shoe11 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 I'll get some pictures and comments up shortly. ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 O.K. Shoe. It's been an hour . What's the story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 Been in a friday afternoon work concall. I mean don't they know I have important things to set up and listen to? Quick first picture. Installation is a snap. First thoughts: Physically it's a more substantial piece as compared to the 999ES I've been using the last week. Heavier and larger. Tray mechanism on the Denon is better than the Sony. Loading discs on the Denon is much more secure than the Sony. The Sony provides a very thin platter with just tabs to hold the disc in place. Sometimes this led to it misreading inserted discs and sometimes when discs were ejected, they would tend to get pulled in. Anyway drive unit goes to Denon. Setup for both models is menu driven and anyone should be able to handle the basics without a need for the manual. I think the Sony is a bit more intuitive than the Denon and more polished. Haven't had a chance to dig into the feature set of this one yet as I did with the Sony. Both are quite easy when it comes to setting speaker config, sound levels, distances, etc. Haven't played enough yet. Remote is a toss up. I like each unit for different reasons..... Back to work....More updates the more I play ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike728 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Shoe, I just got mine yesterday. Maybe you can help me with something. I'm trying to figure out if SACD 2ch playback is supposed to be played through the analog outputs (FL1/FR1) or the 2 front PPCM outputs (FL2/FR2). I think it sounds cleaner through the 2's, but can't be sure. The manual doesn't mention anything about it. At least that I can find. I just remember that my Toshiba SD-9200 stated to use the analog outputs for all 2ch audio, including DVD-A. Thanks for any help you can offer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 Additional spur of the moment comments: 1) Owner's manual is a freaking book. I think Denon took user's complaints seriously regarding their previous attempts at documentation. 2) Unit lights up like an xmas tree when a disc is loaded. Very nice is that the display indicates which outputs are being used based on the disc inserted and mode selected. 3) Two panel buttons allow you to toggle through available play modes based on disc inserted. So if it's a hybrid SACD you can push the button to scroll through Multi, SACD Stereo and CD modes. Display updates to indicate outputs in use. Seek time between modes seems rather decent speed wise. Pure Direct button is also located on front panel to instantly toggle off video circuitry during audio playback. Definitely a Denon advantage. I really haven't been able to yet find out if the same options are avail by the remote. Work will be over shortly. If you guys have particular questions, please fire away. Now I have to say I'm an audio guy and as such I have an 11 year old 35 Mitsu running S-video from the 2900, so out of fairness to the unit, on video I probably ought to keep my mouth shut. Of course as I walked out with the 2900, I did find that I happened to stop and scope out the plasmas.... ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 ---------------- On 5/2/2003 2:37:30 PM shoe11 wrote: Been in a friday afternoon work concall. I mean don't they know I have important things to set up and listen to? ~shoe ---------------- I know, doesn't it just "P" you off. I mean how rude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 ---------------- On 5/2/2003 3:07:03 PM Mike728 wrote: Shoe, I just got mine yesterday. Maybe you can help me with something. I'm trying to figure out if SACD 2ch playback is supposed to be played through the analog outputs (FL1/FR1) or the 2 front PPCM outputs (FL2/FR2). I think it sounds cleaner through the 2's, but can't be sure. The manual doesn't mention anything about it. At least that I can find. I just remember that my Toshiba SD-9200 stated to use the analog outputs for all 2ch audio, including DVD-A. Thanks for any help you can offer! ---------------- Mike~ See my next reply... ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 Mike and all~ You could really use either pair for 2 channel SACD. The deal is that FL/R 2 are grouped into what Denon considers a multi-channel speaker config. If you plug your mains here you can then set all bass management properties for them through the menu. The FL/R 1 are straight 2 channel audio outputs. They provide full range signal and there is no bass management support for them. There is a toggle setting in the menu to determine which output is selected. As I have the 15's plugged into the sub preouts of my 3802, they receive signal even when the EXT IN analog outputs are enabled. If I plug the RF-7's into FL/R 2 I could set them SMALL as I have the sub for the low octaves or if I set them to FL/R 1, then the 7's will get the full signal plus the sub. So I'm going with FL/R 2. ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 The new Peter Gabriel SACD reissues sound sooooo good. Mo multi mix though. The two RSW-15's playing the drum line from Biko......oh damn that's nice! ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike728 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 What bugs me is if you use F/L 2 outputs, the amps in the receiver's unused channels stay biased. I think it could only induce noise. I just got done playing another 2ch SACD, and now I like the F/L 1 output better. I think it's just all in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Well Shoe,by the time my 2900 gets here I hope you have got it all figured out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerSix Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 I am anxiously waiting to see additional comments related to the 2900. It wasnt a year ago that I purchased the Denon 1600. Its been a top performer for me and Im reluctant to make a change until I hear more input on this new comer on the block. I really like the integration of SACD and DVD Audio. It was just a matter of time before more players would start doing this. My only concern is the analog connections. I have a Sony SACD sitting idle because of a lack of cable connections on my receiver (4802). Plus analog cables bypasses many of the features found on the receiver, the most notable being bass management. I certainly hope that the RIAA can one day get past their paranoia of using digital towards their newer formats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Questions: 1. How is the regular CD playback...I usually get a response that it's not as good as a nice dedicated used $400 CD player. 2. How is the picture quality compared to the 1600? Is it worth a premium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauRus Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 I just picked up my DVD2900 this afternoon as well. And I had one major set back even before I pluged it into the system - I could not believe my eyes when I read ... "made in China" ... I have never paid so much for a chinese product so far. This is a serious issue in my opinion. This might be an "old" view of things but I really prefer Japanese assembled electronics. Shoe and all other guys who already got their DVD2900 - is it the same with your units? Are they also assembled in China? