Magnetar MAGNETAR UDP900
The UDP900 makes physical media feel gloriously alive, pairing transparent, vivid stereo sound with reference-grade 4K imagery and thunderous Atmos scale. Its tank-like chassis, dedicated ESS DAC sections, USB DAC input and expansive analogue outputs serve CD, SACD, DVD-A and UHD collections without compromise. SoundStage Solo admired its detailed, holographic presentation, while Home Cinema Choice found its picture and immersive soundtrack performance exceptional.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
92/100
Build Quality
95/100
Features Usability
88/100
Value for Money
86/100
Pros
Exceptionally detailed, transparent and vivid stereo playback with precise imaging and strong musical separation.
Superb UHD picture quality, effective 1080p upscaling, and immersive high-resolution movie audio.
Formidably built, with a heavily isolated chassis and broad connectivity for stereo, multichannel and USB-DAC use.
Cons
Stereo balance can lean vibrant or bright rather than warm, and measured XLR distortion is unexpectedly worse than the RCA outputs.
The remote layout, undocumented filter settings and relatively flimsy disc tray dilute an otherwise premium user experience.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 92/100
Reviews find the UDP900 an unusually accomplished universal disc player, combining transparent, vivid music playback with authoritative movie sound. Its presentation is highly revealing and immersive, though the stereo balance can lean a little vibrant rather than warm, and objective testing raised some reservations about XLR distortion.
Tonal Balance Musicality
92/100
SoundStage Solo describes a transparent, lively and vivid presentation, with convincing individuality between musical lines and strong image specificity. The same reviewer found it slightly more vibrant than warm, while HomeTheaterHifi noted that distortion could occasionally make the sound seem bright or edgy in certain systems.
Resolution Detail
93/100
The player is repeatedly praised for fine detail, from the minute production touches in AC/DC's Back In Black to the clear separation of many melodic elements in complex material. Home Cinema Choice likewise found that it exposed soundtrack detail effectively, helping Atmos mixes feel especially involving.
Digital Performance
92/100
Disc playback was consistently described as excellent, with SACD, DVD-Audio and HDMI audio all performing at a very high level. It reads discs quickly and quietly, handles 1080p upscaling well, and offers USB DAC operation, although HomeTheaterHifi's measurements found the XLR distortion performance less impressive than the overall listening results.
FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 88/100
This is an exceptionally versatile disc-based source, supporting UHD Blu-ray through SACD and DVD-Audio while adding separate stereo and multichannel DAC sections, extensive analog outputs, and USB DAC capability. Its disc operation is reported to be quick and quiet, with a comprehensive setup menu, though the reviews provide little detail on interface polish beyond that.
Streaming Software
85/100
As a universal disc player rather than a network streamer, the UDP900 has no streaming platform to assess. Reviewers report quick, silent disc operation and a comprehensive setup menu, but offer little further comment on remote control ergonomics or long-term interface experience.
Features Connectivity
95/100
The UDP900 covers an unusually broad range of source and output needs, including UHD Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-Audio, dual HDMI outputs, multichannel RCA, stereo RCA and balanced XLR. USB-B DAC input, high-resolution PCM and DSD support, bitstream DSD over HDMI, and detailed configuration options make it especially flexible for both audiophile and home-cinema systems.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
95/100
The UDP900 receives repeated praise for exceptionally substantial construction: a thick aluminum front panel, reinforced double-layer steel chassis, internal compartmentalization, and rock-solid external panels. Reviewers call it tank-like, describe it as a 34-pound beast, and report a high-quality feel in everyday use.
Value for Money
86/100
At approximately $2,999, reviewers acknowledge that the UDP900 is a significant investment. However, SoundStage Solo finds its feature set and build quality appropriate to its high-end ambitions, while also judging it the best widely available A/V disc player with audiophile-quality stereo analog outputs.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
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Specifications
- Disc formats
- UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, AVCHD, SACD, CD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW, DVD±R DL, BD-R/RE
- Outputs
- Analog Audio Output: 7.1 channel RCA, 2 channel RCA and Balanced XLR Digital Audio Output: Optical, Coaxial, HDMI HDMI audio: up to 7.1 channel /192kHz PCM, up to 5.1 channel DSD, Bitstream HDMI video: UHD 23.976/25/30/50/59.94/60hz, 1080 I/P, 720P, 576I/P, 480I/P, source direct
- Analog audio characteristics
- Frequency range: HIFI 2 channel: 20Hz~80kHz (±0.03dB); multichannel: 20Hz~80kHz (±0.05dB) Signal-to-noise ratio: ≥120dB(2CH RCA); ≥130dB(2CH XLR) Distortion plus noise: ≤0.01% Output amplitude: (RCA) 2.1±0.2Vrms. (XLR) 4.2±0.4Vrms Dynamic range: ≥120dB(2CH RCA); ≥130dB(2CH XLR) Channel resolution: ≥110dB(2CH RCA); ≥140dB(2CH XLR)
- General specification
- Power supply: AC 110-120V ~ 50/60Hz / AC 220-240V ~ 50/60Hz Power consumption: <40W, Standby<0.5W Dimensions: 445 x 321 x 133 mm Weight: 15.4kg Operating Temperature: 5°C~ 35°C (41°F ~ 95°F) Operating Humidity: 15% ~ 75%
Manufacturer's Description — Magnetar
Elegant and Solid Quality in Chassis Construction
The UDP900 dimensions are 445x321x133mm (including feet) and it weighs 15.5kg. It adopts an all-aluminum alloy body and a reinforced double-layer chassis structure.The internal main components are independently shielded by a metal casing, greatly reducing vibration, noise, and external magnetic field interference to bring pure and high-resolution audio and video quality.
Present Excellent Picture and Sound
UDP900 supports Dolby Vision and HDR 10+ high dynamic image standards.It features ESS9038PRO D/A decoding for 2-channel XLR balanced and RCA unbalanced outputs, as well as ESS9028PRO D/A decoding for 7.1 RCA output. Additionally, it supports XMOS USB Audio input.
Wide Range of Media Formats and Connections
UDP900 is fully compatible with a variety of disc formats, including 4K UHD BD, BD, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD and CD-R/RW. Additionally, it can easily connect to numerous media resources through USB 3.0 and supports up to a 16TB hard drive. It allows for sharing video, music and picture files through DLNA, SMB and NFS protocols while supporting a wide range of media formats such as MKV , AVI , MP4 , WAV , FLAC , APE , DSD etc. It enables users to effortlessly play and manage media files stored locally or on LAN devices.
Dual Power Supply Design
A 60W toroidal transformer is used to supply power for analog audio. It utilizes an imported magnetic core, high-quality oxygen-free copper wiring, metal shields, and full epoxy filling to reduce vibration noise and heat generation, thereby improving output and audio quality.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Magnetar MAGNETAR UDP900
- 3mA Audio — online and in-store — Houston, Texas, United States (website)
- Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
- Ahead Stereo — in-store — Los Angeles, California, United States (website)
- Ajasom — online and in-store — Amadora, Lisboa, Portugal (website)
- All Elite Audio — online and in-store — Perry Hall, Maryland, United States (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
- Altitudo Audio — online and in-store — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (website)
- Ars Antiqua Audio — online and in-store — Boadilla del Monte, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (website)
- Art & Voice — online (website)
and 54 more verified dealers