Denon DVD 2910

It's early on but the 3910 doesn't seem to be as temperamental as the 2910. Ill use it till it craps the bed, then look for a newer model....maybe one built in the current decade...lol.

 

I don't have any of those except for FL; "crazy dynamic" is not how I would describe the 5.1 mix. But it is the most audacious surround mix I've ever heard- in terms of movement within the sound field. If you're not hearing a lot of movement, I'd say something isn't set up right; it's not subtle at all.

The Everclear disc is just uncommon w/ a 6.1 mix. If you bitstream the audio from the Denon to your AVR, your AVR will down-mix to 5.1 and send the 6th channel equally to both surrounds, so you won't be missing any info.

If you can't get Pet Sounds to play at all, that doesn't seem like a failing laser to me. When mine started failing, I just started getting an occasional drop-out (which I initially attributed to the discs). These became more gradually more frequent until it was clear the machine was at fault. Mine never got to the point where I couldn't get a dvd-a to play at all.

Also, since you talk about the dvd-a "side," I assume that's a dual-disc? Those were notorious for being problematic, though I never had any problems playing them in my 2930. But the only Dual-discs I have are the 6 Talking Heads albums in the "Brick." Some of my fave surround mixes in that Brick- highly recommended if you like the Heads.

 

Here's another plot point. I've had my 3910 for about 10 years now. About once every three years it will stop playing SACDs and DVD-As. Diagnosis: The rubberized parts atomize in the mechanism and spray a uniform layer of debris throughout the mechanism. Here is my fix (I assume no responsibility here if you're going to try it), I carefully clean the lens with a premoistened CCD cleaning swab. A few swipes, and I'm good for another three years. And yes... I too own a bunch of DualDiscs and they're, typically, the first ones to error out.

 

Interesting solution. When my 2910 acted up I sprayed the inside with a blast of air in a can. This may be cleaning away some debris...similar to what you're doing with the swab. It seems to work for me.

 

Good insight here. Last week I found a 2910 for $6. It has a manufacture sticker from 2005. Works good, sounds good on 2ch CD, SACD, and DVD-A. No remote though. Great deal!

 

In the process of swapping out my Denon DVD 3910 for an Oppo 205, I decided to take the top off the Denon player, and spray out any dust I saw in there, as well as blow some blasts into the laser assembly.

While I had the top off, I took some photos and I figure this is a good place to share them, in case these might be of any help for anyone in some way.







I took some more of the various circuit boards, which I can also share by request, but I think these may be the five most interesting photos to share.

Craig.

 

Former 3930 owner here too. Total monster of a player. Loved it and never had a hitch with it.

 

I'm running a 3910 in one of my systems. I use it for music only and I think it sounds great. So far, no issues with the laser.

 

Is there instructions somewhere on calibration? I replaced the laser at the advice of one youtuber that did it successfully with no calibration, to no avail.

 

Not that I know of - probably only a service manual for the unit will contain the info

 

I too thought it sounded pretty good too but my Cary DAC and Cambridge CD player are much more organic sounding - time has marched on with technology improving the sound. The Denon serves as a good transport.

 

I got one of these off ebay, I don't need surround but is there a speaker anyone would recommend pairing with it?

 

Filling out your equipment in the "Information" tab of your profile would help us answer your question: https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/members/kenny-cadet.108094/

Assuming you have no audio equipment at all (no amplifier, no existing speakers, etc.), and you're seeking powered speakers to connect directly to your Denon 2910, you have plenty of good options to choose among. I've heard good things about ELAC, KEF, Dali, and Audioengine:
https://www.musicdirect.com/Search?...SC&page=1&pagesize=24&c1=tab-products&c2=grid

 

Thanks, and sorry! I don't have much worth listing, just an old Bose Wave Soundlink. No amp. Are there any Cambridge fans who would recommend this? Yoyo (L)

 

First I would ask if your Bose all-in-one has RCA inputs. My guess is that it does not.

Rather than that Yoyo, if I were you I would go for the Audioengine A5+ powered bookshelf speakers, because they get good reviews for sound quality, and they have standard RCA left-right inputs. That means you can use your new Denon's digital-to-analog converter which is likely to be higher quality than any DAC built-in to a set of powered speakers for $300 or under...
Audioengine - A5+ Powered Bookshelf Speakers (Pr) | Shop Music Direct

You can probably look around and find Audioengine A5+ speakers for sale or open box/demo somewhere for under $300, if that's your budget.

