Is The 3930ci a Night & Day Improvement Over the 2910?

[Jack Hammer]

Are the sound and picture quality of the Denon 3930ci a night and day improvement over the 2910 (not the 2910ci), or just more refined?

Thanks

Jack

(I'm considering an upgrade)

 

[Jack Hammer]

Are the sound and picture quality of the Denon 3930ci a night and day improvement over the 2910 (not the 2910ci), or just more refined?

Thanks

Jack

(I'm considering an upgrade)

**BUMP

Anyone???

 

[Geno]

The answer is no

I have a 3910 (not the CI) and a 2910, and the differences are certainly not night & day, IMHO. I know, the reviews and discussions about small improvements in DACs and video processing generate a lot of talk from folks who nit-pick these things to death, but to the average hobbyist, like me, the improvements are pretty minor. The already great audio and picture quality of the 2910 is maybe a tiny bit better on my 3910, but not enough to get excited about.

Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong

 

[Jack Hammer]

Geno, that seemed to be the general consensus. It is one of the reasons I didn't pony up twice as much for the 3910. There is talk about how awesome the 3930ci is and that it is better than the 3910. I've been unable to really find any actual comparisons between the 2910 and 3930ci.

I'm considering buying a 3930ci, but only if it is really going to be worth it. The 2910 was a worthwhile upgrade from my old player, no regrets. I just don't want to 'waste' money on getting a 3930ci just to say I have it and end up with a 3% improvement in SQ and PQ.

Has anyone directly compared these?

Jack

 

[mtrycrafts]

Geno, that seemed to be the general consensus. It is one of the reasons I didn't pony up twice as much for the 3910. There is talk about how awesome the 3930ci is and that it is better than the 3910. I've been unable to really find any actual comparisons between the 2910 and 3930ci.

I'm considering buying a 3930ci, but only if it is really going to be worth it. The 2910 was a worthwhile upgrade from my old player, no regrets. I just don't want to 'waste' money on getting a 3930ci just to say I have it and end up with a 3% improvement in SQ and PQ.

Has anyone directly compared these?

Jack

Consider the fact that the HD video is coming one way or the other. Is now the time to buy into an standard def DVD player so expensive?

 

[kenhoeve]

Consider the fact that the HD video is coming one way or the other. Is now the time to buy into an standard def DVD player so expensive?

no way. why, when you can get a $900 hd-dvd player that has the same processor to do pristine upconversions AND plays hd-dvd? it's a no brainer in my book.

 

[Nick250]

no way. why, when you can get a $900 hd-dvd player that has the same processor to do pristine upconversions AND plays hd-dvd? it's a no brainer in my book.

I will wait until the prices come down. I make a reasonable living, but no way can I justify $900 for a hd-dvd player. Different strokes.....

Nick

 

[Jack Hammer]

I have an opportunity to sell my 2910 for near what I paid for it. With all the reviews for the 3930ci and it's stellar upconversion, I figure it could be a very nice player to have while the format thing still plays out. IIRC in the reviews the 3930ci does a better job with standard dvd's, which I have about 600 of, than the Bluray/HDDVD players. In a year or two, I could put the 3930ci in my bedroom and get a new format player then.

I just want to make sure that it is worth the upgrade. If things look just barely better, then it's a waste of money. If they look awesome, then it is worth it to me.

So the real question is, is the 3930ci $650 better than the 2910?

Thanks

Jack

 

[MACCA350]

no way. why, when you can get a $900 hd-dvd player that has the same processor to do pristine upconversions AND plays hd-dvd? it's a no brainer in my book.

They don't use the same processor, the 3930CI Realta T2 HQV(the same chip thats in the 5910CI) while the HD-XA1 uses the Reon-VX HQV. BTW the Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray player also uses the Reon-VX HQV

cheers

 

[Jack Hammer]

It was suggested to me last night that I should consider keeping the 2910 and adding a scaler. Supposedly that would make a huge difference in PQ and be fairly inexpensive. Any thoughts, experience, or recomedations?

