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REVIEW: Denon DVD-2900 SACD Player (Modded)

198.81.26.75


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Model: DVD-2900
Category: SACD Player (Modded)
Suggested Retail Price: $999.00
Description: DVD-Audio/SACD Universal Player
Manufacturer URL: Denon
Manufacturer URL: Denon

Review by Licata ( P ) on April 10, 2004 at 19:41:51
IP Address: 198.81.26.75
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First things first. I’m a newcomer to all of this. I’ve been a musician all my life and have loved music since I first heard my Dad’s record player crank out Sinatra in my crib. As the years progressed, touring the world as a drummer in a few huge pop bands has paid my rent. Nothing has excited me in the last year as this website (and www.head-fi.org). Even though the high end in my head is a little shot from years of cymbals, they’re not too far-gone to enjoy something amazing. High end audio. After religiously poking around this website for months, I started getting absorbed into all of your daily posts. I wish I could explain what I’m reviewing in audio terms that most of you excel in but I ‘m more of the common man who only knows what he likes. I’m not at all putting down the technical aspect of your reviews at all. I have too much respect for every single post I read on this site. I just don’t want to sound like an amateur by trying to compete with deep insight of gear when I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. For all I know, I have a flux capacitor in my new Denon-2900. As long as it rocks my world, GOOD. So, I guess you could say my views and thoughts on my new modded Denon-2900 are coming from a layman’s standpoint and I’m hoping to speak everyone’s lingo soon. I’m trying my best.

First thing I did to compete in the higher end audio world was to buy the Antique Sound Lab MG-Head OTL Mark II (with the upgraded power supply). Thanks so much to the amazing Nick Dangerous reviews of proper tube choices for this rig. I listened to everything he said and I reviewed each one myself. He was right on all counts. Nothing else came close to my final choices. I ended up replacing the stock tubes with his recommended JJ Electronic EL84's. His other choice was to replace the stock 12ax7’s and I did with a NOS, Sylvania blackplate, 3-mica 5751 (marked JHS). All tubes were bought from www.audiotubes.com. At the time (6 months ago), I was running my Sennheiser 600’s with the stock cord. I was playing the rig through a Pioneer DV-563A. I know, I’m sorry. I was young and wacky and didn’t know what I was doing. That model was the new cheapo Universal player that you could pick up for about $175. I love DVD-Audio/SACD and I really didn’t understand yet how important your source piece is. I loved that rig for a few months but then I realized you’re only as strong as your weakest link. My headphone amp was great, my cans were great, my Audioquest Diamondback interconnects cost a pretty penny and the bug hit me. How can I make it better? First, Sennheiser announced the new 650’s. Not only did I pick them up, I begged Drew at Moon Audio to find me the Silver Dragon replacement headphone cord. He told me they were WAY backordered and it could be a few months before he got anything in. I begged, groveled and he eventually (because I think he felt I needed medication found a 15’ set for me. I bought the new 650’s and the Silver Dragon’s from Drew at a great price. When they finally arrived, I burned them in for close to 100 hours and finally put them on. Much, much better than the 600’s with the stock cable. They really freaked me out. Much tighter bottom end and sweet, sweet highs. A much more controlled sound. I’m not sure what was really making the magic-the new 650’s or the Silver Dragon’s. All I know is that when I played the redbook of Prince’s NEWS (his recent instrumental jazz CD), it sounded like the bass player plugged direct into my headphone amp. The slap of the drummer’s sticks on the toms was just shocking. It easily sounded 10 times better than my old rig. And don’t forget, this was still on the Pioneer DV-563A. Many thanks to Drew at Moon Audio for amazing customer service. I’ve read all about how the Zu Mobius are the supposed best cables on the planet for the 650’s. Ridiculous. I’ve heard a thoroughly broken set of Zu’s and the Silver Dragon’s smoke them. Plain and simple. The only reason why you don’t see as many posts regarding Drew’s Silver Dragon’s anymore isn’t because they’re not hot. It’s because YOU CAN’T GET YOUR HANDS ON A PAIR Whatever the wait time is on these great cables, you should patiently sit by your mailbox and be kind to your mailman. The combo of Silver Dragon’s with the 650’s is mind-boggling. Sooooo, with new cans in place, my next venture is what brings me here to you folks today. How can I make it better? I was turning into a lunatic with clean sound and I wanted to hear the SACD of Dark Side Of The Moon as if I was in the studio recording it with Pink Floyd. Believe it or not, the Pioneer Universal player was doing a good job but I knew I could turbo charge my life once more. I began researching better source players. For a while, I considered the Marantz 8260. This was the rig everyone swears by if you’re looking for inexpensive sonic heaven. But it only plays Redbook and SACD. I love DVD-Audio, too. I probed deeper and found the Universal players- Marantz 8400 and Denon 2900. I just can’t see spending too much on anything nowadays because prices keep crashing, as technology gets better. To spend mad cash (that I don’t have) on something that won’t fully make me happy doesn’t make sense. I’d have a great Redbood/SACD played but every time I’d fire up the 8260, I’d think about how I can’t play my 25 DVD-Audio discs. Or if I fired up the Universal 8400, I’d be mad because the price dropped $500 in three months. I looked good and hard at the Sherman Tank known as the Denon 2900. After reading many positive reviews on this rig, I realized this was coming home with me soon. As soon as I made up my mind, the life changing realization of MODDING hit me like a brick in the head. I never knew what that meant. Again, please forgive my inexperienced cluenessness for you veterans. The more research I did, the more I figured that I could turbo charge my new 2900 and make it something bionic worth much, much more than what I paid. I also found out that audio gear isn’t changing as dramatic as month to month. If I spend bucks to Mod my 2900, chances are it’ll be the same rig I’m using in 5 years. The way I looked at it is good, clean sound is good clean sound. If I have all three of my favorites in one piece (RB, DVD-A, SACD), why upgrade? The biggest problem I had was I couldn’t find many Mod packages for the Denon 2900! I was very surprised because my research told me how this piece was one of the most popular Universal players out there in its price range. Especially for those newcomers who wanted to begin treading into the “entry level high end” world. I couldn’t believe only ModWright had a package and it was really pretty vague.

