Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners DVD players

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions about the Harman Kardon DVD 22 and DVD 31 dvd players? If so, can you please post.

What other DVD players would anyone recommend in the $250-500 range? I'm also not very concerned about the new formats yet.

I cannot comment on the H/K DVD players. I have been using a Sony DVP-NS975 for about a month. I use its HDMI output for video and the optical out for audio. I have not tried it for SACD's yet with a 5.1 set of cables. So far I have no complaints.

In that range the Denon DVD-1910 deserves a look.

shag, if you expand your search to include refurbished units, you might want to consider the Denon 2900, which is available at ecost right now for a remarkably good price. (All the way at the bottom of the page). Original MSRP was $1000.

ecost is an authorized Denon etailer and the unit would come with a 90 day Denon warranty. Head & shoulders above the $250-$500 players you might buy new.

I'm such a cheapskate. I watched this player drop in price, and I held off, thinking if I wait long enough it will bottom out. Well, they seem to have mostly disappeared now. Darn.

Which one is a better all-around performer? The older Denon 2900 or the newer 2910.

I have been looking at picking up a refurbed 2910.

I would go with tht 2910. It has a higher number so it must be better...

You may want to look at the DAC's on both to compare.

Curtis,

From an audio perspective, the 2900 is the hands down winner. The DACs are simple better.

Video becomes a different discussion. The 2910 does scaling, but I've seen it and none of the DVD players do it very well. The build quality of the 2900 is unbelieveable - built like a tank (uses the 5900 hulk and some if its innards). Both units have excellent PQ, but here is where the difference is.

The 2910 uses the Faroujda chip. Good chip, tends to produce a very sharp, "crisp" picture. Nothing wrong with that at all. The PQ is somewhat 2 dimensional looking. Does very well for video (camcorder) output.

The 2900 uses the Silicon Image chip. Also produces a sharp picture. However, the colors are noticeably brighter - the picture has more pop to it. Also, there is more of a 3D look to the picture.

I tried both of them with my Sony LCD based on some advice in a couple of threads on AVS forum. The 2900, because of what I mentioned above and the deinterlacer that the Sony uses was clearly a better choice for me. I kept the 2900 and I am thrilled with it.

I don't think you make a mistake with either choice, but the 2900 sits between the 2910 and 3910. If the 2910 is a o and the 3910 is a 100, then the 2900 is an 75. This is an overall scale/estimate of the capabilities of the machines.

Let me suggest you go over the AVS Forum and search in "DVD Players". Look for 2900 and 2910 and also "umr" (the guy who provided the advice. There are also a couple of significant threads here at Axiom recently that might be good to search. Of course your best option is to see them side by side.

Hope it helps.

Ray

Ray....thanks for the great advice.

I am not too worried about audio....I use the DACs in my pre/pro. This would be more of a video upgrade.....and would also affect the audio quality of DVD-A and SACD.

Were you able to compare how the DVI output of the 2910 compared to the component output of the 2900?

My other option would be to get a less expensive Faroudja unit such as the Bravo or Oppo, and use it for DVD-Videos only.

BTW, Ray, the last time you suggested something to me, I bought it, so please watch my pocketbook.

You may want to check out this unit. I have not compared it against the denon. Just a thought.

http://www.audioholics.com/productr...DVDChanger7.php