Denon DVD-2900 DVD Player Review

DVD-2900 Player Overview and Setup

For quite some time now we had been criticizing the hardware implementation limitations of DVD-A/SACD players based on their lack of bass management and digital delay compensation.

Soon after, a few manufacturers began releasing universal players to handle, or less mildly put, mishandle both formats. In addition to these players not offering bass management and digital delay compensation for both formats, they converted DSD to PCM resulting in less than pristine SACD playback. Denon was a bit late to the game in offering a universal player, but for good reasons. As with all of their current products, I suspect they wanted to do it right rather than half way. With that, they unleashed the almighty DVD-2900 Universal DVD player which, because it did so many things correctly, caused about 80% of the content in my previously mentioned articles to go obsolete.

Thanks to Denon, for about $1000 you can now get a superbly crafted progressive scan DVD player than handles video as well as it does CD, DVD Audio and SACD. Only a few years ago this was neither commonplace, nor was it even achievable. Now that's progress!

I quickly realized after unboxing the DVD-2900 that I was dealing with a quality piece of hardware. This player was perhaps the most solidly constructed unit I ever had the pleasure of reviewing. Its presence actually embarrassed my much smaller and lighter, but not much less expensive, reference DVD-A player. I soon displaced my reference player off my rack with a little remorse which soon transformed into anticipation of the DVD-2900's potential.

With a feature set this impressive, the DVD-2900 will surely satisfy the most demanding audiophile and videophile alike whose objective is to own a top notch DVD player that handles the latest DVD Audio and SACD formats with equal favor.

Player Set-Up

The best video performance was achieved in Progressive Mode 1 and "Darker" in my set-up.
Digital delay compensation is available for all channels (including the subwoofer) for DD/DTS and DVD-A.

Configuring the Denon DVD-2900 was about as intuitive as can be for such a sophisticated machine. However, one of my navigational pet peeves was experienced while operating the DVD-2900. The On Screen Display (ODS) did not allow the user to back out to a previous menu. On more than one occasion, I have scrolled through about a half dozen menu levels only to realize that I went one too far with no recourse except for subsequently having to exit the menu set-up screens and start all over again. I noted this same problem with the Denon AVR-5803 receiver and can only hope Denon improves on this to satisfy nitpickers like myself.

Unfortunately the DVD-2900 did not remember setup or last chapters viewed of DVD's or CD's when power cycled, or when the DVD/CD was removed and then reinserted. One player in this price range that does is the Sony DVP-NS999ES. The Sony actually stored the information and was able to restart the DVD or CD where it was left off even if the disc had been removed! Furthermore, the Sony retained all of the settings (ie. video and audio), so the next time the DVD was placed in the player, it defaulted to those settings. This is also true if other DVD's and/or CD's were played in between returning to the original DVD. Although the Sony player did not allow the user to enter player set-up menus when a DVD was playing. The Denon DVD-2900 did however, which proved quite useful when tweaking settings on the fly and observing their immediate impact on the source material. Note that a majority of DVD players require a full stop of the DVD prior to accessing the player setup menus.

The remote control included with the DVD-2900 is better than the typical Panasonic OEM found on Denon's lower models. Though I do prefer having a joystick like interface rather four arrow pads and an enter button. I find a joystick to be easier to navigate and less cumbersome in operation.

Audio Set-Up

It was a pleasantly surprised that the DVD-2900 provided the option of setting channel trims and delay compensation (including the subwoofer) for DVD-A. Many receivers, let alone some exotic processors don't offer this level of flexibility with subwoofer set-up. Unfortunately the digital delay compensation did not apply to SACD. To my knowledge Sony holds rein of that option, and at the time of writing this review, I am only aware of one player currently shipping (the Sony DSP-NS999ES) which offers this while also preserving multi-channel SACD as a DSD format. This didn't affect me too much as all of my SACD discs are two-channel recordings.