Jack

 

[mtrycrafts]

...I figure it could be a very nice player to have while the format thing still plays out.
Jack

Then what? Who will you sell it to when HD video is standard and the 3930 will not play it?
I bet there will be a better handle on the formats by the end of the year. Can you wait?
Is there a market for used VHS players?

 

[mtrycrafts]

They don't use the same processor, the 3930CI Realta T2 HQV(the same chip thats in the 5910CI) while the HD-XA1 uses the Reon-VX HQV. BTW the Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray player also uses the Reon-VX HQV

cheers

No, but that 3930 doesn't play HD video, does it?

 

[MACCA350]

No, but that 3930 doesn't play HD video, does it?

And I don't have any HD-DVD's

cheers

 

[Jack Hammer]

Then what? Who will you sell it to when HD video is standard and the 3930 will not play it?
I bet there will be a better handle on the formats by the end of the year. Can you wait?
Is there a market for used VHS players?

That is an excellent point and a concern of mine. However, at this point I have about 600 SD DVD's and zero HD. My current player will likely end up in my bedroom for some time. It is highly unlikely that I'll buy a second HD player for a considerable amount of time. There are only a small number of movies I will double dip with.

In reality, when a do buy a high-def player, unless it does a better job with SD movies I will likely have both players hooked up to my system. If my Denon has better SQ I will likely leave it and use it as my CD/SACD player.

Any experience with a scaler? Would that make much difference?

Thanks

Jack

 

[rollinrocker]

Jack,

I own both the 2910 and 3930ci. I upgraded after reading Clint's review of the 3930ci. I believe PQ will depend on your display. I have a sony 60" sxrd and there is an improvement, tho it is not evident on every scene. In the beginning of "Gladiator", when Maximus is walking thru the field, the hairs on his hand are more detailed, as is the fur on his robe moments later. In "Braveheart", the scene just before the English soldiers abduct Mel's bride, the grizzelled old soldier says "look lively sargent", the englishmen's armour has such depth and detail it seems to pop off the screen, as near to 3-d as i've seen. But, that said, I don't think these differences are night and day, for the 2910 is a fine performer. One of the main reasons I chose the 3930ci (along with a 3806 receiver used as a pre-pro) was to take advantage of the denonlink feature, this would allow me to add a blue-ray or hd player to the ext. in jacks at a later date. BUT...after reading other threads on this subject i connected the 3930ci to the ext. in on the 3806 and SQ is outstanding. I think this is where you may find a bigger difference between players. On Rickie Lee Jones first cd, the bass intro to "easy money" has more texture, more detail as his fingers move over the neck of the bass. On "night train", which is a great demo song, the way the guitarist slides his (or her) fingers over the frets seems more pronounced, you can feel the skin scrape the strings.

I'm like you Jack. I have about 400 dvd's and about 60 dvd-audio and sacd's, and i'm sure to add more between now and when the hd formats reach the point where i would feel comfortable buying either option. This, hopefully, will be the last sd player i will own and i think i'll be happy, as i think you would. That said, your original question was is it worth the extra money to upgrade? Let me say that i think i could have lived happily with the 2910, but after having the 3930ci to play with, i'd feel like i was missing something if i went back. If you could get a dealer to let you try one for a few days you could decide.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Thank you for the comparison. There aren't any local dealers I'm aware of that carry that unit or allow auditions. I've primarily looked online because the prices are much, much cheaper. So for this decision I've somewhat got to go on faith of others subjective reports. The PQ of my 2910 was better than that of my old player (Pioneer dv578a), but not dramatically better . The SQ was an immense improvement - night and day. That alone made it worth the purchase price ($400) to me. And I'm really looking for that same type of improvement.

I'm thinking that Mtry had a good point that maybe I should just wait a bit longer and see what turns out. I know there is a lot expected to happen this year.

Jack