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Digital Drive: REVIEW: Reference Audio Mods Denon DVD-3910 DVD Players by McGruder

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REVIEW: Reference Audio Mods Denon DVD-3910 DVD Players

69.250.167.174


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Model: Denon DVD-3910
Category: DVD Players
Suggested Retail Price: $4200
Description: Denon DVD-3910 with extensive upgrades to power supply, clock, and output stage
Manufacturer URL: Reference Audio Mods
Model Picture: View

Review by McGruder ( A ) on May 21, 2006 at 17:22:55
IP Address: 69.250.167.174
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I've never offered a review to the AA forums before, but I do know what I like to see in a review. I'll attempt to provide something of benefit to AA members that may be seeking a reference quality universal player.

I am a recent purchaser of a Denon DVD-3910 universal DVD player, which has had extensive modifications performed by Reference Audio Mods. For those not familiar, the mods are applied to the power supply, clock, and ouput stage. The modifications are fully disclosed on the website:
http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DENON2900&Category_Code=MODS&Product_Count=17

My setup is all solid state – NuForce Reference 9.02 monoblocks and Bryston BP20 pre-amplifier. My speaker setup is a monitor / subwoofer combination (Selah Tanzanites and Aurasound 12” subwoofer in non-ported enclosure) designed and manufactured by Rick Craig of Selah Audio. Prior to the RAM Denon 3910, I had been using an Onkyo DV-CP802 6-disc universal DVD changer. I use a Benchmark Media DAC-1 to handle RBCD chores through a digital coaxial connection between the Onkyo universal carousel and the Benchmark. I was pretty pleased with the sound of this setup, but I’ve read so many glowing accounts of modded Denons and Sonys. I felt that there was a level of performance I could be missing and was intrigued that the performacne of exotic players set at much higher price-points could be attained through a modded unit. I’ve never really encountered claims that the Ayre 5Xe, BelCanto PL-1A, or McCormack UDP-1 players backed by larger companies were outperforming the modded players in head-to-head comparisons. In fact, more often than not, I read exactly the opposite – that the modded players were beating these players and others costing thousands more.

I evaluated several of the active well known modders such as APL, ModWright, Exemplar Audio, and Reference Audio Mods. What I liked about RAM was the emphasis on greatly improved musicality of the digital formats through the best quality power and further improvements to the clock and output stage to maximize resolution and dynamics. The other mod designs seem to implement tubes to add warmth and musicality. Warmth is not something I consciously seek, however I do enjoy life-like dynamics, deep fast definition in the lower bass registers, realistic acoustic instruments and human voice and natural, fast transients, with subtle, extended sounding decay. I’d like to keep my digital tubeless, because tubes often compromise dynamics at the low end. If I ultimately find my system lacking of warmth and am left to experiment with tubes, I will restrict their usage to the pre-amplifier component.

On to the review… From the time I spoke with Kyle Takenaga at RAM West, he was very clear about the design goals that embody his offering of ultimate digital performance for the Denon 3910 – quality power, quality components and low jitter. The 4 week turnaround exceeded initial projections by 2 weeks. I always assured Kyle that build quality and performance of the unit were my priorities, and that he should take whatever time he needed. It is difficult obtaining responses from Kyle via e-mail sometimes, but I am able to rationalize that guys like Kyle (Alex Peychev, Dan Wright, Rick Schultz, etc) must wear several hats when operating a smaller operations with less staff at their disposal. In other words, this is part of the modded player experience, though I imagine these guys will improve in the customer service department. The only other thing to note is that Kyle informed me that my unit would not be getting the separate Super Clock 3 Power Supply Unit. Kyle’s position was that RAM found the unit to sound better working off of the choke power supply. I asked if he would be updating the standard configuration of the RAM Denon 3910 in this way, however he never replied to the message. Not having received this answer, I am still left to wonder if it truly sounds better this way, or were they having difficulties obtaining the clock power supply.

The RAM Denon 3910 setup arrived safely in 2 separate boxes – the first containing the external transformer enclosed in oak hardwood chassis and the other containing the Denon player. The transformer is ncely finished and possesses considerable weight. There are specific instructions to only use the power supply with the Denon 3910 since it was specifically designed for the player. The PS puts out 180 VAC, which would destroy electronics expecting 115 VAC. I opened the Denon unit to visually inspect the work done by RAM. I took several photos, and will post pictures when they become available. All work seemed to be performed with good quality. There was also some strong noxious chemical odor emanating from the player – more than likely the C37 lacquer applied to certain chips.

Once powered on, I noticed a low level transformer hum emanating from the Denon unit. This is only audible with no music playing, within about 2 ft from the player. Kyle said that this was not something to be concerned about, and that additional damping material could be applied to the chassis if it was not acceptable. It really does not interfere with the listening experience at all, and I was primarily wanted to verify that this sound does not indicate a problem.

