Let ’s say you are looking for a magnetic disc role player that can act as an outboard digital - to - analog converter . You ’re looking for something that can cover just about any digital audio gimmick — like a PC or a MiniDisc musician or an older record player with a lame DC in it . Or maybe one of today ’s New streamers that peradventure has a cracking interface , but a lame DAC — any practical app where you need one of the bestDACsyou can buy .
The Magnetar UDP900 can do that .
Video review
You don’t need it, but that’s not the point
There are thing we need , and there are things we just want . Even if you are an avid videophile and audiophile , this universal saucer instrumentalist ( that ’s the UDP part of the name ) resides very much in the “ want ” category .
You don’tneedthe Magnetar UDP900 , but I 100 % understand why you’dwantit .
This machine is exquisite .
After spending a slight over 100 Day with the Magnetar UDP900 , I can confidently say this political machine is exquisite . If you are an audiophile , videophile — or both — with lots of money and very little time , then you have my blessing and assurances that you may close this article right now and buy the Magnetar UDP900 with lot of confidence that your money is going toward the full universal disc musician you may corrupt today .
Go ahead . you may give thanks me after when you come back to see me for advice on the best TV and audio gear mechanism to pluck up to this thing .
For the rest of you , I have to assume that you are queer about what makes a disc player worth $ 3,000 . Perhaps you ’re wondering if you should splurge for the UDP900 or save quite a bit of hard cash and get the$1,600Magnetar UDP-800 . Or spare even more money and get the$1,100 Panasonic stateless person - UB9000P1K.
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
Well , I go for to answer all those questions as I take you through what the UDP900 offers while comparing and contrasting it with the other two premium players I just cite .
Magna who?
Now , some of you may be sitting there cerebrate to yourself … Magne - what ? How did we even get here ?
Well , Magnetar exists to fill up the void provide behind by Oppo . That ’s proper , once upon a sentence , Oppo did n’t just post phone to the U.S. Between 2009 and 2018 , it also made the world ’s most beloved disk players for almost a decade . In fact , Oppo ’s players are still used by enthusiast and industry professionals alike , and some models get a giving Leontyne Price online .
What made Oppo ’s players great was their rich build tone , their “ we can flirt anything ” posture , and their top - pass audio recording and video fidelity .
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
move into Magnetar , which picked up the billy Oppo set down and started run with it . To be absolved , though , Magnetar did n’t just bug out up out of nowhere . The folks behind Magnetar are also responsible for theReavon brandof in high spirits - end disk player , which are handsome outside of North America . These are well - shew , well - observe technologist and designers . Magnetar may be a comparatively new brand , but its technical school pedigree is well - show .
Consider the alternatives
have ’s get something out of the way : If you are looking for the good - lineament video disc player — if you just desire to get the best picture you may from your DVD , Blu - ray , and 4 K Blu - ray ingathering — then I paint a picture you go corrupt thePanasonic DP - UB9000P1K. That ’s because that histrion is less expensive than both of Magnetar ’s machines and will do incisively what you need it to do .
Furthermore , if you are a budget - minded audiophile and want to get great sound out of your CD compendium , the Panasonic is a tremendously good CD player with top - notch DACs and balanced audio production to boot .
If , however , you are seem for a play - everything machine ? One that can play Super Audio CDs ( SACD ) and DVD - Audio CDs and even Kodak Picture CDs — literally every optical disk - ground format that has ever been ? Then you need one of Magnetar ’s actor . The Panasonic does n’t do SACD or DVD - Audio phonograph record .
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
Let ’s pause a second to call out that I ’m pare down a sprig here . The figure of family who ask or want a platter player has dwindle over the years , from log to stick to twig . From that twig of an audience , we have identified the skewer that is the hearing for agiotage players like the Panasonic 9000P1K. From that skewer , we have whittled down to the toothpick audience that exists for the Magnetar UDP-800 .
So, who’s it for?
Now , let ’s Frank Whittle that toothpick down to a sliver . Who really involve the UDP900 ?
If you like overbuilt , brawny power train that weighs far more than it should , has all the best internal components the market place has to offer , right down to a 60 - watt toroidal transformer power provision , gold - soaked printed circle boards , as well as some of the best - rated electrical condenser made today — then you need the UDP900 .
If you like to see , sense , and smell your gear — yeah , I said smell — then you want the UDP900 .
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
Notice how we have transitioned from needs to want ?
outdoors of the outboard DAC functionality , the Magnetar UDP-800 has almost all the audio chop the 900 has . ( I cogitate the 800 use Burr Brown DACs for its consecrate stereo audio recording outputs as oppose to the 900 ’s 2nd set of ESS Sabre DACs . ) And while the UDP-800 is n’t as overbuilt as the 900 , it ’s pose a similar power supply and a very robust material body . Functionally , it ’s choke to do all the audiophile thing .
