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Price: £350
More info: Marantz
Size: 44x65x31cm
Weight: 2.5kg
Formats: DVD video, CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, DivX, MP3, WMA
Outputs: HDMI, RGB Scart, analogue component video, S-Video, stereo and 5.1 multichannel, optical and coaxial digital audio, control in/out
Upscaling: Faroudja 720p/1080i
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DVD player prices are plummeting to below £20 in supermarkets while big shiny next-generation high-definition players are set to cost hundreds of pounds when they debut later in 2006. It begs the question - how much should you ideally spend to get more from your disc library? That dilemma is easier to solve because more products now sport fancy digital video outputs but they can be yours for a reasonable price. Around £350 is practically bargain-basement for a brand such as Marantz, whose DV6600 does much of the work that only its luxury DV8400 player could pull off two years ago for a whopping £1,400.
Marantz is following its corporate stablemate Denon by expanding its range to include a few less expensive players without skimping drastically on features, build quality or ease of use. The DV6600 shares many parts with Denon's recent DVD-1920 but with this one you also get the influence of Marantz's audio engineering expertise in the electronics. The player handles DVD and CD of course, as well as high-end Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio formats. There are superior 192kHz/24-bit audio digital-to-analogue converters (DACs) working on all six sonic channels as well as a built-in decoder for DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound from DVD.
Standard optical and coaxial types of digital audio output are both provided, as well as analogue sockets for 5.1 surround but the star attraction is HDMI, which pipes pure digital video and multichannel sound (at up to 96kHz sampling quality) through one convenient cable. If you have a modern amplifier with an HDMI AV input then you can get 5.1 surround sound this way for everything except SACD in the full DSD 192kHz/24-bit form (it's converted to PCM to travel along HDMI).
Only more expensive players with i.Link or the updated HDMI v1.2 so far have the capability to stream SACD's digital audio without down-conversion. Alternatively you can use the DV6600's own decoder and analogue 5.1 phono outputs, which are gold-plated and of a decent calibre given the moderate price of the machine. Bass management is controlled from the player's on-screen menu and there is an 'Audio Exclusive' mode for music listening which switches off all video circuitry and therefore reduces the chance of interference.
The video DAC works at an impressive 216MHz/11-bit level for pristine pictures via RGB Scart, in 576-line progressive scan through the component video sockets or, preferably, by HDMI for the maximum experience. The player also includes popular Faroudja DCDi processing to scale up the number of lines in the image to either 720 in progressive scan or 1080 interlaced. So, if you have a High-Definition-ready TV or projector you can enjoy near-HD quality from this player.At the lower end of the video spectrum you can also play DivX-format files from the internet by burning them straight to CD from your PC and popping them in the Marantz.
Performance
So, how's the DVD performance? In a word - outstanding. One of our favourite discs for any machine with a digital video output is Batman Begins. Chris Nolan's 2005 comic book prequel is a fine looking movie but if the player isn't up to scratch then connections such as HDMI can make the natural film grain and digital side-effects from the DVD encoding process look too obvious.
Luckily, that's not the case with the DV6600. It pulls extra-rich levels of colour from a DVD's hidden depths and everything looks sparkling, clean and blemish-free, even when dealing with strong saturated hues. The analogue outputs are as good as you'd expect for a midrange player but the HDMI option is truly exceptional for the price tag. Costlier players can do better upscaling, it's true, but none can actually take the place of genuine HD sources, so this is an excellent way of getting the best out of your current DVD collection if you have a suitable HDMI-equipped screen to view it on.
As expected, the audio is top notch too. The complex mix of surround effects and vocals in The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit and Corpse Bride truly bring these animated films alive. SACD has a smooth, uncluttered and highly accessible sound on the Marantz, while DVD-Audio boasts superb steering of the surround channels. Even lesser-spotted CDs will make sweet music on the DV6600, which isn't bad for such a multipurpose disc player.
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This robust digital jack of all trades is a master of, well, just about everything. From densely packed MP3/WMA music and DivX video to high-bandwidth SACD and DVD-Audio titles, this machine sounds sensational. With its decent-quality DVD upscaling and magnificent image quality through HDMI, you'll be just as delighted with the picture. In all, the DV6600 is an adaptable and terrific value player for AV buffs whose budget doesn't reach £400 let alone four figures.
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Bob Wilson
