Rotel dvd players compared to others?

[rick c]

Would like to know how the rotel rdv1050/1060 compares to the denon 2900/2910 and the marantz dv6500.I realize the rotel is dvd-a only which i can live with but i'm interested in PQ as well as multi playback.thanks

[fordster]

I think the PQ on my RDV-1060 is as good as the Denon 2800 MkII that it replaced (using component). As a bonus it sounds better too! I don't believe that the Denon 2900 has better PQ than the 2800 MkII but I've not seen a 2910 so can't comment on that.

[Woo Wooooo]

I'm running with the RDV-1050 which is newer than the RDV-1060. The 1050 plays all formats of DVD minus of course SACD. I have had no problem with it at all. OH the 1050 does not have a 12V trigger or RS232 like the 1060 does

[rick c]

Thanks for the replys.I went to my dealer today to price the marantz 6500,denon 2910 and rotel rdv1050.The marantz was 450. and both the denon and rotel were 525.Now i need to decide which of these players would be the best for me using component only.Can you guys help me out in deciding so i can get over this hump.

[sprout]

You have to go and demo them if possible.

All users views will vary.

I love my Rotel gear, and I have just moved from all top of the range Denon.

I cannot make a fair comparison because, the DVD was 4 times the price of the Rotel.

What I will say is it is the noisiest player bar none that I have ever owned.
If I forget the noise, it does not compare with my previous players, but picture quality is about what I expected.

It's a beautiful match in the rack, but is the one component I will probably end up changing, and that is a shame.

The closest price wise I have had was a Denon 3910, but that in my opinion was superior to the 1060

Cheers

sprout

[Woo Wooooo]

I thought of going with the Denon 2910 but at the last minute decided on the RDV1050, I wanted all my components to match and I really didn't care about SACD outside of clasical music when was the last release of mainstream music released on it? anyway I have not had any problem with it I do not hear any noise when it runs either, like I said the 1050 is a newer model than the 1060 my 2 cents......... good luck with your choice :T

[DrJRapp]

Thanks for the replys.I went to my dealer today to price the marantz 6500,denon 2910 and rotel rdv1050.The marantz was 450. and both the denon and rotel were 525.Now i need to decide which of these players would be the best for me using component only.Can you guys help me out in deciding so i can get over this hump.

If you are going to use component only, I'd look around for a Denon 2900. The analog audio is far superior to the 2910 and the PQ and build quality are absolutely top drawer. I tied the 2910 (and several other similarly priced upscaling players) and ultimatly wound up with the 2900 anchoring my system.

[lvhung]

My denon is abit vibrating and hot
My recommend is Pioneer 969 or Rotel RDV 1050 :rofl:

[JetFlyGuy]

I went from a RDV-1040 to a Marantz DV-9500, and there was a difference, but I think thr 1040 was an awesome value, and it was 99% as good as the Marantz.

[maddog]

I went from a RDV-1040 to a Marantz DV-9500, and there was a difference, but I think thr 1040 was an awesome value, and it was 99% as good as the Marantz.

What exactly are you comparing here? Is it the video quality, CD playback using anolog connections, or both? Also, did you ever notice that one had a more noisy transport than the other?

[DrJRapp]

I went from a RDV-1040 to a Marantz DV-9500, and there was a difference, but I think thr 1040 was an awesome value, and it was 99% as good as the Marantz.

Audio Advisors really pushes that Marantz, don't they!

[The_A_V_Guy]

I was going through the same delimma earlier this year. I am a huge fan of Rotel. I own the RSX-1056, RCD-1072, and RB-1080. I had a Denon dvd-2900 that was giving me problems and I was presented the opportunity to get my money back for it. SO then i considered teh Rotel RDV-1050 which has a better DAC thatn the 1060 or going with another Denon. The PQ on the Denon was astounding along with an 18lb chasis. Very well constructed and I was very pleased it. The so-called replacement model DVD-2910 did not incorporate the heavy wieght chasis. So I demoed teh 2910 and also the 3910 from Denon , which has a 23lb chasis. I then took the 3910 into a local dealer that sold rotel and swithed back and forth between the ROtel 1050 and teh Denon 3910. In my opinion the Denon DVD_3910 blows Rotel out of the water in this one isolated area. I woudl never buy Denon as a replacement for any of the other component for which i own Rotel. However, the Denon's picture was significantly better and the sound was huge leap ahead of the rotel. The bass was several times more powerful on movie soundtracks (Fifth Element - SUperbit) and just sounded overall more open. ALso, in terms of build quality. The Rotel is completely flimsy in terms of the disc tray and dows not incorporate a heavy weight vibration resistant chasis. The Denon dvd-3910 is also twice the price at $1500 retail. If the choice is between the Denon DVD-2910 and the Rotel I think they are comparable but I woudl probably go with Rotel. If you feel like spending the money for the Denon DVD-3910 that is a super fantastic player in terms of PQ as well as on the audio end. IN addition to that it also plays SACD. I woudl Highly recommend the 3910 if it is at all with in your budjet. ALso, the Denon models both have a 12bit 216MHZ DAC with exceeds the Rotel. So PQ might be a littel better with the 2910 vs. the 1050, but i imagine the sound will be slightly better with the 1050. Hope this helps.

