[mikeg]

My Exemplar Audio modded Denon 2900 is a fantastic performer. Exemplar still modifies the 2900, and I think that the price of modifying this unit is now substantially lower. It's the best audio investment that I ever made.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yikes There are several companies doing mods on these players. The most elaborate and expensive of these is the Exemplar Audio. Exemplar use to mod the 2900, and now they do the 3910. The full bore mod costs 4x what the player does, so it’s not for the faint of heart. It does however elevate the player to a performance level that is usually occupied by players costing north of $10,000. I am of course a little biased, I own one and love it.

 

[ssportclay]

I have a Denon 2900 that has been modified by SACDmods and I have been very happy with it.The very best player on the market to have modified for the best sound quality today is the Sony DVP-NS9100ES.This player does not have DVD-A,(no big deal in my opinion) but it should easily beat any Denon for sound quality once properly modified.

 

[mikeg]

Do you have both of these modded CDPs? Do you prefer the modded Sony to the modded Denon? Where was the Sony modded? What's the cost of the Sony player, plus the modification?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssportclay I have a Denon 2900 that has been modified by SACDmods and I have been very happy with it.The very best player on the market to have modified for the best sound quality today is the Sony DVP-NS9100ES.This player does not have DVD-A,(no big deal in my opinion) but it should easily beat any Denon for sound quality once properly modified.

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeg Do you have both of these modded CDPs? Do you prefer the modded Sony to the modded Denon? Where was the Sony modded? What's the cost of the Sony player, plus the modification?

I have not heard the modded Sony DVD-NS9100ES but the main reason it is a better machine than all of the Denon players is due to issues of DVD clock jitter which Sony engineering has done a great job of addressing.SACDmods Mods both players and if you go to the web sight you will learn more details of why the Sony DVP-NS9100ES is a superior machine to all of the Denons for sound quality after modification.

 

[ComfyCan]

Pardon the mini-hijack, but I figure that people who read this thread are likely to know the answer to this question:

Is it worth it in your view to spend this kind of money to get better SACD sound, when you only listen to SACD's through headphones? That's my situation, and the reason I've never considered going beyond my stock Denon 2200.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComfyCan Pardon the mini-hijack, but I figure that people who read this thread are likely to know the answer to this question: Is it worth it in your view to spend this kind of money to get better SACD sound, when you only listen to SACD's through headphones? That's my situation, and the reason I've never considered going beyond my stock Denon 2200.

Interesting point, especially when you consider SACD and DVD-A both offer one very good feature, surround sound mixed tracks.

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComfyCan Pardon the mini-hijack, but I figure that people who read this thread are likely to know the answer to this question: Is it worth it in your view to spend this kind of money to get better SACD sound, when you only listen to SACD's through headphones? That's my situation, and the reason I've never considered going beyond my stock Denon 2200.

What you are not considering is that some of these modified players will equal some of the $4000 redbook players at less than half the price.DVD video and SACD is just an added bonus.Is high-fidelity worth it ? My friend,the reason you are reading these posts is to find out how to achieve it.Headphones and speakers are not worth didly squat without a good source to start with and a good source is almost always very expensive.

 

[ComfyCan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssportclay What you are not considering is that some of these modified players will equal some of the $4000 redbook players at less than half the price.DVD video and SACD is just an added bonus.Is high-fidelity worth it ? My friend,the reason you are reading these posts is to find out how to achieve it.Headphones and speakers are not worth didly squat without a good source to start with and a good source is almost always very expensive.

Thanks; I do understand the importance of source, although I am still pretty new to this and have much to learn. I am a computer as source guy primarily, and that is not likely to change for a variety of reasons. I have invested a fair amout of money in getting a decent computer based music delivery syetem, and I am satisfied with it right now as a replacement for playing redbook cd's in a standalone player.

Thus, the only use I have for a standalone player (at the moment anyway), is to play SACD's. My question is grounded in curiosity about SACD specifically, since my only experience with SACD's has been Denon 2200>MicroAmp via RCA to Miniplug >headphones. The DAC in the 2200 is not as good as my MicroDac, so SACD's sound good on my rig, but not as good as a really well mixed redbook CD ripped lossless to my PC, and delivered to my headphones as shown in my sig. below.

So, with that background, the question is: with respect to the SACD format only, if you are a headphone listener only, does a modified universal player bring SACD listening to an entirely different level, or do you need speakers to truly appreciate what SACD has to offer?

 

[DigiPete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssportclay I have not heard the modded Sony DVD-NS9100ES but the main reason it is a better machine than all of the Denon players is due to issues of DVD clock jitter which Sony engineering has done a great job of addressing.SACDmods Mods both players and if you go to the web sight you will learn more details of why the Sony DVP-NS9100ES is a superior machine to all of the Denons for sound quality after modification.

Although Matt at SACDmods indicates that the modded 3910 Denon comes very close to the 9100ES, the differences are subtle.

