Best Universal DVD Player in the $500 Range

[ZoFo]

I have just upgraded my speakers & made the move from Receiver to Separates and am now looking for the best Universal DVD player in the $500 range. My Outlaw Pre/Pro has excellent analog bass management so that is not a feature that is high on my list in selecting a Universal player. I am looking hard at the Denon 2910 and was wondering if there are any other players in this range that are worth taking a look at; any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[j_garcia]

The Denon 2910 is above your budget, but it's what I'd be shooting for. You can probably find one used for about that price. Next bet would be a used 2900.

 

[ZoFo]

The Denon 2910 is above your budget, but it's what I'd be shooting for. You can probably find one used for about that price. Next bet would be a used 2900.

Thanks for the reply! I have found a refurbished 2900 but have not found a used / refurbed 2910; do you know offhand what the major differences are between these the 2910 and 2900, is the 2910 just a newer model?

 

[Dan Driscoll]

I believe the DVD-2910 is actually the newer version of the DVD-2200, not the DVD-2900. The 3910 would be the 2005 version of the 2900 and 3800 players.

The big difference between the 2200/2910 and the 2900/3910 is the audio side, the 2900/3910 are much better audio players than the 2200/2910. On the video side, the 2200 and 2900 have the Silicon Image deinterlacer and Mistsubishi MPEG decoder, so they don't suffer from macroblocking and the chroma bug is not visiable on any but a few DVDs. The 2910/3910 use the Faroudja FL2310 deinterlacer and ESS MPEG decoder. They don't have the chroma bug, but do show macroblocking on some displays.

If you're going for an audio player a used 2900 would be the better choice, IMO. If you're primariliy interested in video performance then the 2900 is still a little better than the 2910, IMO. You can check the Benchmark results for the various Denon players here.

 

[j_garcia]

The sound quality was the main difference between the 2200 and the 2900 to me, and of course build quality. The 2910 is about half way between the 2900 and 2200, IMO. The 3910 replaced the 2900 in the line, but is actually a replacement for the 3800, and it's a small step up from the 2900. If it matters, the main thing the 2900 lacks that the 2910 and 3910 have is DVI/HDMI and upconversion. I'm very happy with my 2900