Using the internal test tones of the DVD-2900, I was unable to achieve an accurate level balance with my 5.1 speaker set-up. I found the test tone generator outputted too much low frequency energy emphasizing the bass content of my left front speaker and subsequently yielding an inaccurate reading on my SPL meter. I set all channel trims of the DVD-2900 to the "0dB" position and the subwoofer channel trim to "-6dB". The reason for this is that I have found that most DVD players subwoofer output produces higher distortion (due to digital domain clipping) when maxed out. By setting the sub level to -6dB, this allows for more overhead and usually eliminates the likelihood of clipping or distortion. The user can simply add the gain back via the receiver/processor if need be. I then used the Avia disc test tone to calibrate the player. Note that DVD-2900 was now properly calibrated for DD/DTS playback, but not for DVD-A/SACD due to the inherent subwoofer level differences between the formats (10-15dB). Denon has a "Set-Up Tips" technical paper that discusses this very issue and I recommend reading it.

I ultimately used the Denon's AVR-5803 +15dB boost setting via the external multi channel audio inputs to get me where I needed to be and tweaked the final level by ear with several DVD-A discs to ensure proper bass balance or at least proper to my listening preferences.

According to the DVD-2900 Users Manual, the "Filter Off" feature defaults all channels to full range and boosts the subwoofer level 5dB for DD/DTS and 15dB for DVD-A/SACD sources. After comparing the two settings and compensating for subwoofer level differences, I ultimately preferred the "Filter Off" setting in my configuration. I just could not achieve proper system bass performance in my set-up in the "Filter On" position. In the "Filter On" position I was able to achieve decent low end bass response in my set-up but had difficulty with the mid-bass performance causing many DVD-A discs to sound thin. Switching back to the "Filter Off" position resulted in a more uniform and satisfying blend of system bass performance. Since all of the speakers in my reference system are full range capable, this did not present a significant problem. I recommend experimenting with both settings to determine what works best for your speaker configuration and listening preferences.

DVD-2900 Viewing, Listening Tests and Conclusion

De-Interlacer Comparison

I ran a quick resolution check via the Avia test patterns on the Sony KP-51WS500 HDTV found in our Reference System to determine if the DVD-2900 had better de-interlacing technology than the de-interlacing found in the TV itself.

Viewing Evaluation

Measurements can be rendered useless if one doesn't appreciate what impact they have on the actual performance of the product. With that I spent a great deal of time actually viewing movies to ensure that the measurements I made were indicative to actual real world product performance.

It's difficult for me not to reference one of my favorite concert DVDs, Eric Clapton One More Car, One More Driver, in my evaluations of audio/video gear just because it sounds and looks great, and is enjoyable to view and listen to. The second track "Reptile" had stunning video performance, especially when viewed on the DVD-2900. I must have watched/listened to this track dozens of times, but until viewing it on the DVD-2900, I never noticed the almost 3-D like appearance of the smoke (from the dry ice, not instruments on fire) emanating around the stage, especially during the keyboard solos. The color balance was so naturally and realistically conveyed that it really immersed me more into the concert since I was equally enthralled with the video and audio presentation.

Monsters, Inc was another example where the Denon DVD-2900 video performance shined. I was clearly able to distinguish the yellowish liver spots on the monster Mikey where on lesser quality players would have been masked or non-existent. On the downside, I did notice the DVD-2900 was unable to reduce artifacts as well as some other players in its price range. This was subtle but apparent on a properly calibrated display in background scenes of Monsters, Inc and LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring.

Unfortunately when I got to Star Trek Nemesis and Star Wars Episode II, my DVD-2900 review sample choked. It was unable to get past the set-up menus on these discs for some odd reason, yet my reference player had no troubles. I contacted Denon tech support about this and it baffled them as well, especially since my review sample seemed ok with every other disc I threw at it. I suspect it could have been one of those first production gremlin bugs, or possibly a mis-aligned assembly caused by shipping. In any event, they promptly sent me another review sample and it had no troubles with these discs or any others I threw at it.

With my new player installed and properly configured (thankfully I wrote down all of my settings from the prior player), I continued with my evaluation. Star Trek Nemesis was perhaps not the best test disc due to its meager video transfer, but I just love watching the battle sequences over and over again. The DVD-2900 delivered superb picture dynamics with very good contrast with eye pleasing color balance making my experience of viewing these battle scenes the most enjoyable to date. Star Wars Episode II was even more impressive thanks to its inherently better video transfer. It seemed apparent to me that the better the video source I feed the DVD-2900, the more obvious its rewards were and its ability to shine above merely average players.

