Okay, so on the other thread I started I mentioned I'd post some thoughts when I'd had a chance to run it in a little. Some history; the DVD3930 was released about six years back and was at the higher end of Denon's range (albeit not the flagship model which was several £k's worth) and was one of a group of three or four players only that played all the main audio disc formats at that time; CD, SACD, DVD-A and HDCD.
Costing £1000 on release, this wasn't exactly the cheapest model out there but generally reviewed well. WHFS&V gave it a 4 star review and I imagine that it lost out on the fifth star due to pricing and the competition delivering almost as much for somewhat less.
I saw the write-up and wanted one but the budget was way over my league at the time and I eventually settled on the Marantz SA7001-KI SACD/CD player a year or two later instead.
Fast forward to the present day and with the nature of the consumer electronics market, the advent of Blu-ray and the passing of time, the DVD3930 is a bit of a footnote in player history, which means you can pick them up on Ebay on the odd occasion for around £200-300. I saw mine online in the secondhand pages of a dealer's looking back at me. The two seconds it took for me to decide probably makes this about the fastest audio purchase I've ever made and the guys at English Audio (for it was they) couldn't have been more helpful. One previous owner who was particularly careful with his gear ("fastidious" was the actual term used!) and they could ship after Easter, on the following Tuesday. Job done.
So come Wednesday, it arrived by courier and by chance I was at home. First impression were good; original box and packaging all in good nick, manual, original remote (with batteries!) and boy was it heavy! Condition is as expected, near mint. As ever, the proof of the pudding's in the listening so off to the rack which happily has a space left and which, equally happily, the Denon just fits in.
The Atlas Navigators were pressed back into service, as was the Fisual coax and off we went with the usual pile of CDs - Genesis' A Trick of The Tail, Joni Mitchell's brilliant Night Ride Home disc, The Yes Album, Keith Jarret & Charlie Haden's Jasmine and what quickly became a pile of others.
It became pretty apparent that this player was a capable beast delivering a full and accurate representation of the music, of whichever flavour you cared to throw at it. Bass is deep, but not overpowering and well positioned; bass drums and bass guitars and identifiable and clearly picked out, Tony Levin's work on various Peter Gabriel albums is wonderfully presented as is Manu Katche's drum sound with both being full and lively rather than ponderous or treacly.
Julie Feeney's Pages album is not only a very fine work, but a good run for your stereo - her vocals and the string arrangements are nicely played out by the Denon. Her vocal highs mixing nicely with the deep tones of cellos and the fluency of the overall work comes across well.
I'd heard this player could be bright so if you do happen upon one, match it carefully. In my room, this works well; the Marantz has a lovely tone to it, but I'd noticed in my new living room that the sound wasn't as captivating as it had been in my old place. The Denon returns me to the sound I like - clear, detailed but highly rhythmic. In short, it's a player I can happily play for hours (and have done this week!) and there's no issues with perceived brightness, just a well balanced and nicely integrated sound in my system.
One question that might crop up is how redbook CD performs against the Marantz; to my ears, it sounds great. I don't feel shortchanged and in the present arrangement, the Denon probably edges the Marantz slightly. Not done a side-by-side test yet, but overall the performance matches my expectations of what a £1000 player should be able to do.
This is one very impressive player; caters for most disc-based music and video formats (obv. no Blu-ray) and sound quality is well up there. For the price I paid (£150), I'm delighted with this find. If you're in the market for trying out an older player like this, then you'll do significantly worse than the 3930. The DVD-2900 is another one worth looking out and can be had often for £150 or less in good condition.
Costing £1000 on release, this wasn't exactly the cheapest model out there but generally reviewed well. WHFS&V gave it a 4 star review and I imagine that it lost out on the fifth star due to pricing and the competition delivering almost as much for somewhat less.
I saw the write-up and wanted one but the budget was way over my league at the time and I eventually settled on the Marantz SA7001-KI SACD/CD player a year or two later instead.
Fast forward to the present day and with the nature of the consumer electronics market, the advent of Blu-ray and the passing of time, the DVD3930 is a bit of a footnote in player history, which means you can pick them up on Ebay on the odd occasion for around £200-300. I saw mine online in the secondhand pages of a dealer's looking back at me. The two seconds it took for me to decide probably makes this about the fastest audio purchase I've ever made and the guys at English Audio (for it was they) couldn't have been more helpful. One previous owner who was particularly careful with his gear ("fastidious" was the actual term used!) and they could ship after Easter, on the following Tuesday. Job done.
So come Wednesday, it arrived by courier and by chance I was at home. First impression were good; original box and packaging all in good nick, manual, original remote (with batteries!) and boy was it heavy! Condition is as expected, near mint. As ever, the proof of the pudding's in the listening so off to the rack which happily has a space left and which, equally happily, the Denon just fits in.
The Atlas Navigators were pressed back into service, as was the Fisual coax and off we went with the usual pile of CDs - Genesis' A Trick of The Tail, Joni Mitchell's brilliant Night Ride Home disc, The Yes Album, Keith Jarret & Charlie Haden's Jasmine and what quickly became a pile of others.
It became pretty apparent that this player was a capable beast delivering a full and accurate representation of the music, of whichever flavour you cared to throw at it. Bass is deep, but not overpowering and well positioned; bass drums and bass guitars and identifiable and clearly picked out, Tony Levin's work on various Peter Gabriel albums is wonderfully presented as is Manu Katche's drum sound with both being full and lively rather than ponderous or treacly.
Julie Feeney's Pages album is not only a very fine work, but a good run for your stereo - her vocals and the string arrangements are nicely played out by the Denon. Her vocal highs mixing nicely with the deep tones of cellos and the fluency of the overall work comes across well.
I'd heard this player could be bright so if you do happen upon one, match it carefully. In my room, this works well; the Marantz has a lovely tone to it, but I'd noticed in my new living room that the sound wasn't as captivating as it had been in my old place. The Denon returns me to the sound I like - clear, detailed but highly rhythmic. In short, it's a player I can happily play for hours (and have done this week!) and there's no issues with perceived brightness, just a well balanced and nicely integrated sound in my system.
One question that might crop up is how redbook CD performs against the Marantz; to my ears, it sounds great. I don't feel shortchanged and in the present arrangement, the Denon probably edges the Marantz slightly. Not done a side-by-side test yet, but overall the performance matches my expectations of what a £1000 player should be able to do.
This is one very impressive player; caters for most disc-based music and video formats (obv. no Blu-ray) and sound quality is well up there. For the price I paid (£150), I'm delighted with this find. If you're in the market for trying out an older player like this, then you'll do significantly worse than the 3930. The DVD-2900 is another one worth looking out and can be had often for £150 or less in good condition.
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