[HumanMedia]

Ok Im home.

The exact controls are:

Pure Direct Select (on front of unit/remote) - this controls turning off the video circuitry, digital outs and front LEDS. The net effect of all of this is substantial.

Source Direct - only accessible from an attached display in the player settings (unless you remember the exact key sequence - learning remote?)) this turns off bass management, speaker distance and levels and turns on DSD decoder straight to analog (no resampling)


Remember that unless you have all speakers of the same volume and distance away, the Source Direct isnt recommended for multichannel music as none of the delay timings will be right. But for Stereo playback regardless of setup its the optimal setting.




ALSO:
I know the well endowed Welly Wu recommends the 2910 over the 2900, but if you dont need the bass management/speaker volume and distance settings, or only listen to stereo, then the 2900 has superior audio circuitry all of the way through and the analog stages are closer to the 3910 than the 2910. So if you have these requirements and are only using it for audio, the dirt cheap 2900 is a superior audio unit.

 

[HumanMedia]

Links of interest:

AVSForum 2910 thread (early issues are solved using firmware updates):
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&goto=lastpost

Owners Manual
http://www.usa.denon.com/DVD2910_ownersmanual.pdf

Official USA Denon Firmware Page:
http://usa.denon.com/ProductUpdatesUpgrades.asp

Unofficial Firmware Page
In the USA you can get the Firmware update direct from Denon for free (above link), so go that way by default. Otherwise if you are willing to risk rendering the player unusable, you can go the risky unofficial route:
http://www.denon2910.freehomepage.com/

I hope this is helpful to you all.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu For the money, especially at its street prices, it is a tremendous value. However, if you have upscale home theater equipment, the Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi, NOT the Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi, is still the price : performance ratio leader for DVD-Video players. The Denon DVD 3910 is even better by a few margins.

I am searching for an DVD player with HDMI output to pair with a Panasonic 42" plasma panel. Are you recommending the stock Pioneer DV-59avi over the Denon 2910 for video (HDMI)? Or are you speaking only in terms of your modded unit?

 

[Welly Wu]

I recommend the stock Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi over the Denon DVD 2910 for better picture quality especially if you have an HDTV. My ModWright modified unit only effects the sound quality and it leaves the video board untouched. Go get it as the street prices are usually around $650 - $800 USD. Check videogon.com as well.

I am in the market for an HDTV. Probably this Westinghouse 27" 16:9 widescreen LCD HDTV with a built in ATSC tuner: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gab5ZBj...0&I=647LTV27W6 . When I buy it next month, I will let you know how it looks with DVD-Videos through my player. Go get this HDMI cable because it is good and cheap: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/dvi/index.htm .

 

[Spareribs]

Thanks for the tips!

So you are saying that for the 2900, if I don't need bass management, the 2900 has better audio all around.

If I am listening only with headphones, bass managment is not neccesary? Is that basically a speaker/subwoofer issue?

 

[Welly Wu]

First of all, I owned the Denon DVD 2900 and I have auditioned the newer Denon DVD 2910. Both are terrific values for the money.

For two channel headphone listening, it is unnecessary to turn on the 0.1 LFE channel and thereby, bass management. I think that the Denon DVD 2900 / 2910 has a fixed bass management crossover point of 80Hz. If you do not connect that subwoofer jack to a subwoofer, you won't hear the output anyway. The Denon DVD 2900 is discontinued and no longer available for sale. Get the DVD 2910 because you can turn on or off the bass management and subwoofer which gives you flexibility when switching from a two channel headphone system to a 5.1 channel home theater system.

Who are you talking to anyway?

 

[Spareribs]

Thanks Mr Wu!

 

[HumanMedia]

A couple more tips:

*Get a shielded power cable for this - the Volex 14AWG shielded is perfect
*Get a nice interconnect for it also - I use a VH Audio pulsar for stereo use, and simple Blue Jeans for multichannel
*The unit can vibrate playing some discs and spiked feet seem to help considerably. Nothings fancy just cheap stick on spikes. i am going to try some rubber ones to isolate it to see if that is better.


Further comments
After this thread I decided to go and compare the playback to the Zhaolu Redbook playback. I have to say the Zhaolu is still better than even the 2910 SACD (although it cant match the high frequency detail of the SACD) as the Zhaolu's midrange is exceptional. When getting interconnects get ones that bring out the midrange.

