35lb, $6,500 1080p upscaler DVD player
This thing is a beast. It's a DVD player from a high-end audio manufacture out of Canada called Classé, who is now owned by B&W group. (They make great speakers) It tips the scales at just over 35 pounds because of the metal cabinet that makes it look like a million bucks. Well at least $6,500, since that's the cost.
Many of the features that this DVD player has are out my league. It is designed with the audiophile in mind, but throws us HD freaks a bone too. It has an internal scaler that will up convert all the way to 1080p via HDMI. It of course has every type of hook up that a high-end player would have, including balanced XLR inputs for you audio folks and component RGBHV outputs for you projector guys and gals.
Sinse this is a high-end audio player first and video player second, it allows those that want DVD-audio without the video part to preview and use the DVD navigation through its front touchpad. Yes, I said touchpad and it looks cool. I couldn't find what kind of display it is, but it looks like an OLED screen. Ether way it’s tight.
The kicker here though is: as much as I like this unit, I'll feel badly for the owners of this big guy when HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray disks come around. Then again, they'll probably just throw it out and buy a new one.
Note to owners of the CDP-300: When you are ready to throw out this $6,500 DVD player, I will save you the back pain of lifting this 35lb beast and carrying it out to the road. My name is Matt Burns and you can contact me at MJBurnsy@gmail.com. I'll be happy to help you dispose of it!
