Denon 2900: Questions, comments

Read the review in the new Absolute Sound along with a few other models. The Yamaha looks like a good deal and got a pretty good review.

A couple of more review links from Bill Gaw at Enjoy the Music.com for those interested. here and here.

Bob

Bob: The sonics of the SACD 1000 and the Denon are very different from on another. Whereas the Philips was definitely very warm, soft and full bodied, the Denon is measurably more open and forward while also having better harmonic structure and air. Whereas the Philips seemed to open up gradually, the change was not drastic. I had to do quite a bit of experimentation with the SACD 1000 to get it to where i wanted it sonically. For the record, i preferred Magnan III interconnects and a Chris VH Flavour II power cord on this unit when all was said and done. Those are the support components that i found to work most suitably with the sonics and components that i wanted out of this specific system.

As to the Denon, it seems like it is very slow to "break in" but is going through a bigger change than the Philips did as it settled. I have spent far more time with the Denon in terms of playing specific discs on repeat mode than i had to with the Philips. The sound of the Denon is still measurably more forward but has both leveled and smoothed out over time. Depending on the flavour of one's system / personal preferences, the forwardness of this player may be hard to deal with. Bare in mind that i'm still using the stock power cord and have not experimented in this area at all.

I've tried a few different interconnects and ended up using some inexpensive cables that i've found to work pretty well in some specific installations. The cables themselves measure pretty well in terms of electrical characteristics desirable for an interconnect, so they aren't "trick cables" in terms of severely rolling off any specific frequencies. They are of a coaxial design with an extra shield ( foil ) using inexpensive gold plated connectors. I've included a few links to some comments made about these cables on Agon from an end user. There are a few others here that have tried these cables and had similar results, replacing highly rated cables costing hundreds of dollars with them. As i've stated before, it's not so much what you spend or what brand name is on it, but how well it performs within your system. I am NOT a "brand name snob" or "cable snob" so much as i am a "synergy snob". If it works good and makes the music more enjoyable, who cares what it cost or who made it. These cables are doing the job, so that's what i'm using. If i find something better, i'll use it. Even if it costs LESS money : )

Rw: I read that review and came away with the feeling that the reviewer didn't adequately break the unit in. There is no mention in ANY of these reviews as to how long these units were used / listened to, how they were broken in, if other support components were changed to better suit each DUT ( Device Under Test ), etc.. The 2900 that i have has NO problem reproducing deep bass. That is, if it is there. If anything, i would say that the reviewer himself is not very skilled in communicating his thoughts and / or is not a good listener and / or did not take the necessary steps to truly evaluate what this player is capable of. Just because the presentation is forward does not mean that the extremes are rolled off as communicated in this review. I had typed out a response to TAS with similar comments in it, but quite honestly, i don't have much faith in Robert Harley. This is true even though i found him to be a very pleasant person to talk to.

As a side note, i think that both of these players have very specific sonic signatures in stock form. One would have to try them within the confines of their system to see if they would blend with their other components and personal preferences. This is especially true if you aren't good at or willing to tinker with support components like interconnects and ac cords. Sean
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cable comment #1

cable comment #2

cable comment #3

Sean, thanks for the comparison. Appreciate your insight and thoughtful response. Will contact you about cables if I end up needing more for that &*$%@& 6-channel analog connection. Hopefully they will get a universal digital interface worked out soon, probably NOT something the cable manufacturers are looking forward to!

Thanks again,
Bob

I replaced an elcheapo Pioneer DV45A with the Denon 2900. I notice improved SACD audio quality, but not anything dramatic for DVD-A and CD. I leave the subtle audio evaluations (with various interconnects, etc.) to others.

However, I must comment on the purely functional aspects: loading discs and the like. In this regard the Pioneer was much better. Sometimes the Denon will not load a disc until I recycle it. The Pioneer had a nice feature: if you turned its power off while the disc drawer was open it would close the drawer before shutting down. The Denon takes much longer to load a disc. Little things, but I winder why, at more than twice the price, Denon couldn't get it right like Pioneer.