Need your thoughts on Denon 3910 vs McCormack UDP1


I'm a 2 channel fan who has just expanded to 5.1 with all McCormack electronics, with which I am very pleased. I just bought the 3910 over the UDP1 because of probable better video, more connection and adjustment flexibilty, and lower price.

Early impressions of the 3910 sound quality leaves me unexcited. It just sounds generaly mid-fi, when compared even to my 6 year old Classe CDP.5 which kills it for musicality.

So my options are either trade it back within a week for a UDP, which everyone that has heard it seems to rave about, and accept the no DVI/HDMI, less controls etc. Or eventually send the 3910 in to one of the major mod places, which everyone seems to rave about, and hope it sounds as good as a UDP.

My main frustration is that it seems I have to make this crucial decision without any possible way to actually compare the sound of a UDP to a modified Denon - what would you do?
Ag insider logo xs@2xbbeezley
Bbeezley, I think there are only two Exemplar 3910 done thus far. You are welcome to come to College Station soon to hear mine.
My problem with the UDP-1 is with the video secion. If it had HDMI outputs I would buy in a heartbeat. Component doesnt do it for the new digital TVs. I emailed them and they said that they had no plans to come out with an HDMI player anytime soon. I may get my 3910 modded but there are so many modders and no real comparisons of all these mods to figure out which one is the best.
Abrahavt - sounds like you've gone through the same thoughts. My Mccormack dealer says they pointed out to the company long before release that people would be disappointed would be with no dvi/hdmi to no avail. I just bought a HDMI cable to try with the 3910 today - maybe if I can't see any improvement that will help me justify the UDP.

Tbg - I'm sure I would find a comparison to a modified 2900 series helpful too
711smilin could you please report on some more specifics about the sound of the Exemplar - ie: what are its strong suits, any specific character to distinguish or describe its sound in your system?

Thanks
What if you mod the UDP-1 for an SDI output (like from JVB) and run it through an iScan HD? Then you could output DVI or HDMI and have scaling too. It would add to the cost quite a bit of course.