Denon DVD-3930 Universal Player - the latest purchase!

[the record spot]

Some of you might remember when this machine came out - there were a handful of players at the time (September 2006) that did all the main formats which I was interested in; SACD, CD, DVD-A but we're talking maybe only two or three companies (Arcam and NAD being the other two at the time) that did this. Cost price was typically £800+ and it reviewed incredibly well at the time. I think Jimmy Hughes or Alvin Gold ran a 3930 at home for their day-to-day listening which is a pretty decent recommendation.

Fast forward to today and I've been thinking about getting a cheap machine that has DVD-A capability. Popped in to Cash Generator in Leith this morning and they had a Cambridge DVD99. Went home, checked out the internet for reviews and decided against it.

Remembered the Denon and Googled it. Found one, in mint nick, for £150 in a dealers down south. Three minutes and one swift transaction later and it's on its way to me on Tuesday. Job done. I only need this for audio purposes not the video end of things as the Panasonic and the Sony streaming service takes care of those duties. Will post some thoughts up when I've heard it do its thing, but for the money that I paid compared to what the player cost (think it was around £900-1000?), it's a steal, though the proof of the pudding is in the eating!

 

[the record spot]

And for those of you who couldn't remember the player, here's a shot of it here:-

Quite a hefty beast too, coming at around 11.5kgs or so. And it has HDCD compatibility too, so that's the three covered off (pre-Bluray anyway); SACD, DVD-A and HDCD. Looking forward to hearing this.

 

[the record spot]

Ooo...if you'll pardon the John Duncan.

More to follow shortly.

 

[matthewpiano]

Does this mean goodbye to the Marantz then RS?

 

[the record spot]

Well, not long had it Matthew, so it's early days of course. That said, the Denon's pretty much in mint condition, but first impressions are very good. I'll run it for a while though and see. Build quality can't be faulted, immense remote though, but otherwise, there's not really a whole lot to complain about here.

Music comes across very naturally, in this setup anyway, crystal clear without being brittle or harsh. Weighty without being too boomy. Very nicely balanced player. I can see why Jimmy Hughes chose one as his stock player at home.

Not used the video side of it yet, but might have to invest in a basic cable that'll run to the TV (for DVD-A purposes). Otherwise, so far, so good. I'll post up some thoughts the more I listen to it.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been keeping my eye out on various Denon players, including the heavier DVD machines. Is this one of those copper laminated 6 to 10kg jobbies? I know they did make em fat and heavy in the upper echelons of their range. Heavy is always good.

 

[dariushifi]

Music comes across very naturally, in this setup anyway, crystal clear without being brittle or harsh. Weighty without being too boomy. Very nicely balanced player. I can see why Jimmy Hughes chose one as his stock player at home.

Hello RS,

I wonder have you noticed differance in sound playing CD through DENON and playing the same CD FLAC through Onkyo 8050? Which one do you prefer? Will you be digging old CD's and spinning them with DENON, the same as I did with mine?

Try to burn hi rez files into DVD audio, give them a try on Denon and compare them with Onkyo's streaming. It would be interesting to hear.

 

[the record spot]

I have been keeping my eye out on various Denon players, including the heavier DVD machines. Is this one of those copper laminated 6 to 10kg jobbies? I know they did make em fat and heavy in the upper echelons of their range. Heavy is always good.

The 3930 clocked in at 11.5kgs and sold for £1000 when it came out in late 2006. It's pretty solid, and reminded me of some of the higher end Sony ES range from the top down. Very substantial player and sounds lovely in this setup.

 

[the record spot]

Music comes across very naturally, in this setup anyway, crystal clear without being brittle or harsh. Weighty without being too boomy. Very nicely balanced player. I can see why Jimmy Hughes chose one as his stock player at home.

Hello RS,

I wonder have you noticed differance in sound playing CD through DENON and playing the same CD FLAC through Onkyo 8050? Which one do you prefer? Will you be digging old CD's and spinning them with DENON, the same as I did with mine?

Try to burn hi rez files into DVD audio, give them a try on Denon and compare them with Onkyo's streaming. It would be interesting to hear.

Hi Darius, I haven't used the Denon for anything other than CDs since it arrived today. That said, I'm more than happy with its sound. In fairness, I mainly use CDs at home anyway and only very occasionally do I use the external HDD. I don't use FLAC, but stick with WAV files when I copy CDs over. I have a number of DVD-A discs too (Talking Heads, King Crimson) and one or two HDCDs (Grateful Dead in the main).

Most of the time these days I just want to play a CD and get on with whatever I'm doing rather than comparing different source files of the same album (no offence meant). That activity probably doesn't float my boat as much anymore. I like the convenience of the HDD, but it's not something I use often. Maybe once I've copied the discs getting rid of over to the computer I will, but for now, it's not an element of the hobby I'm all that into.

 

[plastic penguin]

In few days I'll ask some questions. Think it's a little early for you to answer with any confidence.

 

[John Duncan]

Ooo...

See, at least you can spell it right...

 

[the record spot]

In few days I'll ask some questions. Think it's a little early for you to answer with any confidence.

No worries PP, if I don't post anything at the weekend, chances are it'll the following one as will be away with work again next week. I have a pretty good idea of the Denon's rather impressive credentials already however.