Denon DNP-720AE and Squeezebox Touch

[crusaderlord]

Any views on the Denon DNP-720AE as an alternative to the Squeezebox Touch. I am getting software issues requiring regular re-installs due to scan freezes on the Logitech and am now considering alternatives. Long term goal would be something more expensive like the Naim ND5XS but short term a similar quality sound would be fine. The Denon is £185 which sounds very good but is it a backwards step ? I use an app to control rather than the screen and whilst i like the coaxial out of the Squeezebox i hope the Optical would be ok although i think my MF M1Dac is better with a coaxial input. I generally use CD as main source, but the Squeezebox is use for Radio Paradise and some downloaded tracks i dont own on CD.

Any thoughts welcome.

 

[nopiano]

I'm a fan of Denon gear and have owned cartridges, amps and DVD players of theirs. I recently bought a used SBT and considered the Denon and its slightly superior Marantz cousin, but rejected both on grounds of no gapless playback, a hideous flaw. The Denon seems to be only fair for SQ too, based on several reviews, so barely worth even its modest asking price. The only redeeming quality to me is it looks like a normal bit of hifi, but then I'm sure you'd miss the display of the SBT and the sound might well be inferior.

I guess if you could get a home demo (I know you can get the Marantz from the likes of Peter Tyson on SOR) it might be worth a try. But for Radio Paradise would a replacement SBT do the trick? Is the software issue solvable do you think?

I'd even wondered about using the little Onkyo CR-N775 as a streamer, but never got round to checking that option fully. It does have analogue outs, but sadly doesn't seem to give a digital out, so would be no use with your M1DAC.

Maybe time to take a leap to the Naim Unitiqute, again as a streamer leaving the amps idle, then you could PX your DAC too if the sound was good enough.

 

[crusaderlord]

thanks for the helpful reply.

i drilled a hole through the wall and hardwired the pc by ethernet into the router and then to the squeezebox and so far (touch wood) no freezes. hopefully i may have fixed the issue in that it was wireless related - added benefit is that the music sound a tad more relaxed too

not sure if i will do anything now although the Naim V1 Dac looks quite tempting as a replacement for the MF M1 Dac

 

[SomersetGuy]

In case anyone's interested, after a recent firmware update, the Denon dnp720-ae now does gapless FLAC playback, and also it's now possible to search ("fast forward" and "rewind") within a track.

Seemed a long time coming, but I'm really glad Denon has done this (I bought mine in the early days of its release).

 

[Sandflyer]

Nearly a year since the last post, but hopefully SomersetGuy's still around:

I am looking into some sort of "FLAC player", including this Denon, but the dreaded gapless nightmare has been driving me up the wall.

What you have written is quite reassuring, but I have a couple of questions and I would be grateful for answers:

1. Do you know the firmware version number that introduces gapless playback? I have limited trust in what some guy at the store tells me, so I would rather be able to check this myself (apart from actually playing some files to see).

2. Does gapless playback also include lossy files, or just FLAC?

3. Does the Denon handle cue files?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[SomersetGuy]

Hi. Yes, still around!

1. I don't know this and couldn't find it on my system.

2. I have just this minute tried this: will play FLAC gaplessly, but will not play mp3s gaplessly.

3. Don't know -- haven't tried that.

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[Sandflyer]

Oh, brilliant, many thanks.

The firmware number is probably hidden in the menu somewhere. Anyway, that's not the main issue. If I go out looking to buy this now, hopefully it will have the latest firmware installed (need to check the production year, I guess).

I'm still borderline between building a "music" computer (if not HTPC) and buying a network player. The Denon lets me combine a tuner and FLAC player in one box, which is an advantage, as my amplifier (Advance Acoustic MAP 105) doesn't have too many inputs.

Thanks again,

Paul (coincidence!)

 

[SomersetGuy]

Hi Paul

The Denon in my experience performs rather solidly if you want basic playback of tracks and whole albums, and of course it has AirPlay and you can plug an i-thingy or HDD / USB in at the front. If you buy one and it doesn't have the latest firmware, it's just a simple case of updating the unit via its menu.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with the Denon, but I'm sure you're aware that the streamer market is now becoming increasingly populated (I wouldn't quite say "crowded") with quite a few other devices out there that do as much as, if not slightly more than, the Denon. Since I bought the Denon, I have rather indulgently splashed out on a Stream Magic 6 and a Naim Superuniti. Delighted with them both, having justified the purchases to myself as being for different rooms(!)

Good luck with everything!

Paul

 

[Sandflyer]

Compared to the Cambridge A. (never mind the Naim), the Denon has one thing going for it - price.

Yes, I'm mainly interested in playing back whole albums, so things like programming, integration with NAS etc. etc. are of no interest to me (at least for now).

Just one other question (for now :roll: ) that I forgot to ask - is WAV file playback also gapless in the Denon?

Many thanks for your help.

 

[SomersetGuy]

I haven't played WAVs through the Denon, but I wouldn't bother with WAVs. See http://www.naimlabel.com/musicstore-downloads-information.aspx for a detailed comparison of file formats.

 

[Woerns]

Hi,

I have the Denon RCD-N8 (probably similiar to the DNP-720AE) and I can confirm it can play gapless with FLAC as well as with WAV formats.

However, there is a drawback.
I have my music on a NAS with the TwonkyMedia server. When I use the denon remote control I can access the server and can play gapless. Since I want to use a tablet to scroll through my music an app is neccessarry. There is the Denon Remote App for both Android and Apple but with this app the device _CANNOT_ play your music gapless!

For Android there are other apps like BubbleUPNP that are able to control streaming gapless. But this app has other drawbacks so I do not really feel comfortable with it.

For my wife's IPad Air I did not find yet an app that makes gapless playback happen. I am really interested in a solution...

Regards

 

[cheeseboy]

if you have an external dac, I can higly reccomend getting a cheapo silent pc and running daphile on it. http://www.daphile.com/

I've recently been testing it out and it's excellent. Runs a squeezebox server so you can use squeezebox apps on your android/idevice or you can even run it over any web browser

Worth a try at least if you have any spare hardware lying around