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer9911 Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 Sounds like a quality Marantz piece eh..KIDDING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted May 4, 2003 Author Share Posted May 4, 2003 All~ RangerSix wrote: "My only concern is the analog connections. I have a Sony SACD sitting idle because of a lack of cable connections on my receiver (4802). Plus analog cables bypasses many of the features found on the receiver, the most notable being bass management. I certainly hope that the RIAA can one day get past their paranoia of using digital towards their newer formats." A) I agree with you regarding the analog connections when it comes to the clutter of needing to use 6 cables instead of one, the cost of said 6 cables and situations like your's in which you have 2 machines, but only one set of analog connections on your receiver. I do, however, prefer analog connections to digital for sound quality. This player is solidly built with high quality DACs for it's audio sources, and while my Denon receiver is of high quality, I'd prefer not to bypass the DACs in the 2900 simply so that I only had to connect one cable. Of course in a few years let's say a receiver/processor's internal DAC's end up with better stuff than my 2900 (which is sure to happen) then I'll want the digital out to take advantage of them. To me the best solution would be the availability of both for the reasons I just highlighted. By buying the 2900 I'm stuck with analog I realize. A factor I'm thinking about during my 30 day return policy. Lastly, I will say that the 2900 provides very complete bass management so I don't think this should be an issue for you. kjohnsonhp~ Questions: 1. How is the regular CD playback...I usually get a response that it's not as good as a nice dedicated used $400 CD player. A) As I've only had the unit a few days, I've been spending 100% of the time with the new Hi-Res formats and honestly haven't even played a regular CD yet. I plan to hook the unit into my Rotel 2 channel setup to get a better idea of how it compares to my RCD-1070. To be fair I expect the unit will need some decent hours on it before it provides a good indication of it's performance. I will say that with the high quality DAC's it ships with that standard CD performance should be very good. I'll let you know more once I try it out. 2. How is the picture quality compared to the 1600? Is it worth a premium? A) I'm aware of the 1600, but I have never actually viewed or used it. In fact, if I determine that my concerns regarding SACD/DVD-A's future cause me to return the 2900, then the 1600 is the exact player I will buy for strictly DVD video. I have viewed several movies on the player and in my opinion the picture quality is very good, but as I am still only using it's S-Video output and an 11 year old 4:3 set, it would be unfair of me to good beyond that inital impression. If you follow the link below: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=74d2abc1e5b65554bb054bee0c8bbf50&threadid=254191 The members on there are much more video oriented than I am and I think you'll get much better information regarding the 2900's video capabilities. I will say that the general consensus seems to be that the 2900 has very strong video quality. One thing that is stated in that thread that I can report on is how fast this player is with navigation. It navigates instantly and layer changes happen so fast, I haven't even noticed them in the movies I've watched so far. TauRus wrote: "Shoe and all other guys who already got their DVD2900 - is it the same with your units? Are they also assembled in China?" A) I'll check my unit out today and let you know, though I suspect they all are built in China. I don't really see this as an issue as I've owned various Denon units for over 10 years with no problems. Of course if I have issues with the player in the future, then of course my sentiments will change. The player is solidly built, feature rich and a fair price for what it provides in my opinion. I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt irregardless of it's build origin. ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike728 Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 Mine is made in China. If it wasn't, it would probably cost a few hundred $$$ more. I just hope it didn't come with SARS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurs Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 Made in China or not, after 48 hours of play I have to say i am extremely pleased with all aspects of performance. Barring future problems, this is one sweet unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauRus Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 Guys, here are my first few impressions of the DVD2900: - CD Audio - significant improvement compared to the audio performance of my inexpensive JVC DVD player ($250 two years ago)that served also as my primary CD player; - SACD/DVD-A - sounds very good through the analog inputs, but I got the feeling the tembre is a tad brighter compared to the sound when Denon 3803 is processing the sound (when I use coax output for regular CD playback). But I have not made advanced setups yet, so it might be attributed to disbalance between sub and other channels. - video - that's another area where I expected to get a significant boost in output quality, but Denon' DVD picture quality is quite comparable with the JVC XR-S66 Progressive DVD player that I also own. Both players have a very good picture, and I wonder whether this is because this is as close to the best DVD movie picture you can possibly get. I was hoping that 12 bit/108Khz video DACs would outperform old 16 bit/ 27Khz DACs easily, but honestly I cannot say that so far. Maybe I am blind, or maybe something else levels the playground for both players (my Hitachi 43" RPTV is not by any means a hi end TV set by today's norms, also I still have to get better quality component cables). So, I hope I still can get much better video quality by tweaking the system a bit more. I am not giving up on Denon by no means. :-) Summing it up, overall I am happy with the unit although my jaw did not drop to the floor as I expected, particularly in terms of video. This might be all in my head and you guys might have a dramatically different experience. Just wanted to share my first impressions of this unit. A brief description of my modest HT setup: Hitachi 43" RPTV Denon 3803 receiver Denon DVD2900 player JVC XR-S66 progressive DVD player JVC DU3000 D-VHS player Motorola cable set-top box Adcom ACE-615 Surge Suppressor Speakers: RF3 x2, RC3-II, RB5-II x2, Infinity CC1 (rear center), Quintets x2 (B surrounds), KLH ASW10-120 sub(a far cry from SVS but for now it is tolerable). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAiN64 Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 There seems to be bass management issues with this DVD player. Click here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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