[MoonSpin]

Denon isn't the same company as it used to be. Their quality has been going downhill since the company is no longer the same. Even their cheapest crap on the market is over-priced. I would much prefer Rotel over Denon now, Denon is just not what it used to be.

[Mark1Ace1]

Well I had the Rotel DVD player, but exchanged it when I seen the Denon 3910 up and running. I could not argue with the PQ or the SQ..

Mark

[sprout]

Denon isn't the same company as it used to be. Their quality has been going downhill since the company is no longer the same. Even their cheapest crap on the market is over-priced. I would much prefer Rotel over Denon now, Denon is just not what it used to be.

Perhaps you might like to post which Denon models you have owned and give a useful comparison to the picture quality of each.

The Rotel is great to match my other gear, but sadly for me it ends there :cry:

I have owned a 3910, and its build, picture quality, audio capabilities are far superior to the 1060.

Both can be bought for the same price in the UK

I have owned a DVD-A1 and an DVD-A11 as well, but I would expect those to be superior, £2500 and £1700 respectively.

sprout

[rick c]

The denon 3910 is not an option for budget wise..So it comes down to marantz dv6500,rotel rdv1050 or a used 2900 .Of these which would be my best overall option.I'll be using component only my display does not have hdmi or dvi.thanks

[rick c]

What do you guys think of the 1920 denon is coming out with.Should i maybe wait for this player or continue in trying to decide between used 2900 or new marantz dv6500 or rotel rdv1050.thanks

[The_A_V_Guy]

The denon 3910 is not an option for budget wise..So it comes down to marantz dv6500,rotel rdv1050 or a used 2900 .Of these which would be my best overall option.I'll be using component only my display does not have hdmi or dvi.thanks

I absolutely loved my Denon DVD-2900. The only problem i had with it was that i had a lot of trouble with home-made DVD's. That's the only reason i don;t still own own it. I had to shell out a grand for the damn 3910 and about killed me to do so but i couldnt; live with the 2910 after being used to the DVD-2900 (the 2910 is no where near the 2900 in terms of audio) and the Rotel offerings were just as bad or worse. If your primary library is comprised of store bought DVD's then in my mind there is absolutely no question. Go with the Denon dvd-2900, assuming that you trust where it is coming from and how it has been treated. The 2900 is an fabulous unit and blows anything Rotel has in there current line up away, as far as DVD goes. You will love that player. It will breathe new life into any DVD you have. ALso, i know you said that the 3910 may be out of your budjet but consider this as well. The 3910 is built with separate power supplies for each circuit (audio, video, digital). This makes a very significant impact on overall performance. Furthermore, the Marantz unit you are considering only has a 10bit/54MHz DAC which is pretty crappy in comparison to the others (Rotel RDV-1050 has no more than 12bit/108MHz DAC possibly less, and then the Denon 2910 has a 12bit/216MHz and also incorporates a Faroudja chip for progressive scan, which is very nice). In this price range I think you will be best served with the Denon DVD-2910. The picture will better on the Denon vs. the Rotel and the audio will be comparable with perhaps a slight edge to the Rotel. Alternatively, if you are comfortable with the used peice, the DVD-2900 will definately look and sound better than any of these models hands down. It also incorporates the Silicon Image Sil504 chip for progressive scan which is a fantastic chip and was used previously in Denon's $3500 DVD-9000 flagship. It performs 2 billion operations/second if i am not mistaken. Point being that it really does a fantastic job. When i watched Star Wars IV for the first time after getting the 2900, the beginning scene with the star destroyer and the stars in the backfround, it look almost 3D. I looked as if i could reach into the TV and touch something, i was amazed. Personally i woudl be slightly leary of buying a used machine but if you are comfortable with where it is coming from I would jump all over that peice. You will adore it. The build quality and construction is fabulous. And again , the heavy wieght chasis is a VERY nice thing. It really helps to reduce vibration which the digital signal is particularly suseptible to. Denon also paints the disc tray (which is very sturdy in comparison to the other flimsy trays used by Rotel, etc...) with a vibration resistant protein. I am not sure exactly how much of a real world difference that makes, but combined with everything else i am sure it helps to some degree. Good luck, Rick!