If only redbook audio and SACD are the priority, get the Sony. If DVD video or DVD audio are important to you as well, the 3910 is better than the Sony in DVD video, and the Sony has no Hi-rez DVD-Audio capability.

You can hear great sound with SACD on a headphone rig. It all depends on the quality of your rig.

 

[Canman]

I've had the Denon 2910 in my system for a couple of days now. It has a nice solid build quality with good tactile feel (except for the remote control which feels a bit chunky in the hand).

At the moment I have it hooked up to my Panasonic 42" plasma through S-Video output. Both the video and audio quality is much improved over my old Pioneer DV-414. Detail and color is very good with minimal evidence of grain. The lack of compression artifacts is a big plus. I look forward to receiving an HDMI cable to test the internal upsampling in the Denon.

Audio quality with both CD and DVD is very competent. I have not tested through my headphones yet but through my stereo I am happy with the sound. It is balanced and crisp. My stereo setup is a Lexicon DC-1 preamp, Parasound HCA-1000A amp, and Energy C-2 speakers.

All in all I feel like I received a good product for the money. I would be curious to compare some of the current cheaper DVD players like an Oppo or Panasonic.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canman I've had the Denon 2910 in my system for a couple of days now. It has a nice solid build quality with good tactile feel (except for the remote control which feels a bit chunky in the hand). At the moment I have it hooked up to my Panasonic 42" plasma through S-Video output. Both the video and audio quality is much improved over my old Pioneer DV-414. Detail and color is very good with minimal evidence of grain. The lack of compression artifacts is a big plus. I look forward to receiving an HDMI cable to test the internal upsampling in the Denon. Audio quality with both CD and DVD is very competent. I have not tested through my headphones yet but through my stereo I am happy with the sound. It is balanced and crisp. My stereo setup is a Lexicon DC-1 preamp, Parasound HCA-1000A amp, and Energy C-2 speakers. All in all I feel like I received a good product for the money. I would be curious to compare some of the current cheaper DVD players like an Oppo or Panasonic.

Actually, I was kind of curious how it compares to the cheap universal players ($200 and <$200), as it itself is kind of a budget player. I'm interested in comparisons to the 970 oppo, samsung hd950, pioneer 563a, and whatever the panosonic model is.

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE Actually, I was kind of curious how it compares to the cheap universal players ($200 and <$200), as it itself is kind of a budget player. I'm interested in comparisons to the 970 oppo, samsung hd950, pioneer 563a, and whatever the panosonic model is.

The Oppo 971H is hands down the best ~ $200 player, but only if you're using DVI/HDMI. The Panasonic S97 is almost as good as the Oppo 971H at DVI/HDMI, but the Oppo's frequent firmware updates put it ahead. But, if you're limited to Component or other analog inputs on your TV, the S97 is as good as you're going to get in that price range. The analog audio output quality is also better on the S97 than on the 971H. The Samsung and Pioneer aren't competitive.

The Denon 2910's video playback is similar in performance to these two. Unsurprising as they all use the Faroudja FLI-2310 Decoder. The added cost goes to better audio playback and build quality.

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigiPete Although Matt at SACDmods indicates that the modded 3910 Denon comes very close to the 9100ES, the differences are subtle. If only redbook audio and SACD are the priority, get the Sony. If DVD video or DVD audio are important to you as well, the 3910 is better than the Sony in DVD video, and the Sony has no Hi-rez DVD-Audio capability. You can hear great sound with SACD on a headphone rig. It all depends on the quality of your rig.

I'm interested in DVD audio to play back my live 24/96 recordings, but won't likely use the video at all. Also upgrading my redbook playback over my aging Sony ES. Sounds like Denon is preferred for this.

 

[Sleestack]

I have owned quite a few universal players, including a fully moded Denon 3910, 5910 and Sony 999ES. I currently use the Denon 5910ci and Bel Canto PL-1A.

For 2 channel analog, the PL-1A sets itself apart from the Denon. In addition to having balanced ouput, it simply sounds crisper and allows for more detail. I also prefer the connectivity of the AES digital out on the PL-1A, but the 5910ci serves flawlessly as a digital transport. For multichannel audio, the 5910ci is excellent. I really can't tell any difference from the excellent multichannel output of the PL-1A.

The modded 3910 I had was excellent, however I realized that I don't like tubes in my source. In its stock form, it sounded very similar, if not identical to the 5910.

I really feel that the 5910 or 3910 are excellent choices. With the 5910ci, you get the best DVD video and have the basis for an ultimate universal audio player. No other player will allow you to get the best of both worlds. I am having my 5910ci modified, however without any tube output stage. I will add an AES digital out as well. In an audio only setup, especially a heaphone setup, I would stick with the PL-1A.

 

[Spareribs]

Now that the new Denon 3930 is out, I think I might grab that instead of the 3910. Perhaps at Christmas when it there is a holiday sale. Should be a nice stocking stuffer for me.