Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Old vs. New

Neverhappy-
You must have a great relationship with a local dealer.... I don't think mine would let me keep buying and returning stuff everyday!

Yes, ummmm, today I'll try the Classe' stuff.......

I actually don't have to buy it. He just let's me take it. I bought my Denon 3805, Denon 2800MKII and over the years 3 TV's and one big screen from him. He knows I always buy something in the end.

Very Cool.

I don't think that would ever happen at my local Tweeter!

Does he carry Integra? I'm just curious how my 8.5 would stack up to the Denons. So far, I'm pretty dam impressed. It has a better picture than the Toshiba 6200. Plus, it plays CD's remarkably well.

Of cource this all my opinion based off very limited A/V auditioning.

No he doesn't carry Integra. Are you talking the DPC 8.5? I hate to say it but if you are and based on the Secrets results for example, the Integra would probably not fair well versus most of the upper end Denon's. The DPC 8.5 scored a 38 out of 100. If you take for example the new 3910 from Denon, it scored a high of 93. These guy's also don't monkey around with the testing they do. There is no if and or butts with these guys. Everything for the most part is based on fact.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=120

Well we played with the 2910 for a few day's and did a side by side with the older 2900. To be honest they both put out a fantastic picture. The 2900 displayed a picture that was equal to the 2910. The 2910 has a few more bells and whistles but if it was me, I would save the bucks and get the 2900. It can be had cheaper and seems to do DVD video just as well as the newer 2910. I was thinking about trying the 3910 next but I honestly don't think I need to. From all the reports I have read and given the guts of both players, I don't think the picture on the 3910 will be any better then the 2900 or the 2910.

What this has done however is made me real curious on the 5900. From all accounts this thing has the best picture of almost any DVD player out there but I'm not sure I can justify the money.

Hey, NeverHappy (and now I know where the name comes from) where do you do your electronics shopping? I'm sick of dealing with morons in all the stores I've looked at in the city (visions, FS, although A&B is pretty good) and it seems like where you shop may be a better experience?

At current prices, the 2900 is an absolute steal. The 5900 is and has been suffering from something called macroblocking. Since I don't have one and wasn't interested in getting one, I didn't take the time to determine what macroblocking does to the picture. The denizens at AVS Forum are pretty lathered up about it.

Here's a tidbit in non-technical terms as well. The 2900 (as well as the 2200 and 3800) uses the Silicon Image chip which provides a a better picture for film (DVD movies), while almost all other Denon players use the Faroujda chip. I've seen information that says Denon would prefer to use the SI chip but 1) its a bit more expensive and 2) there is a small issue (nit picking, really) relative to MPEG decoding that SI hasn't fixed yet.

For some TVs, the SI chip is an absolute match for denterlacing. The Sony Grand Wega LCD ( I have this TV) is one of them. I decided to get a 2900 when 1) I saw recent traffic on the DVD forum at AVS , most notably from umr, about the 2900, 2) I got a $500 gift certificate as a recognition item at work (limited use, but Crutchfield was one of the places and 3) the price of the 2900 dropped to $700 at Crutchfield.

I had the 1600 and it was excellent; still is in 3rd or 4th place since 2001 in the Secrets DVD Shootout and the 2900 is right below it. The 2900 rating was influenced by the MPEG thing, otherwise it would closer to the top of list. Anyhow, I love the 1600, but the 2900 took me to entirely new level. Sharper, more vibrant colors, 3D like picture AND it has a set of killer audio DACs. Whatever the MPEG issue is is not noticeable to me.

Kris Deering at Secrets and umr both have a 3800 with the SI chip and they explain that it is the best picture they have ever seen. The 2900 uses the same Si chip and it is stunning.

Forum traffic suggests that the 2910 and 3910, while excellent units, may represent a small step backwards in some respects compared to the 2900.

There is quite a bit of info at AVS in the DVD forum, too much to link to here. If you have an interest, that info will give you a great perspective on current Denon DVD players and ubderscore what an outstanding unit the 2900 is. The net of all of this is that the 2900 is an incredible unit on a relative basis, especially with the price reduced as it is. Please don't regard this as a "fanboy" post. I spent an enourmous amount of time researching and auditioning between the 1600, 2910, 3910 and 2900. The 2900 simply stands out.

In reply to:

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Hey, NeverHappy (and now I know where the name comes from) where do you do your electronics shopping? I'm sick of dealing with morons in all the stores I've looked at in the city (visions, FS, although A&B is pretty good) and it seems like where you shop may be a better experience?

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Check your PM. As for our little city. Visions is a joke. I can't stand them. Any company that puts out a flyer that includes great deals but yet when you go down to grab one, the answer is "Out of stock" I hate that and they do it all the time. A&B actually isn't to bad but other shops in town always beat the prices they call "The Best" deal in town. As for Future Shop, I call it "Butcher Shop" for a reason. I don't even go in the place anymore. I also won't deal with Audio Warehouse and a few others for various reasons.

I was looking forward to Best Buy but after getting in and out of there a few times, I doubt I will go back. Prices are average at best and I had a headache by the time I left. If one more person had come up to me and said "You know we don't get commission right?" I would have gone postal

macroblocking is a "not so nice to look at" artifact of the compression algorithms used to fit feature-length movies onto DVDs. It is most often apparent in areas of mostly uniform color on the screen.

This page has a great explanation.