P.S. All my comparisons were done using component as my display does not have HDMI or DVI either.

[sprout]

AV guy,

You will see from my prevous posts I have owned a few Denons.

Never had the 2900.

Just to help Rick, did they not do a 2900 MKII as well?
Not sure, but if I am correct, was it just as good/better

Cheers

sprout

PS None of this is supposed to knock Rotel, I love my gear but a bit more work is needed in this area for me.

[The_A_V_Guy]

Sprout,

Yeah i see that you also fell the same way i did, to the side of the 3910. I totally love mine! It is just leaps and bounds ahead of anything else I have auditioned. The sound is awesome! And the PQ is just as wonderful. As to the DVD-2900 MKII, there isn't one (not to my knowledge, anyway). There was however a DVD-2800 MKII that used the Sil504 chip. I imagine the 2900 is an improvement upon that model but I have no first hand experience with it. Also, I too am not trying to knock Rotel gear in general. I think Rotel gear in terms of audio is by far the best gear you can buy for the money and in order to do significantly better than Rotel I think you would have to spend 3 times as much money or more to do it. They just really aren;t focused on the video end of things and therefore fall behind in this area. And on the other hand I would never buy anything Denon for audio but in the video arena they seem to be knocking it out of the park.

[DrJRapp]

If you keep your eyes open there is an occasional refurb or demo 2900 that pops up on the web. I got my unit refurb from eCost for around $500. At that price nothing else falls within the same ballpark performance wise. The SACD output on the 2900 is truely a wonderful thing.

[sprout]

AV Guy,

Yes, you are right, i was indeed thinking of the DVD-2900 MKII.

Nothing would please me more than for Rotel to produce an awesome DVD player to match the rest of my gear 8)

sprout

[rick c]

I've been browsing ebay and audiogon for the 2900,but i'm such a wimp in committing to purchase over the net.What chance do i have in getting a good unit w/o losing my money.What experiences have you guys have on these type of purchases.Just so you know i tryed contacting a seller on audiogon but no reply as of yet.Maybe i should just get a new marantz dv6500 or wait for the denon 1920.

[Woo Wooooo]

The RDV-1050 will play ALL burned DVD's

[The_A_V_Guy]

I've been browsing ebay and audiogon for the 2900,but i'm such a wimp in committing to purchase over the net.What chance do i have in getting a good unit w/o losing my money.What experiences have you guys have on these type of purchases.Just so you know i tryed contacting a seller on audiogon but no reply as of yet.Maybe i should just get a new marantz dv6500 or wait for the denon 1920.

Rick i don;t think the marantz is a good choice based if nothing else on the fact that the dac is really crappy. read my post above again. 10bit/54MHz is awful! If you are not going to get the 2900. I woudl go with the 2910 or at least the Rotel, but the marantsz is the worst of the players you are considering.

[rick c]

I'll take that into consideration.I can get the rotel 1050 or denon 2910 for the same price.The marantz is a liitle less costly.But you"re the first post i have read that puts down the marantz(somewhat).You may be right i dont know at this point but everywhere else that i have read beteween professional and consumer review rates the marantz highly.What am i missing here?I dont mean to be picky i just want to get the best that i can with my limited buget that i wont regret later.Obviously you know more about these players than i do i'm just trying to go to the best overall option.

[The_A_V_Guy]

well the reason that i don;t find that particular model marantz player favorable is the DAC that it uses. 10bit/54MHz. A 12bit/108Mhz or higher DAC will give you richer colors, shaprper picture, and more detail. When you are looking at quality players within the same price range and all other things comparable, this to me is a very decisive factor in your picture quality. If you really want to go with marantz go with the DV7600. That player has a 14bit/216MHz DAC! I woudl love to see what that looks like. IT also has a sturdy chasis similar to the Denon 2900 and 3910. You may want to consider that one. When do you plan to make your final decision Rick?