I was a Cambridge fan from years back, but I'm skeptical that that modern Yoyo would measure up to the sound quality of the old (discontinued) Model 88CD by Henry Kloss that I have (the top-loading CD player doesn't work anymore, but it has AUX RCA inputs to connect a disc player).

I still use it in the garage. It fills up our two-car garage very well with rich sound.

 

Thanks, those A5's look great, and there's even a wireless option. You're correct, the Bose doesn't have RCA inputs, just aux. Would it serve any good as a center speaker with bookshelf speakers, assuming that's even possible?
Also wondering how these Monitor Bronze 1s would compare to A5:

Monitor Audio Bronze 1 (Black Oak Vinyl) Bookshelf speakers at Crutchfield

 

I think it’s just a matter of being careful and it doesn’t need any tinkering unless there’s another underlying problem. I found a 3930 at a thrift shop that had the usual laser problems. I took my time replacing the laser. The biggest problem with the laser assembly is the tiny springs, including one underneath the laser that’s difficult to get back into place. You should not have to adjust the allen bolts if everything is done correctly.
It sounded absolutely fantastic afterwards and I flipped it on eBay. I think I made $10 on the deal after the price of the laser but it was fun job and good to see it released working back in the wild.
BTW, there is a 3 part video on Youtube that shows you exactly what NOT to do when replacing the laser.

 

I wouldn't bother with trying to integrate the Bose into this system you're building. Though it looks like the Denon 2910 has 5.1 channel RCA outs, so you could get an adapter to convert the RCA outs for the Denon's center channel to the plug that would fit into the Bose's aux. It would be a tricky configuration for quality sound, though. The left-right and center speakers would have independent volumes to continually be adjusting (not sure if the Denon 2910 has an output volume control built-in). And the tonal qualities of your left-right versus center speaker would be different, the frequency responses would be different, etc.

Regarding the Monitor Audio speakers -- those are passive speakers, aren't they? So they would need a separate amplifier.

Regarding A5+ versus A2+ (the wireless ones), unless you are strictly limiting your budget to $300 and under, those A2+ speakers represent significant downgrades/compromises in specifications to get to that price-point while also adding features like wireless, bluetooth, etc. For example, you're losing 15Hz in bass (from 50Hz to 65Hz), which is super-significant at that range. You're losing wattage (which means the A2+ speakers will strain more at higher volumes).

Because you're seeking to power the Denon 2910, a disc player capable of high-resolution media (DVD-Audio, SACD), as well as good sounding redbook CDs, it doesn't make any sense to me to choose a speaker model that is designed with lower-resolution media such as Bluetooth in mind.

 

Thanks so much for all this very helpful advice for a newbie. I'll focus on the high-res media for now and not complicate things by trying to add streaming. And I won't try to integrate it but for now the Bose sounds great paired with the Denon. I can finally hear a DVD-Audio of Pet Sounds that I acquired for some reason 15 years ago. Until I settle on speakers, I'll need some kind of RCA converter to run the Denon and TV into the Bose, which has only one input. Is there anything you'd recommend for that? Many thanks.

 

You hadn't mentioned earlier that you also have a TV. :-(

You'll need some combination of adapters and switches to do what you are describing. It's too complicated to get into in this thread. I recommend you start a new thread (for many reasons; extremely little of what you've been asking has anything directly to do with Denon 2910, the subject of this thread), but beware....

You'll have the same problem (two sources, one input) if you get powered stereo speakers to replace your Bose single-speaker, because powered speakers typically only have one input. You're almost inevitably going to create a Frankenstein's monster system of dubious sound quality, which kinda makes high-res media pointless when you're degrading the signal a little bit more, each step of the way.

I recommend you focus on non-high-res media and shift your attention to equipment with potential higher sound quality than any cobbled-together system like you're heading down a path towards. The Denon 2910 is now probably the strongest link in your system, but if everything else is significantly weaker, then what's the point?

Craig.

 

Thank you Craig, and sorry for getting off track.

 

When a disc is inserted, it reads 00:00:00 on the display and does play content.

What part needs to be replaced? Is it the Hitachi HOP-1200R?