Upon spinning the first CD, it was already easy to discern that the new player is capable of retrieving a level of detail I had not known previously. Unlike the analog out playback of the Onkyo carousel, the RAM Denon plays a much more full bodied sound while layering the sound with a higher resolution of detail across the entire range. This is one of those cases where I didn’t realize the veil or congestion that previously existed, now lifted and presented in wonderful transparency and sense that individual instruments are conveyed as disparate signals. The imaging is superb, yet the soundstage has not really improved that much. The bass on Diana Krall’s “Live in Paris” RBCD was full of wonderful subtle definition, and Diana’s voice sounded wonderfully detailed, yet perhaps a little bit dry with some “hall” imbuing the overall presentation. The sound of the mandolins and guitars on my Nickel Creek SACD sounded a little steely, though the wooden quality of the instruments was definitely there, albeit slightly dry. My Tim Reynolds “Stream” HDCD also sounds wonderfully dynamic with lots of shimmer decaying from his high speed guitar riffs. Overall, the initial impressions were quite good for a brand new unit, though I was really hoping for some smoothing out as the unit has had sufficient play-in time. The presentation was still slightly forward and a tad dry, especially when the volumes were moderate to high.

I alternated playing CD’s and SACD’s continuously over the last 8 days. I’m happy to say that the sound has smoothed out considerably over the last 8 days of nearly continuous play. The reference quality detail and resolution is still there, but the body of the sound has evolved into something much more delicate and real sounding. Diana Krall’s voice now takes on a more organic living quality, and the steeliness of stringed acoustic instruments on several recordings has mellowed into a more effortless and relaxed – highly transparent, with spectacular imaging and now the soundstage has widened and deepened considerably over the Onkyo-Benchmark setup. I’ve been listening daily for several hours at a sitting since the system has broken-in and changed the sound characteristics into something much more refined and listenable. I feel the RAM Denon has smoothed out yet a bit more over this weekend, so things just continue to evolve to a more refined level. I guess those Rubycon and Jensen caps and SuperClock3 take over 150 hours to completely break in.

I also had the opportunity to run the digital signal (with it’s lowered jitter resulting from the Superclock 3) out to the Benchmark to determine if the RAM Denon’s digital and output section would outperform the highly regarded Benchmark DAC-1. The sound with digital fed to the Benchmark is also very good, and an improvement over the Onkyo’s analog output performance. As I A/B back and forth between the RAM Denon analog output and the digital played converted by the Benchmark, it is also clear that the RAM Denon played through it’s own analog outputs trounces the RAM Denon-Benchmark DAC-1 combination. The RAM Denon conveys superior detail, dynamics, naturalness of acoustic instruments and voice, and the additional decay and ambience information is more audible on the RAM Denon by itself.

The sound of RBCD is quite superb and beats anything I’ve listened to thus far. Even mediocre recordings are coming across as musical and engaging. My Tommy Emmanuel “Endless Road” CD sounds like a personal session with Tommy in the room, where previously I thought the recording was a little bit veiled or “miked” sounding. The SACD sound is even better, emphasizing all of the strengths of the unit – dynamics, resolution, detail, decay and ambience, and naturalness of acoustic instruments and voice. My Bill Evans “Waltz for Debbie” SACD is amazingly ambient and smooth sounding. The sound of the drink glasses clanging in the audience gives the illusion of being there while Evans articulates. Where previously my Onkyo-Benchmark RBCD actually had sonic superiority with regard to low level detail compared to the Onkyo’s SACD playback, the RAM Denon now seems to leverage some of the advantages of DSD to the point that it is (given a good DSD recording) audibly superior to the RBCD playback. I am on the prowl for more SACD software!

The acquisition of my new RAM modded Denon has improved my system more than any other component I’ve upgraded in my system to date. While the cost of the unit was steep at $4200, I do believe that there was a great improvement to my system to justify the investment in reference level digital playback. I am glad I followed my instincts and chose the RAM mods over some of the tube-based alternatives, and I do not feel any need to add the effect of tubes into my present sound presentation. I am resolved that my search for a digital source setup has ended. On the other hand, I plan to do extensive experimentation with AC power chords and interconnects to optimize my system to my listening preferences. The RAM Denon 3910 impressed me enough to write my first review. I have to remind anyone considering RAM to mod a unit that the spotty communication may very well be a part of the purchasing experience. In fairness, Kyle always got back to me eventually, though did not always answer all questions. If you keep trying to contact him, he will get back, but he does appear to have difficulty keeping up with e-mail communication at times. The RAM Denon was completed in a very reasonable timeframe, compared to some of the stories I’ve heard about the other mod businesses. As I said before, the performance of this player is superb and thus ends my search for a digital playback source. I highly recommend the Reference Audio Mods Denon DVD-3910 universal player. Enjoy the music!

Ken


Product Weakness: Low level transformer hum sound in the player, not a warm bloomy player if that is your preference
Product Strengths: Resolution, dynamics, ambience retrieval, imaging, transparency, capable of all formats (RBCD/SACD/DVD-A,HDCD, DualDisc), defeatable video circuit, good video performer


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: NuForce Refrence 9.02 monoblocks
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Bryston BP-20
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Onkyo DVCP-802, Benchmark DAC-1
Speakers: Selah Audio Tanzanites, Aurasound 12
Cables/Interconnects: Element cables interconnects
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jazz, Fingerstyle guitar, Bluegrass, Pop rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 12 x 21 x 16
Room Comments/Treatments: Area rugs on hardwood floors
Time Period/Length of Audition: 9 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Monster 5100 MKII
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Reference Audio Mods Denon DVD-3910 DVD Players - McGruder 17:22:55 05/21/06 ( 20)