depth of field is concerned.
If you want a CD player with a certain facility with DVDs, the DV135 makes good, if expensive, sense. If you need a true all-rounder, there are better alternatives.
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