Denon DVD Players, which to choose....

[jamison162]

I'm looking at getting a Denon DVD player to match my AVR-1804 reciever.
Any suggestions in the <$500 range? 1815, 2815, 2200, wait on the new 1910?
I will probably go for a single disk as I will get a higher quality player for the same $$.
I'm not really into SACD or DVD-A, so I don't really need a universal player.

Are the new Faroudja Chips better than Silicon Image's Si504?

Oh, and do I need DD/DTS decoding in the player if the reciever has it?

Thanks

[N. Abstentia]

Take your $500, spend $99 of it on a good Panasonic, Pioneer, or Samsung DVD player and spend the rest on DVD's. You'll be much happier that way! That's what I would do, anyway. I've never been a big fan of Denon players and always felt they were overpriced for what you get.

[s dog]

I have the denon 1600 dvd ,dvd audio player, does a good job gave $550.00 for it a year ago , that is a lot of money for a dvd player not sure if it is worth it or not

[nightflier]

At the $500 price point you have a lot of other, probably better options. Cambridge Audio, Music Hall, NAD, Marantz, AH! Njoe Tjoeb come to mind (I auditioned the AH! and was very impressed with it). You should also check out some of Audio Advisor's clearance sales, I've seen some very good values for 30-40% off msrp.

[musicguy04]

Hi! If I were you, I'd go with the Denon 1910. Looks to be very good value for about half your budget.

[Krazykaj]

you may even be able to find a discontinued Denon DVD player like the 2200 somewhere where they are trying to get rid of it. especially with all the new models out, you could get one for a steal now.

[Aldo WIngate]

Flip a coin!

[Monstrous Mike]

Here is my opinion. There is no need to "match" a Denon DVD player to a Denon receiver other than perhaps for a common and/or duplicate remote. I would get the following features in a new DVD player:

1. Progressive scan
2. Five tray (you can sell your CD player)
3. Multimedia capability (MP3, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, etc.)
4. Pick one of DVD-A or SACD (You're going to want it in the future and it doesn't cost much more)
5. Good remote
6. Check what type of digital output you would need if you are getting low on digital inputs on your receiver
7. Karaoke feature perhaps??

You can get the above features for much less than $500.

[eqm]

Here is my opinion. There is no need to "match" a Denon DVD player to a Denon receiver other than perhaps for a common and/or duplicate remote. I would get the following features in a new DVD player:

1. Progressive scan
2. Five tray (you can sell your CD player)
3. Multimedia capability (MP3, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, etc.)
4. Pick one of DVD-A or SACD (You're going to want it in the future and it doesn't cost much more)
5. Good remote
6. Check what type of digital output you would need if you are getting low on digital inputs on your receiver
7. Karaoke feature perhaps??

You can get the above features for much less than $500.

How about...

1. Picture Quality
2. Sound Quality
3. Build Quality...

I've had the Denon DVD2900 for about 5 mos now...VERY happy with the picture quality over my Pioneer Elite DV47A. I've also used or owned a Yamaha with the dcdi (never had luck with the Yammies), a progressive regular-line Sony (not happy with picture), a progressive-scan Panasonic (extremely cheap and light-weight, had a couple break within a year, more or less), and a Pioneer progressive DVD-Recorder (probably the weakest of the pictures). Granted, I'm comparing these on a calibrated 55" Mits Diamond, but I saw many of these same differences on my 30" samsung widescreen HDTV that I use in my second system (and the sammy is much weaker video-wise for reasons I won't go into). So keep in mind what kind of equipment you have or what you will quickly be getting before you spend any kind of money, either too high or too low...! Hope this helps!

[Monstrous Mike]

How about...

1. Picture Quality
2. Sound Quality
3. Build Quality...

Picture quality can vary from player to player. I do not believe it is as wide a range as the first few generations of players. I would search the web for reviews on picture quality. Thanks for pointing that out.

Audio quality is another matter. Unless the unit is complete crap, I fully believe the digital signal will sound the same on all players. Until somebody can demonstrate a difference in a proper double blind test, I'll take reports of sonic superiority with a grain of salt.

Build quality is also a good point. However, we're almost at the point now where you can buy a $100 unit, use it for a few years, throw it out and buy another one with the current features. When it comes to build quality, I feel you do pay more for certain names. I would think product support would be a good point to add here too.

I think we have reached a point where anybody can go out a fork over $100-$200 for a DVD player and be satisfied for years. It's not like looking for a used car or a house.

[topspeed]

Audio quality is another matter. Unless the unit is complete crap, I fully believe the digital signal will sound the same on all players. Until somebody can demonstrate a difference in a proper double blind test, I'll take reports of sonic superiority with a grain of salt.

If the poster uses digital out only, obviously every unit will sound similar because they are, in effect, transports. However, if the poster picked a universal unit such as the 2200, he/she would likely want to use the onboard decoding and multichannel analog out. To me, there is a very audible difference between the Denon's Burr Brown's and whatever dac's Sony uses (whatever they are, redbook sounds horrible).

I think we have reached a point where anybody can go out a fork over $100-$200 for a DVD player and be satisfied for years. It's not like looking for a used car or a house.

It depends on your standards. I bought a $80 Toshiba dvd player for my kid and while it works fine, the load times, scene selection time, and other nits would rule this particular unit out for my main rig. It would drive me crazy. For someone that is really into building their system, units such as EQM's 2900's will humble lesser "throw away" units like my son's Toshiba.

[jamison162]

Ok here's the scoop....

I went ahead and picked up a DVD-2200 (floor model, absolutely nothing wrong with it) from an authorized dealer listed on Denon's website for $429.00.

Good deal??? I think so.