Denon DVD-3910 vs CD-only Player

Lhf63 - I have been doing some very similar stuff lately.

I recently picked up a nice TV (panasonic plasma) and as such, have been interested in a quality DVD player to go with it. I have a Jolida 100 CD player, which is widely regarded as a "contender" in the ~$kilobuck CD players. It's a really good sounding player.

I have been experimenting with universal players. If I can consolidate all my digital into one player, that would be ideal.

I started with an Onkyo SP1000.
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=DV-SP1000&p=i&class=DVD

This player easily has the best build quality of any universal cheaper than the $5 or $6k Esoterics. It is build like a tank, and does all the formats.

When I got it, I did plenty of A-B testing compared to my Jolida. The Onkyo definitely sounds better than the Jolida IMO. It really doesn't give anything up, and has a more "open" midrange. The music is a couple steps more transparent - sounds more like music, less like digital.

However - it had a problem with SACD. There was some strange background noise.
http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=hirez&n=230106&highlight=onkyo+sp1000&r=&session=

So - I returned the player. When I returned it, I found out that I "accidentally" bought a refurb player. Yes, it was my fault, but the vendor had the "refurb" thing pretty discreetly on the page, so...

I then bought the Marantz9600. About the same price as the Onkyo, but with much worse build quality. Flimsy transport. The interfaces for DVD were not as good as the Onkyo, and the remote was much more cheaply made. But of course the important thing, the Jolida sounded better to me on CD than the Marantz. The Marantz had an artificial sounding bloom on some of the upper mid-bass notes which I found distracting, and the midrange had a somewhat "hard" effect.

So - back went the marantz.

I bought the Onkyo again from another vendor (not a refurb this time!) and the issue with SACD is gone, and I love the player!

So - there you go. Good luck. I haven't tried the Denon, but I'm a bit put off by the build quality.

I should have written that I really enjoyed the stock 3910 and the video is fantastic. The mod that I did does not change the video and I only did it on a whim..

Bottom line for me is that I had a Denon 2900, and upgraded to the 3910 and it was a great decision. I bought it new in the box off of Audiogon for $750.

Bob_reynolds:
> The first thing I played is track one from Joni Mitchell's
> "Both Sides Now," which is an HDCD disc. My initial
> impression was: "this sounds good." It's better sounding
> than the Pioneer and my Cambridge D500SE CD player
> (neither of which decode HDCD). I listened for a few
> mintues and then played the same disc in the Arcam. The
> Arcam sounds a little warmer, the 3910 a little drier,
> the Arcam a little more detailed.

Thanks for the comments, and thanks to all who have contributed here. I'm still thinking over whether to maintain my 2-channel system or whether one system *has* to do both music and movies. I've given a lot of thought to both the Rotel 1072 and the Rega Apollo. The Rotel I can audition; the Rega I can't (at least apparently -- still waiting to see if Sound Org will get back in touch with me). The Arcam FMJ is above the price range -- anyone familiar with the Arcam Diva products?

Also, HDCD and SACD are irrelevant for me -- all my stuff is redbook currently, and I don't expect to buy much in either HDCD or SACD anytime soon.

Thanks again,
Lou