The UDP900 is n’t virtual . It is 35 pounds of flex for your Ab rack . A rack , by the way , which is not tuck away in a wardrobe or basement elbow room . No , you donotbuy the UDP900 just to obliterate it in a climate - ensure host room . The UDP900 is a collector’s item . For those of us who regard electronics as artistic creation the way sneakerheads do with the shoe they put on display , the UDP900 is a transistorised Van Gogh . Except it ’s … stereo .
Putting it through its paces
I gauge I should describe how I test this thing to arrive at my conclusions , huh ?
I ’ll do that . But before I labour in , I should point out that the first frame of telecasting I saw out of the UDP900 and the first bank note I heard from the speakers enjoin me everything . Sometimes , you justknowimmediately . Magnetar delivered that for me .
For video rating , I compared the Magnetar UDP900 to aSony X1100ESand Sony PlayStation 5 . I did not integrate the Xbox Series X as a Blu - ray player , as I ’ve well - established it is subscript to the PS5 for disc playback and video fidelity .
I ’ve attain out to Panasonic for a reexamination sampling of its 9000P1 K and will update this critique after I ’ve made a comparison to that machine .
For audio evaluation , I connected the UDP900 to an Anthem STR Integrated via both balanced and unbalanced analog inputs and optical digital end product so I could compare the DAC execution to that which is built into the Anthem Integrated . On the other end of the Anthem Integrated is a gorgeous duad ofGoldenEar T66 speakersoutfitted withAudioQuest NRG - Z3 power cablesand Rocket 33 speaker system cables in a bi - wire form .
Also connected is a Klipsch Reference Premiere Dolby Atmos 5.1.4 speaker system driven by aMarantz SR8015,which I used for multichannel SACD and DVD - Audio playback .
I also connected the UDP900 to an Integra DRX 5.4 recipient to test its HDMI CEC and HDMI compatibility with the Integra ’s switching system .
For presentation , I used theSony A95L QD - OLEDas my acknowledgment monitor , theTCL 98 - column inch QM8 , and the Vizio Quantum Pro .
ethnic music , the Magnetar UDP900 aced every examination I threw at it .
The 4 K HDR video caliber is pristine . The difference of opinion in quality from the PS5 is pronounced enough to be seen in aggregate , whereas the improvements over the Sony ES player were marginal and took a lot of pixel peeping to register .
One feature the Panasonic 9000 offer , but the Magnetar does not is a rooms of customs duty timbre - mapping options . The Panasonic ’s picture central processing unit and its tone mathematical function are believably better than some midrange television set , so that could be handy to have instead of relying on the idiot box ’s HDR gross ton mapping . If the Magnetar UDP900 had that , I ’d have to say it doeseverything , though , and that just does n’t seem bonny .
The Magnetar holds its own versus the Sony , which is monolithic praise .
The Magnetar ’s built - in upscaler is splendid . I can see little to no difference between the 1080p to 4 K upscale as performed by the Sony A95L versus the Magnetar Player . The absence of artifacts from the Magnetar would be impressive enough , but the fact that it reduces macro - blocking and banding so well is mighty impressive . I just had to pop in a James Taylor concert videodisk to see what it could do , and it looked very good . I mean , it ’s still a 480p DVD , and that upscaling Book of Job is a nightmare . But the Magnetar book its own versus the Sony , which is massive praise . The Sony A95L ’s Cognitive XR processor is better , but the Magnetar is powerful behind it .
But those are performance attribute I ’d expect from the Panasonic player , too . And from Magnetar ’s less expensive actor . What I really want was an awing two - channel audio experience , and , folk , I get it .
seem , I ’ve been giddy for months . I ’ve been pull out all these compact disc I have n’t heard in ages , and I ’ve finally been able-bodied to enjoy multichannel SACD and DVD - Audio again because , while the Sony X1100 ES will interpret the discs and pass along the PCM or DSD , I ’ve had some trouble on the receiver oddment – which I ’m trusted is my shift , but I have n’t had metre to figure it out . The Mangetar UDP900 decrypt it and puts out a gorgeous multichannel analog signal .
Honestly , the Magnetar player ’s mechanics are a bit noisy , but the analogue audio signal is beat smooth . That super - low haphazardness base paint a perfect black canvas on which the music is painted , and it is revelatory .
It ’s been a while since I tested any other audiophile disk players , so I ca n’t ride here and tell you that the analog part of the Magnetar is categorically good than that of , say , aMcIntosh MCD350or aYamaha CD - S1000 – though I ’d care to find out ! No , all I can say is that the UDP900 is the best - sounding disc histrion in this setup by far , and the well - sounding disc player I ’ve used since my Oppo UDP-205 , which , unfortunately , has some variety of DAC processing wrongdoing in it now , so I could n’t make a direct comparability for this brushup .
Simply the best
No matter . The Magnetar UDP900 is fantastic . It ’s my pet disk player ever now . Oppo will always have a bit of my nub . But I ’ve moved on , and I like the new me with this Magnetar role player .
It ’s not for everyone . In fact , it ’s hardly the smart choice for anyone . But it is never , ever break down to be a poor choice , and not only will it not let you down , but it will do a wonderful chore of lifting you up .
I know it has done so for me .
