Absolute Sound pans Denon 2900 (1 Viewer)

[Stephen M]

Well, Reggie, you and I must have read different reviews. The review in SGHT describes the CD playback of the 2900 as brassy. As to SACD, the reviewer described the sound as overwrought (too warm, fat) and harsh. Hardly strikes me as a rave. Therfore I stand by my earlier statement that the audio end of the player was panned in the review. If I am misreading what was written, please let me know. Given the large number of CDs I have, top CD performance is essential for me in a universal player. I previously owned a Denon 2800 II before my Pioneer 47ai and liked it pretty well. I am interested in the Denon 5900 and maybe the new Elite 59ai

 

[ReggieW]

Stephen,

We'll just have to agree to disagree, because like Doug H above, I did not consider this review a pan in anyway. It seems to me that he took issue with some portions of the audio playback, but never said he didn't like it and said it was competive with other universal players in its price range. The terms "brassy" and "to warm" does little for my understanding. Someone wrote this about my NAD T762 receiver, but again, I have no problem with it. The reviewer did state that he felt just the opposite in regards to the video as opposed to the audio, if this is the case, then he obviously must've liked the audio? It appeared to me that he thought the 2900 fell behind the Sony 999es in video (again, objective tests from Secrets does not support this - nor do the images on my display) as opposed to audio. As a 2900 owner, I just threw in a few classical redbook CD's from Telarc and thought the playback was excellent using the 2900's DAC's. I have not owned very many high-end CD players, but it sounded at least as good as my old $500 NAD C541i did. I am realistic and do not expect a 1K Universal player to best a $2500 Arcam FMJ33 or Meridian 507. Btw, have you heard the 2900? I have never heard the 2800 MkII, but find it hard to believe that the 2900 could sound any worse with the same chasis design, weight, power supply, video/audio separation, and the addition of the 2900's upgraded DAC's. I think in the end it comes down to personal taste.


Reg

 

[Lewis Besze]

(too warm, fat) and harsh.

At the same time?
Harsh normally discribed as something has "harsh highs" which is the opposite of "warm".This is why I think of these reviews of so little to begin with.

 

[Iain.R]

Hi all

I have been following this thread with interest. I recently purchased a 2900 and have been very impressed with the performance to date on all formats. Reviews, particularly of audio performance are in my opinion very subjective as personal preference also plays a part. Out of interest I played the same cd on the 2900 and my Arcam CD player. Whilst there was a difference to the tone of the sound the denon did not appear to be harsh or brassy as described in the SHGT review in fact it sounded very neutral.
I suppose at the end of the day it is personal preference that is important and I would recommend anyone to audition the payer themselves before buying.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Stephen M]

Lewis; It is not unusual to have both a warm sound and harsh highs. In my experience, this is generally a recording problem with some modern recordings in which the bass and lower midrange is bloated and the highs are kicked up apparently to compensate. Must say that I cannot recall equipment review expressed in this way so your point is well taken. It would be nice if reviewers participated in forums like these to explain the seeming inconsistancies in their reviews. Anyone know why none do? I seem to remember some reviewers participating on some old forums four or five years ago.

Reggie: the terms I used in my response were direct quotes from the review so I stand by the opinion Having said that, I listened to music at my dealers with similar(Aeon v. Aerius) spkrs and thought the 2900 sounded fine. However, I did not think it sounded notably better than my 47ai which would warrant a home trial.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Anyone know why none do?

There are some people from "Secrets", DVD ETC, WSR,HT mag, are participating here and AVS forums.Among those John Kotches of WSR is the most frequent here.We also have WSR and DVD ETC separate forums here as well.

