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Review: Denon APl 3910 CD Player

Category: Digital

Musical tastes : Patricia Barber , Deep Forest , Sting , Banco de Gaia , Seal , Steely Dan and anything from the FIM label . Recordings I use for testing are Chesky s Ultimate Demonstration Disc , Chesky s Women of Song , Patricia Barbers Modern Cool , Dean Peer s Its All Good , Diana Krall Love Scenes and all Burrmester discs . Most important aspect of sound reproduction to me is transparency , timbral accuracy and soundstaging properties. Turn offs are a bass heavy balance. This unit has been with me for 3 months. It replaced a Bat Vk D5 SE and marantz SA 1 . The sound changed by becoming more focused with a much larger soundstage .The players within a given ensemble seperated dramatically and it was much easier to look into the soundfield and place the space between the instruments. A favorite disc for this test is Deep Forest s "Music Detected". Each track is brilliantly recorded and is a fantastic disc for evaluating spacial characteristics of your speakers and how they react within your system . With the Denon , the sound wrapped around both sides of the room and enveloped me in a faux surround sound enviroment that no other player in my system had done. It was deeper as well as wider than any player I have ever auditioned .The Sacd version of Diana Krall "Love Scenes" is breathtaking in its imaging properties and the Denon was spot on . The acoustical envelope was clearer and more holographic with an extended top octave which added immediacy and air to percussive instruments and cymbols.A good example is Johnny Frigos "I Love Paris ". Stregnths were an obviously huge soundstage and quick midbass percussive attack. The arrangement is fast and taunt and the Denon seemed to place acoustical air around the musicians. It comes alive on the Denon. Lower bass was extended deeper and discs like the DVD-A version of Blue Man Groups " Audio " showcase the stregnths of the Denon by delivering a far superior percussive assault than the Bat , Marantz Sa 1 or the Meridian G 98 . Female vocals became natural and engaging. Rebecca Pidgeon s famous " Spanish Harlem " was so lifelike I felt like it was the first time I had heard the track. Instrumental " character " was better defined as cymbals became more easily deleniated from one another within a given song. Dean Peers " Its All Good" has a wealth of cymbal diversity on it and the decay and individual caracter of the various unique cymbals used are beautifully recreated through Alex Peychevs Denon 3910. I am no relation to nor affiliated to Alex or APl Hi Fi . I have also heard no better player regardless of price.
brainwater
puremusic
226 posts
 
Brent, While waiting for my APL 3910 to arrive, I'm trying to come up with a short list of PCs for the APL as a starting point to find an optimal one for my system. In view of your dramatic results with the Elrod EPS sig 2, I'll give it a try. Given your awesome system, the PC which was replaced by the Elrod couldn't be too shabby either. What was it? Any other PCs mate well with the APL in your system? I appreciate your sharing your experience with us. Thank you! John
brainwater OP
520 posts
 
Hi John . I tried the Virtual Dynamics Nite 1 , the Nordost Valhalla and the Xindak gold as well as a Elrod eps 3 in addititon of course to my present Elrod pcs. I have written of and stand by Xindak as offering real world performance at budget prices . For many systems , the Xindak cables , speaker , innerconnect and to some degree pcs all out perform much of the competetion at a fraction of their cost . As the components in a chain improve then the arteries must as well and that is why i have all but eliminated Xindak from my systems . They served me well however. The Virtual Dynamics is a good pc. I use it on my xover at the mmoment . It delivers a nice coherency in my system without drawing attention to any band of the frequency response . It is less transparent than the sig series of the Elrods however . I tried the nordost valhalla against the sig series as well as the Statement. The sig 2 and 3 offered greater dynamics , a more involving midrange envelope and trailed the top octave somewhat but still held its own . I thought overall , either sig was am improvement im my Pipedrteam system . The Statement simply outperformed the valhalla in every category for me. I have tried other pcs im my system but at different times so a fair comparison is not possible. I have been told by a very well respect AG member that PCs should not make an improvement on products that are properly designed in the first place. My answer is that from what i can tell , its obvious that they improve MY system and at every junction so I can only assume design flaws routinely exist in audio. I have two revealing systems that i test components out on. The Pipedream system you are asking me about and the Aerial 20 t Bat , meridian system . The Pipedream is the system I perform the majority of my experimentation on as it is the most revealing of the two. Microchanges in the system are at times obvious whereas the Aerial system is a constant source of pleasure but not ruthlessly revealing . Changing ics for example does not radically alter the soundifeld . Its a wonderful theatre however but for critical listenming the Nearfield Pipedream 21 system properly set up with a competent chain behind it is awe inspiring. Thanks for your kind comments John ! Brent
puremusic
226 posts
 
Brent,

Thank you for your response with the many descriptive characteristics of the various PCs that you have tried, as well as their relative merits in your system. This is very helpful!

My quest for a PC for the APL 3910 was inspired by an experience while auditioning the APL unit at an Audiogon member's home. When he changed to the Virtual Dynamics Nite 2 power cord (from Electraglide Ultra Khan revised), the improvement was pleasantly dramatic: 1) The levels of detail and coherence increased without sounding analytical. 2) The highs and lows had greater extension. 3) It was smoother and more refined without smearing the microdynamics and harmonic bloom. The sound stage was wider and deeper (way deeper). 5) It captured more of the vibrancy of music. 6) The bottom line: There was a significant increase in involvement and enjoyment of the music.

I understand Virtual Dynamics has a PC in their more elite Master Series. I have not run into anyone who has heard it. It would be interesting to compare the Elrod Statement with the VD Master.

At this stage, I would put the VD Night 2, the Elrod EPS sigs and the Xindak at the top of my short list. That is where I will start (and dream about the Statement and the Master). Other PCs that were recommended to me on my thread ("Mating power cords with APL 3910") include Wolf Carbon Source, Foundation Research, Mini Khan Plus, and the VH Aire Sine. I would like to get more feedback on these to determine the ones I should audition.

Once my APL arrives and I settle on a PC for it, I will immediately try to upgrade the power line conditioning and the power cords on my amps (Jadis JA80 monoblock tube amps driving the Wilson Audio Watt/Puppies and the Krell amp driving Wilson's WHOW). Next, the interconnects and the speaker cables. So, I have a long journey ahead. I appreciate very much your help to get me going on my upgrades.

Enjoy the Music,
John
brainwater OP
520 posts
 
Hey John , I need to try the nite 2 if you say its that good. Thanks. I also have a few Electraglide epihpany pcs coming and will move them around and let you know what i fine. As far as line conditioners , the best i have found is Jim Weils Sound Applications . His Reference line Stage is jaw dropping.
fplanner2000
616 posts
 
I would absolutely try the Elrod Sig 2 on the 3910, which is what I currently have. If you like it, the Statement is even "more of a good thing". In my system, I have a Statement coming from the wall, several Sig 3's, a Sig 2 and an Epiphany (preamp)and couldn't be happier with the performance, after trying what seems like 100 other cords. I've had very similar experiences as Brainwater every time I replace another "high-end" cord (no names - I don't want to offend anyone) with an Elrod Sig or Statement in my system.
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