2021 HASN'T BEEN a good year for many things but it’s been a cracker for 4K Blu-ray. A wealth of titles has been released, from vintage classics to modern blockbusters to TV series. You're going to need something to spin these new titles on. And what are the options if you don't yet have a UHD disc player?
Many companies have left the 4KBD market, including Oppo and Samsung. Pioneer ostensibly soldiers on but its UK distribution appears to be in tatters. Panasonic and Sony continue to support the format, yet neither sell a do-it-all disc spinner able to handle 4KBD, Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio. Two of those formats are very niche indeed, but people still look for the logos...
Enter Reavon, a brand that none of us had heard of this time last year. A spin-off from French company Archisoft (also behind the media players sold under the Zappiti brand), it's seen an opening in the market and taken a punt, producing two UHD Blu-ray machines.
The UBR-X200 auditioned here is a universal player supporting SACD, DVD-A, and everything from CD to 4K Dolby Vision. Okay, not everything: HDR10+ playback is missing.
Pricing is a premium £1,500. Reavon's other model, the UBR-X100, sells for a more palatable £700, but jettisons Super Audio CD playback and the UBR-X200's analogue audio outputs.
These connections are what most obviously separates Reavon's deck from the high street competition. Not only does the UBR-X200 have a 7.1 set of RCA outs (tethered to a Burr-Brown DAC), there's a separate stereo output offered on both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR. This is reminiscent of Oppo's UDP-205, although that long-gone universal player used a premium ESS Sabre 32-bit chip, whereas the X200's dedicated stereo DAC is a 24-bit delta-sigma design.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
Making pictures perfect
The Home software from display calibration specialist Calman is designed to let consumers pimp their TV's performance like a pro. Jon Thompson puts it to work with an LG OLED
Smart looks, superior sound
The performance of some high-end speakers from a new US brand makes Mark Craven sit up and listen
Movies with bite!
It's nature gone wild as Anton van Beek and Mark Craven dig into Hollywood's love affair with killer crocs, fiendish fish, bloodthirsty boars and much, much more
Film Fanatic
The MGM catalogue isn't all about James Bond - it also features a wealth of movies that Anton van Beek believes are ripe for Blu-ray treatment, rather than being mere 'content'
Catalogue classic Batman [1989] ➜ Ultra HD Blu-ray, Warner Bros.
With the latest Batman movie hitting disc in June, Anton Van Beek grabs a cape and cowl to take a look back at the Dark Knight’s landmark 1989 blockbuster smash…
And for dessert…
Mark Craven checks out an install that takes the concept of 'dinner and a movie' to a whole new level
Yamaha MusicCast Bar 40 SW
With its music streaming skills and full-bodied performance, this soundbar system doesn't need to rely on DTS Virtual: X to impress Mark Craven
Hunting dinos with M&K's Indominus X
The flagship model in M&K's upgraded X+ Series is the first of its subwoofers to be certified THX Dominus. Steve Withers hires a forklift and checks it out
Mark Levinson No.5909
The audiophile brand shoots for the top with its first pair of headphones, and Ed Selley finds out if they can live up to the asking price
BenQ projector focuses on filmic fun
The brand's latest affordable 4K HDR beamer is out to show John Archer exactly what the director intended
Oppo Reno7 5g
The magnificent 7
Strymon
Iridium Amp and IR Cab Pedal
A Jolt for Europe's Electric-car Makers
Sweden’s Northvolt is leading an effort to forge a regional battery champion that can compete with rivals from Asia
Gold Note PH-1000 PHONO PREAMPLIFIER
Gold Note’s $11,999 PH-1000 is by a con-siderable margin the most sophisticated, most configurable phono preamplifier that any audio manufacturer has ever produced, at least that I know of. Remarkably, considering all that flexibility and sophistication, using and adjusting the PH-1000 is straightforward.
Fluance Ai41 Bluetooth Speaker System
"Two Speakers Better Than One"
VICTROLA RE-SPIN
victrola.com
Topping Pre90
LINE PREAMPLIFIER
TEMPLE OF TONE
John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas Band record Leftover Feelings at Nashville’s country music shrine.
Durabook S14I: Tough Semi-Rugged Laptop
Buyers of rugged laptops, sturdy systems designed to be bolted to first responders’ dashboards or dropped onto rocky ground, make a distinction between “semi-rugged” and “fully rugged” notebooks— machines rated to survive a fall of three feet versus six feet, say, or pouring rain versus a high-pressure hose.
The End of Analog
Q Over the years, I’ve discovered that sound and vision are two distinct camps in the home theater realm, and it’s best to keep them separated due to constantly changing video formats.