 

[ReggieW]

Stephen,

I agree with you on the 47ai. When I was looking for a universal machine, the 47ai was the front-runner until I found out that the video quality (chroma bug) didn't quite meet my standards. The new 59 is said to correct this problem. The 47ai does have the i-link, and this appealed to me, because at the time I was considering a Pioneer Elite 55TX receiver before I went with the NAD. I think as an audio component, the 47ai is excellent - no protest here, and when it came to choosing between the 2900 and 47ai, it came down to video and build quality, as audio was a coin toss imho. I think that if someone wants to buy a universal machine for under 1K simply for audio, then the 47ai is probably a no-brainer at this time, especially since I've seen them being offered new for around $600.00.

Reg

 

[ReggieW]

Iain,

Which Arcam CDP did you compare the 2900 to on CD playback, and what was your opinion on how the 2900 stacked up to it? There was an owner of the Arcam FMJ23 on AVS who said that he had to listen for a few hours before he heard a noticeable difference between it and the 2900. He said the Arcam was better, but the 2900 was no slouch on redbook and was competitive with stand alone CD players in the 2900's price range. This was in his opinion of course. I would think that the 2900 would be as good as the crop of $500-$700 CD players like the NAD C542, Rotel 1072, and Arcam CD73T. Some of the universal players have really taking a beating in the press when it comes to redbook, in the case of the ones I've heard, I just don't understand it.

Reg

 

[Iain.R]

Hi Reggie,
I have the Arcam CD82.

 

[Douglas_H]

Just came back to this thread. Kevin, if you are still reading it, I apologize for my somewhat harsh statement.
I shouldn't have said you were wrong. I should have said, my take on the SGHT review was different than Kevin Brown's.
And no I am not pissed off and I do not own a 2900. I have the 5900
I do however wonder why people place so much creedence in these reviews, especially the totally subjective style of TAS.
Peter Montcrief wrote an article awhile back about how SACD is actually worse than CD so I guess that settles that dilemma too. Thanks Pete.
I just bought my last cd, Let It Be - Naked. IMO, compared to dvd-a and sacd most sound like shit unless you have uber expensive gear playing a superb recording.
And by uber expensive I don't mean punkass $5000 transports and $5000 ghetto upsamplers on the front end. Real expensive gear. And then you have to listen so hard you're not really listening to the music only to the way it sounds.
Another reason I bought a universal player is I'm not getting sucked into the format war. I love having a player that does all 4 to my satisfaction. I don't care how transendant any Sony or Philips player sounds, period.
Marantz wised up. Now only if the dvd-a producers would.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I still wish Sony would do an ES universal machine.

I also wish that Marantz would get a clue and get rid of the chroma bug. I would have bought the 8300 or 8400 in a second, based on what people said of the audio quality.

The Secret's review of the 5900 is coming, the 59AVi is coming, and I'm still keeping an side-eye out for the Yamaha 2300 too. I'll be curious as to what the successor to the 2300 looks like.

 

[ReggieW]

Kevin,

Have you heard the 2900? Just curious.

 

[RobertR]

It's a source of amazement and fascination to me that people pay attention to these subjectivist audio reviews as if they're some sort of revelation of Ultimate Truth from an all knowledgeable guru. NONE of them bother with blind testing, NONE of them adhere to the idea that faithfulness to the master recording is a worthwhile goal, and ALL of them try to justify their existence by spending paragraph after paragraph finding mountainous differences that are no such thing.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Amen to that, Robert. (Interested in the first forty issues of TAS -- as I said, mint condition. )

 

[alan halvorson]

Well said Robert!

 

[RobertR]

Interested in the first forty issues of TAS

I don't think I have enough shelf space for Harry Pearson's ego, Jack.

 

[Chu Gai]

I don't know, I thought Skeletor was pretty powerful.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Ah, I was wondering when Chu would show up with wit, wisdom, and funny pictures! (Pssst, Chu: I know where you can get the first forty issues of Harry Pearson's mighty ego, all in mint condition.)

 

[Chu Gai]

That's got to be worth something...every thought of setting a price and seeing it it'll go on ebay? Can I post pictures of ummmm...firm...nevermind.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I figure I can get about $400-$500 from hardcore TAS readers with incomplete collections they started in, oh, 1985 or thereabouts.