Universal player: Denon DVD2900 vs. DVD2200

[nisoli]

My 3 year old DVD player (Toshiba SD5109) died and I'm in the market for a new DVD player. I'm thinking about a universal player. I checked the specs for the Denon DVD2900 and the new DVD2200. The 2200 is significantly cheaper (MSRP of $ 629 vs. 999) and have pretty much all the features of the DVD2900, except for the DAC (the DVD2900 has a "Denon designed" Brown Burr) and a better build to isolate video, digital, and analog circuits. Has anyone compared the two? I couldn't find any review of the DVD2200. Would the audio difference be audible using a Rotel RMB1066-1075 combo and B&W CDM NT speakers? Thanks.

Alberto

[Mats]

I'm in your boat, Alberto. I'd auditioned the 2900, sounded phenominal. I spoke with a Denon rep (from their 800 number), and he was selling the 2900, of course, over the 2200. He said the 2200 sounds pretty good, still, and considering the similarities in design, I don't think the 2200 is going to be any slouch. I've been searching high and low for reviews also, can't find any.

[nisoli]

I talked to my dealer. He carries the 2200 but he doesn't have it on display so I wouldn't be able to do a comparison. If he gives me a good deal on the 2900 I'll go for it. He convinced me it has a significantly better performance on the audio side and I do want to get into the DVD Audio and SACD, so I'm leaning toward the 2900. The fact that there are no reviews of the 2200 out there yet scares me a little, so I think I'll get the 2900 (I can't wait because I have no DVD player right now).

[Mats]

Man that just sounds shady. Have you a lot of confidence and trust with your dealer? If that were my dealer, I'd have him pull it out for a side-by-side so I can make a decision. I would never buy something I haven't auditioned, and for that reason, I wouldn't NOT buy something I haven't auditioned also.

See if you can't get him to do a comparison, if he's worth his salt he'll do so... least he can do for a customer who's about to spend possible close to a grand for a component.

[nisoli]

I was going to ask him to get a 2200 out for comparison, but then he gave me a good deal on 2900 ($ 895) + a pair of CDM7NT ($ 1450) that I'm going to use as rears (I have CDM7NT also for mains and since I want to get into SACD and DVD Audio it's nice to have the same speakers all around). So I bought the 2900. I'll hook it up tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about that.

[Mats]

Nice to have matching speakers all around; I've traded in dipoles for the same reason to match my Paradigm Studio 80's in the front. Good luck with the 2900; please post up any comments and reviews you have!

[Bill Blank]

Just my $.02 but you've got a very nice system there with your B&W and Rotel, why skimp on the source? The source, some would argue, is the most significant part of the entire chain. The best speakers/amp in the world can't make a lousy source sound good. That's not to say the 2200 is lousy but it is inferior to the 2900, otherwise it wouldn't use inferior components and be priced lower. Whether the difference is enough is up to you to decide.

I've had the 2900 for 2 months now and I love it. SACD and DVD-A sound incredible and the picture quality is great. I got my unit from Tweeter for $1000 and they threw in 3 pairs of very nice Monster Cables to use between it and my Rotel 1066.

Bill




Rotel RSP-1066
Rotel RMB-1075
Rega Planet 2000
Denon DVD-2900
Mitsubishi WS-55411
Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v3
Paradigm Reference Studio CC-470 v3
Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v3
Velodyne CT-120

[Mats]

Bill, let me bounce this off you, as you are a 2900 owner.... the 2200, while appearing 'inferior' to the 2900, is still put together quite well. This is according to a rep at Denon. It has Burr-Brown DACs, just not the Denon-designed/BB built DAC. Aside from that, it's not as meaty as the 2900. I can understand, I'd opt for a weighter unit (better shielding, better power source, etc.).

Have you auditioned the 2200? I haven't seen it in a B&M, only the 2900. Would love to hear from someone who's been able to tell the difference between the two units!

Thanks!

