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I just got the Denon 2910 DVD player. It has great video, and okay audio. The audio isn't quite up to the task of my Bel Canto DAC2, however. I'll post a review later when I've got more listening notes. Basically, the sound doesn't have as much body, and the soundstage is thin and ambiguous, and there is not as much air around voices. It's not a bad sound -- nothing objectionable -- just doesn't have the life that allows you to really enjoy the music. I've tried DAD and CD -- not SACD.I would like a universal player that has great video, all the newest video features, but also has great audio. I would like something that was on par with the Bel Canto. Does such a thing exist without paying huge dollars? Do I get something modded? I'm going to audition the 3910 in my system in the near future to see how that goes.
Follow Ups:
Here's a link to my mods notes:http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic.php?t=12613
For non-DIY capable people, EVS (www.tweakaudio.com) has a $300 mod for this player. They use Black Gates instead of the Panasionics that I specified, and then there's their time, so the cost is probably justified - but if you can soldier then you can probably bring it in for under $100 in parts. Of course they do some other proprietary things that they do not specify in their mods notes.
Here's a quote:
"The modified Toshiba sounds slightly better than the modifed Pannies so to me represents better value since it will play SACDs and does not invert the phase when the output stage is removed. It also puts out 1.5 volts rather than 1.1 (inconsequential to most except certain systems using passive preamp). "and this
"There are other decent inexpensive players including the Pioneer 563 universal player but this Panasonic is miles ahead of the Pioneer in sound quality. In fact, it sounds way better than the Pioneer 563 that I performed a $400 mod on. I am now currently using the Panasonic as my reference piece in evaluations of my forthcoming amp. It really is that good!!!!! "
So I guess the Toshiba SD4960 is now their reference after mods. Not a surprise to me.
Neil, I don't know if it will match the DAC 2, but the Onkyo sp1000 has gotten rave reviews for both its video and audio on avsforum.com and in European reviews. I plan on trying it soon.
Adam
First impression - it's very well made. I just checked to see if it played all formats and my black CD's and so far so good. It's too early for sonic impressions other than to say it sounds very quiet and smooth.
Adam
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See link below
...to replace my Denon 2900. Should be interesting to see what the differences are. I'm hoping for much better Redbook. The Onkyo lists for $1999 in the US but can be found on the net for $1547 with free ground shipping.
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NT
The 3910 has a much better audio section than the 2910. I doubt it will match your DAC2 though. For that you need to spend some serious money on a high end universal.
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