Listening Evaluation

Ok aside from the players' ability to deliver exhilarating video performance, audio buffs like myself are really more concerned with the audio side of the equation. The $64,000 question is, can a universal player truly deliver excellent SACD playback? To put it mildly, previous generation universal players from other vendors mishandled SACD by converting it to PCM. Our subjective listening tests revealed the resultant fidelity of these machines for SACD playback was less than inspiring as we discovered that $300 SACD machines outperformed these universal players by a fairly wide margin. We were pleased to audibly confirm this was definitely not the case with the DVD-2900. The DVD-2900 even included two programmable "Pure Direct" modes which are capable of bypassing all video circuitry and the digital audio output.

These two discs have recently become my most frequently listened to high-resolution software because of musical content and playback fidelity. Patricia Barbers Nightclub is second to none in my listening experience with SACD. If you really want jaw dropping audio fidelity, get this disc!

I configured the DVD-2900 to shut off all video circuitry as well as the SPDIF output and stored the setting as "Pure Direct Mode 1". I began my evaluation of the DVD-2900's SACD playback with Track #3 Yesterdays from the Patricia Barber Nightclub SACD. It starts out soft and mellow and soon explodes to a complex and well orchestrated jazz ballads unfamiliar to the typical self-proclaimed jazz listener who's only exposure to this classification of music is the "Smooth Jazz" crap spoon fed to the public on FM radio. When listening to this track on the Denon DVD-2900 player I was presented with about the largest soundstage and presence in a recording that I have ever heard. In fact, I felt the DVD-2900 compared favorably to my Audience modded Sony SCD-CE775. On the fly DBT testing was not practical between the two players since their output levels were quite different and would involve constant volume level compensation when switching between units. I subjectively felt the DVD-2900 had a smoother, more balanced tonality with more authoritative bass output. Never did the playback sound spitty in character on the DVD-2900 as I recalled when listening to lesser universal players. In fact, I felt the DVD-2900 had a very neutral and revealing sound character. While listening to the entire Patricia Barber SACD, not once did I feel like I was hearing limitations due to mediocre player performance. Instead, I was rewarded with the quality of the recording in all of its glory. Moving on to other SACD's in my collection from Gloria Estefan and Grover Washington Jr, I was equally impressed with the playback. Alas I found a universal player that had no compromises for critical two-channel SACD playback!

Moving on to high-resolution multi-channel, I focused on the fabulously recorded DVD-A disc from Graham Nash Songs for Survivors . I am quite familiar with how this disc sounded on my former Panasonic DVD-RP91k reference player. I use the word "former" because after a few short DVD-A listening sessions on the DVD-2900, I realized it was time for an upgrade. For the first time I heard subtle nuances and details I hadn't imagined existed on the recording. The playback was extremely smooth without sounding sterile while bass extension and definition was most impressive. My Panasonic player was by no means a slouch, but in comparison, the DVD-2900 simply raised the bar on fidelity for high resolution formats. What is even more amazing is that for a meager $200 higher retail price, the DVD-2900 outguns my older Panasonic in terms of both audio and video and throws in a phenomenal SACD engine as a bonus. It just goes to show you how technology advances can result in better value to the consumer. The Denon DVD-2900 is perhaps one of the finest examples of this.

Conclusion

The DVD-2900 is truly an impressive player. It proves that high fidelity SACD and DVD-A playback is both achievable and practical in a single box solution. It is also one of the first players to offer digital delay compensation and bass management via its analog outputs. In addition, the DVD-2900 has provision for subwoofer delay while many of today's costly high-end processors still lack this feature. I was very pleased overall with the DVD-2900's video playback performance. I felt it had excellent black level contrast and color balance while also displaying a very impressive picture via its interlaced and de-interlaced outputs. I was mildly disappointed that minor artifacting was more noticeable than on other players in this price category. However, it took a keen eye, appropriate disc, well-calibrated display and an almost anal-retentive compulsion to expose such problems for it to be evident. The DVD-2900 caters to the audiophile and videophile alike and should please even the most critical home theater aficionados. This player is a major step in the right direction and serves as a benchmark for other hardware vendors to follow. The reasons for hardware vendors not to be making DVD players universal at this price point, and somewhat lower, are going. going. gone!

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Standard Definition Video Performance
High Definition Audio Performance
Analogue Audio Performance
Bass Management
Build Quality
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup
Features
Remote Control
Performance
Value