WooHoo! just got it!
All I can say is, WOW! what an improvement overall. This just replaced my Pioneer dv-578a, pretty good for $100 @ BB 3yrs ago. But definately not in the same league.
So far I watched Saving Private Ryan & Grand Prix (two totally bada$$ movies) and listened to some regular cds and sacd.
Weight: The 2910 weighs a little under 12 lbs vs 4lbs for the 578a.
Picture: Much, sharper and with more detail. Though not extremely better. The detail is especially noticeable when zooming. I zoomed into a scene in the beginning of Grand Prix that shows people in the stands as cars zoom by. With the older unit zooming was fuzzy and blurred at 4x. with the 2910 it is still usable at 4x, though slightly pixelated, but I can easily make out much more detail. The 2910 has a little more noticeable jaggies throughout, though the overall picture is more detailed. I think the jaggies are there with the 578a, just not as noticeable due to a less clear picture. I'll have to recheck some specific scenes this weekend.
Audio on Movie: Not much difference for Grand Prix but very noticeable on Saving Private Ryan. The surrounds really come alive with the 2910, much more detailed in sound, something that had always irritated me with the 578a. No matter how much I turned up the surrounds, they always seemed kind of muted to me. With the 2910 I really feel more like I'm in the film, what surrounds are supposed to do. Yes, both units were properly level matched to begin with.
CD: Night and day. I listened to Iron Maiden's Powerslave. Five and a half minutes into the last track, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, there are some boat creaking noises that I was unable to hear unless I turned the volume up too loud to comfortably listen to with the 578a. Plus, the music through it always sounded a little flat, as in there was a something between me and the speaker. The 2910 offered those creaks easily at regular volume and gave a much more robust sound, the music really came alive.
SACD, I listened to some classical music. while it seemed cleaner, I wouldn't swear it wasn't in my head, It wasn't a night/day kind of thing. I'll listen to Dark side of the Moon this weekend, back to back to compare the two.
This is all subjective and my personal observations, they may be tainted. This weekend I'll hook both units up and borrow some movies I have from a friend so I can switch back and forth between units to see just how different it actually is. No I don't plan on doing any DBT's with a team of trained scientists in an anechioc room with zillions of dollars of specialized equipment while myself, a monkey, a rat, two white mice and a guinea pig watch unknowing material while PETA protests outside. So don't ask.
