Anybody have any experience with high end Denon DVD players?

[Jem90]

Anybody have any experience with high end Denon DVD players?

I have been looking at old high end Denon DVD players for my second room. The models i am watching so far are the Denon DVD -A11 / DVD -3910 /2910 / 3920/2920 and the DVD A1XVA.

They all seem to be very well made well specified machines at very good second hand Ebay prices. It will be used for mainly for 2ch and films.

Thanks in advance,

 

[theWB]

Jem,
I've had the 3910 in my system for the last 4 years.
Doesn't get a lot of use now that I have a Blu-Ray player.
Most of my music listening is through my server.

I mostly use the Denon for 5.1 SACD or DVDa.

It's an upscaling DVD player, but the picture is nowhere near as good as Blu-Ray.

It's been able to play any type of disc I've given it, except it does not play the Pal format DVDs.

 

[Jem90]

Bluray player

Thank you for your quick reply, I noticed that you have a PS3 in your setup is this your Bluray player? if its competent then the ps3 may be a better bet.

 

[MiTT]

I've got both a Denon 2910 and a PS3 in my family room AV setup (using an Esoteric in my main system).

The PS3 is a great BluRay player, but doesn't really sound all that great compared to the Denon in my opinion. Sounds pretty congested and closed in. I also have quite a few SACD and DVD-A titles, and the PS3 can't play those - only Redbook (or the Redbook layer on Hybrid SACD's).

If you're buying it for sound quality I'd recommend the Denon over the PS3. If you are looking for video performance then I might lean towards the PS3. If you really want a "Universal" player, then the new Oppo BluRay player might be worth looking at, as it also plays the hi-Rez audio formats.

 

[JonFo]

I’ve been running Denon players for the last couple of years, first a 2900 then my current 2930.

Both provide great audio performance for a universal player.

The 2930 is used in conjunction with Denons pre-amp (AVP-A1HD), and linked up over DenonLink3 for all audio streams.

Using Denonlink provides for jitter-free transport of DSD (from SACD) and LPCM (from DVD-Audio, CD and DVD) to the preamp. Short of playing back a ripped .WAV file directly through the preamp (which I do regularly), this is the best result for audio.

As DVD players, they vary based on what model year and what processor is in them.

A lot depends on what scaler is further down in the video chain. Sometimes, it’s best to let a superior downstream scaler handle the 480i to whatever resolution your display needs.

My current recommendation is to use Denon players strictly for audio and basic DVD (if there is a good scaler downstream or a recent high-end model).

For Blueray, recent players like the Samsung 3600 seem like better choices as they are not only great BR palyers, but feature really good upconversion for DVD.

The PS3 (which I also have) is a good BR player and decent DVD upconverting player, but not that great an SACD or CD player. Plus, it can’t do DVD-A.

With the introduction of the latest generation of BR players, the PS3’s advantage in speed and upgradability is diminished (or gone).

Bottom line, a good Denon universal for SACD/DVD-A/CD + a recent model BR for BR / DVD-V is pretty much all one needs these days.

 

[DTB300]

IMO, they are a better video player than a music player. I have always found they benefit from an outboard DAC for 2 CH Music. If you have listened to them and you like the sound they produce, buy it.

 

[eckertdj]

The PS3 is a great BluRay player, but doesn't really sound all that great compared to the Denon in my opinion. Sounds pretty congested and closed in. I also have quite a few SACD and DVD-A titles, and the PS3 can't play those - only Redbook (or the Redbook layer on Hybrid SACD's).

It's a shame they removed the SACD funtionality from the PS3. I paid the full $700 for my PS3 when they were new and I was upset when they had the big price drops, but when I saw that they removed some of the features including SACD playback it didn't seem quite so bad. I don't really have the room in my rack or my budget for another player right now so the PS3 handles all of my playback and I am happy with it. Of course I don't really have a lot to compare it to.

 

[tsmooth]

I currently use:

Samsung BD-2550 for Blu-ray and streaming

Denon 2930CI with DenonLink3 to my Denon 3808 receiver for Standard DVD, DVD-A, SACD, and all CD duties.

The sound on the Denon for standard DVDs is much better then the Blu-ray player, and the video upconversion is slightly better.

The audio for SACD, DVD-A, and CD sounds great and is the best option for the equipment that I have. I think Denon has a pretty good product and you can get a great price with Blu-ray pushing all the prices down.

 

[lhpcope]

I'm using the Denon DVD-5910-CI on the main system downstairs and waiting for Oppo to release their BR player. I will continue to use the 5910 for Music playback which its really good at. I'm using the internal DACs and taking the multichannel analog outputs to my receiver.

 

[JMAUSGP]

I have the new OPPO BDP-83 and it is quite a player.

It initially had some issues with DVD Audio but today they released a new firmware release that took care of every DVD-Audio that I had.

So far the OPPO has played everything that I have thrown at it and it sounds really good on my Logans in 7.2 surround sound and in 2 channel stereo. The OPPO has the best upscaling for DVD-SD that there is. The Bluray is well blu ray and the analog outs are great.You can go HDMI or analog 7.1 outs, it is your choice.

The OPPO should be released to the public in the next two weeks at either $499 or $599, really it is going to be tough to beat for a true universal player. But if your heart is set on Denon, then it doesn't matter, just go for what you like.

 

[lhpcope]

I'm glad someone from our little group got in on the Oppo pre-release. But I have to say in comparing the Oppo DV-980H to the Denon-5910, (which I own both) the 5910 does a much better job of DVD up-conversion and with the audio. Which considering the price difference it should.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Oppo fan and am waiting for the Oppo Blu-Ray to be available. I just think if my main goal was a universal player for audio on the used market I would at least look at the upper end Denons.