[Booster]

I have a Denon 2910 coupled to a 1066/1075 and have been very happy with its performance with both DVD and multi-channel music. I went with it over the Rotel offerings because sacd is important to me. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Denon although from previous posts, I think I'll start saving for a 3910 (my original choice but couldn't quite swing it).

[rick c]

Hopefully in less than 2 weeks(dont want to rush)but everything has a limit so thats my deadline one way or the other.My dealer(great guy) carries the marantz,denon and the rotel.He puts the rotel last.But i think it's a personal thing since he had some problems with their processors some time ago.he says "i dont like like their processors".Now i do like the rotel based on this board alone and it would match well with my rsx1056 but thats not a reason to get the rotel so maybe i'll continue to try to obtain a 2900 until the 2 weeks are up and if not i'll probably get the rotel over the 2910(hd no where near the 2900).And i dont think the new 1920 will be up to par with the present players,heard it's based off the 1910 only w/dvda/sacd.

[The_A_V_Guy]

Rick try mpsuperstore.com they claim to have a new dvd-2900 for just over 500 bills. check it out and let me know what you think. I didnt; spend a lot of time there just stumbled on it and though i woudl let you know.

[maddog]

A V Guy,

Just out of curiosity, when you're watching a movie DVD with DD or DTS 5.1 on the Denon 3910, do you listen to the audio through the 6 analog connections or do you use the digital connection to your receiver?

[The_A_V_Guy]

Coax digital with AudioQuest Hawkeye DBS.

[jim777]

Can someone confirm the audio superiority of the Denon 3910 using the *analog* outputs? I'm a stereo-only guy with an analog-only amp

[The_A_V_Guy]

Jim,

If you are looking for the best analog sound in 2 channel. I would most highly reccomend the Rotel RCD-1072. It is pretty much the best thing out there under $3000. The 3910 does a fair job with analog but i bought it soley for it's DVD capability and perhaps the SACD when i can get a library together.

[rick c]

av u got pm

[jim777]

AV_Guy, I already have the RCD-1072 and it's unbeatable for it's price, but I was thinking of a good source for DVD music video (and films), and maybe DVD-Audio and maybe SACD. Of course, as you said, I don't think that any 3k$ DVD player will do better than the 1072 for redbook...

[The_A_V_Guy]

Jim,

I have not played anything but films and some concert dvd's. The concert dvd's sound good depending on the recording of course. and films sound great too. haven;t tried sacd or a straight dvd-a. Just using the coax digital out. I am very pleased with the audio. the al24 processing seems to add a nice touch as well.

[thyname]

I have RCD-1072 and I am more than happy with its performance for redbook CDs on a stereo setup only. Now, when I build my HT, I would want to have a dvd player with SACD and DVD-A capabilities. At that time, if Rotel has not come up with something yet, I would have to take a look at much recommended denons.

[lvhung]

Rotel Euro has dis continued the RDV-1040
which I nearly purchased in May 2004
Very short life of a product

[The_A_V_Guy]

so where you at with your delimma Rick?

[rick c]

I found the dvd2900(new)for 315.00 which includes shipping and ins.The guy is going to call me back after he makes sure they have all the manuals,romote and box together.But he's putting it to the side to make sure i get it since they only have 1.But i have a question regarding vibration on the denon's.Is this something i should be concerned about?
FWIW,the guy called me back and the 2900 shows in stock via the computer but after visualy checking they dont.Back to square one. :

[The_A_V_Guy]

Vibration is not a problem with the 2900 or 3910 becuase they incorporate the heavy weight chasis design. Sorry about your luck on the 2900 order.

[fordster]

Isn't a 2900 is the smae chassis as a 2800MKII? Mine vibrated quite badly, it's more of a problem with the drive than the chassis.

[rick c]

Well i had to bite my tongue because of some budget restraints.I ended up getting a denon dvd2200 for less than 1/2 of what the 2900 would of cost me.Maybe later when budget allows i'll sell the 2200 and get the 2900.Unfortunatly there was nothing i could do.Hope the 2200 is as good as people say it is.

[stantheman2]

I have the Denon 2200 and I am really happy with it. It was real step up on both video and audio from my Sony and JVC DVD players. The 2200 has several features that are usually only found on high-end players, such as the ability to turn off the digital circuitry and the display when playing CDs, DVD-Audio, or SACD discs, to lower the noise floor. Several magazines rated the 2200 as having better audio performance than the 2900, with comparable video performance. My experience was that video performance was great right out of the box, but audio performance improved after 10-20 hours of audio use.