High end home entertainment gear manufacturer Mark Levinson was showcasing its latest and greatest disc player earlier this week. The new No51 Media Player looks to be available now for a whopping $18,000.
The No51 Media Player, said Mark Levinson, reportedly provides DVD playback at “cinema-grade movie reproduction†and a CD listening experience which is far better than stand-alone CD players. Five specific areas make up the strengths of the No51 Media Player, three of which are: a video processor which uses custom calibrated scaling and de-interlacing, 14-bit/216 MHz video DAC’s and HDMI output; an audio processor which is built around a low voltage differential signaling transmission line and offers the ability to output 44.1, 88, 88.2 or 96 kHz signals in S/PDIF, AES or TOS formats; and the power supply, which is a dedicated system built around a custom designed low-noise toroidal transformer and joined by a secondary analog power section allowing for the first stage regulation and filtering.
The other two elements which Mark Levinson thinks make the No51 Media Player worth so much money include a chassis with a front panel design which utilizes thick machined aluminum pieces with a combination of brushed and painted finishes as well as laser engraved etchings; and a transport mechanism with “precision milled drawer riding on polished stainless steel guides†which is joined by shock mounting and other technologies to isolate it from the audio and video circuitry sections of the player.