 

[Welly Wu]

For less than $100 USD easily:

Blue Jeans Cable Component & Stereo RCA cables: http://www.bluejeanscable.com (they look and sound as good as ultra high end name brand cables; check my review)

Volex 17604 power cord: http://www.carlton-bates.com (order a minimum of 5 cords to avoid extra fees)

Vibrapod Isolators: http://www.vibrapod.com

These will help maximize your audio and video performance for little money.

 

[Spareribs]

Thanks for those cable tips. They will be very very helpful!

Audiowise, could the 2900 be the same as the 5900? or at least very close?

Denon 2900: Burr-Brown 24-bit, 192-kHz DSD-1790 Audio DAC

Denon 5900: Burr-Brown 24-bit, 192-kHz DSD-1790 Audio DAC

Here's my source:

(just scroll to the bottom and see)
http://www.lightav.com/home/denon/dvd.html

 

[Welly Wu]

Sound quality is more than just the D/A converter. It is also the quality of the power supplies and analog stage output. The older and discontinued Denon DVD 5900 (which has been replaced with the newer Denon DVD 5910 statement product) had two separate and isolated power supplies along with a separate analog stage output board. The Denon DVD 2910, due to its smaller chassis and lower price point, has an integrated switching power supply and its analog stage output board is not nearly as sophisticated as the more expensive Denon DVD 5910. So, I would not expect the Denon DVD 2910 to be equivalent to the Denon DVD 5910 in terms of sound quality. HOWEVER, the Denon DVD 2910 shares a lot of common circuitry to the more expensive Denon DVD 5910 sans the separate toroidial power supply and analog stage output board. I have read numerous customer complaints that have me to believe that the Denon 2900 and Denon 5910 do sound similiar in terms of sound quality. I have heard the Denon DVD 5910 and it does sound pretty good, but it does not play all formats equally well nor does it sound particularly good with regard to its CD playback performance either.

A universal DVD-Video player is a set of complex compromises. Either you get one manufactured for a videophile such as the Denon DVD 5910 or you get one manufactured for an audiophile such as the McCormack Audio UDP-1 Deluxe or Bel Canto Design PL-1, PL-1a, or PL-2, or Linn Unidisk 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, or SC. But, you can not have both cutting edge, state of the art, and multiple editor's choice award winning audio and video performance with one single universal DVD player.

That is why I decided to back away from SA-CD, DVD-Audio, and universal DVD players because of this frustration. I decided to get an Ayre Acoustics CX-7 Evolution CD player and my e-check should clear with the Home Theater Group this week.

At the end of the day, I am after an extraordinary musical experience. I am no longer chasing the latest audio or video formats.

Still, a universal DVD player is a very good value : performance ratio due to its flexibility and versatility. You can get good audio and video performance in one machine, especially the Denon DVD 2910 which I have used in the past, for well under $1,000 USD. I do no recommend that you spend more than $1,000 USD on a DVD-Video player at this point since HD-DVD and SONY Blue-Ray are coming out this year.

 

[Canman]

I bought a factory refurbished 2910 on ecost today for under $380 shipped:

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/...pno~176661.asp

As long as the video quality is good over HDMI to my soon to be purchased plasma panel I will be a happy guy. The refurb is cheaper than the $500 the players are being listed for on audiogon, so I decided to give it a shot. Seems like a nice deal.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canman As long as the video quality is good over HDMI to my soon to be purchased plasma panel I will be a happy guy. The refurb is cheaper than the $500 the players are being listed for on audiogon, so I decided to give it a shot. Seems like a nice deal.

Just be aware that the DVD-2910 uses the Faroudja FLI23xx deinterlacer, and therefore is affected by its macroblocking issues. You may notice this on your display, and you may not.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel Just be aware that the DVD-2910 uses the Faroudja FLI23xx deinterlacer, and therefore is affected by its macroblocking issues. You may notice this on your display, and you may not.

Yes I am aware. It seems that many of the higher end DVD players use this Faroudja chip. If it is a problem then I will seek out a Pioneer DV-59avi instead. According to Secrets of Home Theater Benchmark Tests, the Pioneer does not exhibit macroblocking but has its own set of issues.

 

[imported_Matt_Carter]

So Welly Wu how long you been working for Denon...?