I did the research and found 4 or 5 of the best Modders in the country. I spoke to 3 or 4 and to my surprise; I found the guy I liked best is right here in Southern California. I can’t tell you how great a guy Kyle Takenaga at Reference Audio Mods is (www.referenceaudiomods.com). I started terrorizing him with questions about all things MOD and he never tired of listening and answering. I thought for sure he’d get Caller ID because of me. He explained what great Modding could do for a player. I decided to spend the money and let Kyle create on my 2900. At the time (3 weeks ago), he didn’t have a package for the 2900. He opened it up, did his magic and created a 5-step mod package that was installed in my 2900. After about 10 days, Dr. T was done. His five-step package includes adding an Audio Board Capacitor Kit; Super Regulator Kit; Power Board Capacitor/Diode Kit; Superclock 2 upgrade kit; and a Silver Coupling Transformer Kit. I brought my new Cadillac rig home and burned in for about 30 hours. I wish I could explain to you in technical terms how amazing this new 2900 is. All I can say is that Kyle felt it was the most dramatic Mod package he’s ever done. He A/B’d it with a Modded Denon 5900 ( he didn’t do it) and my 2900 killed it. What is surprising to me is just how great Redbook sounds to me. I put on an old 1990, Prince, imported, re-mix of Erotic City. For a 14-year-old CD, the sound, detail and nuances were staggering. Bottom end sounded like thunder. I then moved over to Jeff Beck’s SACD-Blow By Blow. Bottom line: I have never heard anything like this in my life. Funky clavinet going from right to left and back again with this killer flange unit on it. It’s all happening as if you’re in the studio with these guys. And it’s 30 years old. DVD-Audio is also life changing. The most recent Steely Dan is amazing. Boz Scaggs-DIG is probably my favorite. Even though there is no 2 channel, MLP track, the 2900 easily downmixes and sounds absolutely superb. The old Pioneer would downmix a 5.1 MLP and it sounded cloudy. The Denon/Dr. T downmix is astonishing. It doesn’t seem to lose anything sonically.

I’ve heard my buddy’s Denon 2900 and I loved it. That’s why I bought mine. I am now afraid to have him come to my house. When he hears what Dr. Kyle T did my rig, he’ll terrorize Kyle and put him back to work until he creates a mod to surpass mine.

Lastly, I’m using my modded 2900 primarily for audio and only with my headphones. It’s only hooked up to a little monitor so I could utilize my DVD-Audio. I haven’t checked the video portion but Kyle said it was also stellar, as the new mods clean up everything in its path. It’s pretty crazy that I have such a turbo charged unit with no concern for video quality. I’ve listened and learned about audio by reading all your posts over the last 8 months. I want to thank Drew at Moon Audio, Kyle at Reference Audio Mods, and everyone who participates in this website because I now have a passion that keeps me home at night. Thanks for listening to my rambling.


Product Weakness: Still waiting for burn in to finalize the audio paradise I'm already loving.
Product Strengths: Where do I begin?


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Antique Sound Lab MG-Head OTL Mark II
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Denon DVD-2900
Speakers: None
Cables/Interconnects: Audioquest Diamondback
Music Used (Genre/Selections): All
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Denon DVD-2900 SACD Player (Modded) - Licata 19:41:51 04/10/04 ( 35)