The physical appearance of this apex compared to one previous ( ad1100w ) is most appreciated .
The prior one looked and felt lightweight , cheesy , and assembled by the oppressed :
I purchased it for it 's easy ability to accept cd-r hacks .
I used it lightly , and it lasted just over one year ( forgot to kill the power one day , and now it only plays dvds ).
Back to the 2600 :
1 .
It does n't smell like burning plastic when you open the drive .
2 .
Without a doubt the finest looking apex dvd player that i 've seen .
3 .
Excellent picture quality - on par with my pioneer , panasonic , and jvc players .
4 .
Remote : you can stand it on end ( harder to lose ) , and it 's far better designed than the 1100s .
Anyway , the initial impression is much better than when i opened the box on the 1100 over a year ago - you can telll that apex is trying harder to improve their product .
I 'd have given it 5 stars , but i 'm waiting to see if this one holds up to more frequent use than the last one :
With progressive scan , i expect it to play play play - and give my old pioneer a rest .