[Bill Blank]

valongi,

No I've not heard the 2200. The fact that it costs less means performance compromises were made. Just as I'm sure the 5900 sounds better than the 2900. Whether it's enough a difference to justify the cost is up to the individual. I'm sure the 2200 is quite a capable performer. My point was that one shouldn't put together such a nice system, Rotel/B&W or in your case Paradigm/Rotel, and then skimp when it came to the source. It doesn't matter how good your speakers/processor/amps are if your source isn't up to snuff. If one can afford the 2900, I say go for it!!

Bill




Rotel RSP-1066
Rotel RMB-1075
Rega Planet 2000
Denon DVD-2900
Mitsubishi WS-55411
Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v3
Paradigm Reference Studio CC-470 v3
Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v3
Velodyne CT-120

[nisoli]

Valongi, I didn't have a chance to do much listening in the last couple of weeks, but yesterday I finally tried DVD-A on my 2900. Indeed it sounds really nice. very full sound without being too bright, excellent dynamic range and separation. Definetly a big improvement over regular CD's. I'm very pleased. On the other hand I tried a few SACD's and I didn't hear much difference going from CD's to SACD's (I was playing the same CD in my CD player and then switching from CD in my CD player to SACD in the 2900). I have a pretty good CD player (Marantz 6000 OSE) so that might be the reason, or my system is just not calibrated properly (the SACD bass management in the 2900 is tricky). Don't get me wrong, it sounded really good, but not so much better than regular CD's. Am I supposed to hear a big difference with SACD's?
I appreciate your thoughts.

[Mats]

I listened to a Pioneer dvd-a player in a home theater, one of last year's models- a real entry level player. On a Marantz A/V receiver, through B&W speakers. Did an a/b between a Fleetwood Mac cd and the dvd-a of some of the same songs. Night and day, no question- and that was through an entry-level player.

I auditioned a 2900 about a month ago, in a boutique B&M. Now, this was played through Thiel speakers and an Anthem pre-pro... the rear surrounds were in-ceiling speakers, not anywhere near my home environment. Of course, it sounded great, but.... not exactly like a home audition.

To this day, I've yet to hear an in-home audition (or anything resembling my gear) of SACD. But.... I've heard people with similar gear to mine speak of their SACD experiences at home, and it's all gravy according to them. Have you set up properly the SACD options, and have you calibrated?

This is all so damn objective, being that everyone doesn't have the same gear / HT setups / environments. But, word out in the world is that SACD is somewhere way ahead of red book (cd's), but still behind analog (vinyl). I want to jump on board, though. I'm probably going to pick the 2200, for price considerations, or the new Marantz universal player (6400 model... no info available on their site yet).

[Chris D]

Valongi--- Oooh, cool.. what do you know about this new Marantz 6400 model?




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Mats]

Chris, very little. Marantz still hasn't posted any info on their website.

So, my new 2200 arrived yesterday evening. Now I'm just waiting on my interconnects in the mail... so I've got one very expensive paperweight. I've seen some decent lab reviews from S&V magazine (go online- they've posted Jan'04 lab results already).

Anyhoo, a couple other fellow 2200 owners have not been disappointed and they love theirs. I'm just a bystander until my cables come in... I'll post a review when all is said and done!

[rhb4321]

Hello all,
Had the same conundrum, so a couple of weeks ago, I went out and bought both the 2900 and 2200 to demo against each other. After spending LOTS of time (video only, no audio comparison), I'm keeping the 2900 as a no-brainer. The 2200 is really good, but side-by-side (many different sources, switched video inputs to make sure one wasn't better than the other - even "blind" switches of the players so that I didn't know which was playing) the 2900 won easily. Actually it was incredibly easy to see the difference in the picture detail, sharpness and just "presence". Unless you just don't want to spend a (relatively) few extra bucks, buy the 2900. Reminds me of the time many years ago that I went out to buy a cheap CD player and after quality comparisons ended up spending $4K+ on a whole new system.......Best thing I ever did......Just my $.02