dvd player universal

1. Posted: Apr 22 2008

   I purchased my 1940ci in November of 2007. We don't watch many DVD's, so it was about a week before we used it...it was a great unit...for a total of two movies. About 3 weeks later we went to watch another movie and the unit was dead. I contacted Denon who had me send it to thier repair facility in New Jersey. I live in Arizona. Over 6 weeks later I received it back with a repair tag that said there were two loose solders. I can forgive that. Things happen in shipping. Then, after being out of town for two months we sat down and watched a movie, worked well. a couple weeks later....again, no power...unit was dead again. So in about 6 months I was able to view 3 movies and the unit died twice. I have a Monster Power 5000, so I know it's not a power surge problem. I called Denon again, after emailing them and getting no reply in over a week, and they told me I could send it in again. I asked if they could refund my money, or at least allow me to exchange it at a local authorised dealer...the answer was a resounding NO. send it in or we won't help you. I told them the unit was obviouisly a lemon, the reply was "we never said our units were perfect". My issue isn't so much with quality, the unit was fine...all three times it worked. My issue is with Denon not caring that I paid a very high price for a product based on their reputation for building great quality product, and then not offering me anything but another 6 week plus wait to use it again. Their rep just didn't care. I'll go back to my Pioneer Elite products...I have had them for a long time and only minor problems there.

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1. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 3 2007

   I've been using Amazon for years, but this is my first review. I just think it's a shame to give this DVD player a 1 star! I owned the previous generation of this player, which was no good. It was SUPER slow to load, etc. Thankfully, it broke, and the A/V installers replaced it (as it was under warranty) with this model. I haven't had it for very long, but I love it. It's solid, fast to load discs (for a universal player!), very nice and clean looking, responsive, and the picture is fantastic. FYI, my screen is a 42" Fujitsu plasma, purchased last year. Also, it is dead-silent when playing, unlike, for example, a Marantz DVD player I owned which you could hear from the sofa if the volume wasn't load enough!. Thus the reason I think the other reviewers unit is broken. NOTE: I just put in a disk. If you put you ear against the unit, you can head a rapid tic-tic-tic sound when playing--as you can from all cd/dvd players--but from 6" away, nothing. Also, it sounds like the other reviewer uses the player differently that I do. I pretty much play rented DVD movies with it, I don't burn disks, etc. Also, I am going to buy a second player for another room today, hooking it up to a projector. Having said all that, the Denon DVD-2930CI also gets great reviews, and is in this price range. I suspect the audio on the Yamaha is better, though. Just offering a second opinion!

2. ( 4 of 6 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 28 2007

   Before I purchased the DVD-S2700 I was using the Yamaha DVD-S1500 which I owned for the past 2 years. Anything I burned on my computer played back on the DVD-S1500 without a problem, every disk played back perfectly. I purchased the DVD-S2700 about 2 weeks ago, to gain the advantage of the HD playback of the unit for my Plasma TV, the first disk I played, the picture quality was very good, and the HD quality was GREAT and the sound was also GREAT, but then the picture started to skip, pause, skew, and freeze up, the whole disk was not that way but it happened enough to be very annoying, and should no be happening on disks that played back perfectly not only on my old Yamaha DVD-S1500 but other brand player my friends have. I tested a few disks I played back on the DVD-S2700 just to make sure it was not the disks fault!!!! Then I played a DL disk I burned, it played the first time with the same skips, pauses, skews, and freeze ups.......but the second time I wanted to play the same DL disk the unit gave me a message "Unknown Disk"....What the hell is this, if it play back once what's with this message. Before I got this message, the unit seemed to reset with the picture going black on my tv and the unit turning off then back on????????? Then I keep getting a clicking sound from the disk tray when a disk is loaded, like something is skipping or slipping, or going beyond it's limit. After spending $900 for this unit, I never expected such garbage from Yamaha!!! All I can say is, STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE, SAVE YOUR MONEY...Look at another manufactures.

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1. Posted: Aug 26 2008

   I bought this DVD player thinking it was a step above the three Sony's I own. Not so, the sound goes out for 5 or 6 seconds at a time on all new DVD's. The picture blacks out for 6 or 7 seconds at a time on all new DVD's. The only thing it's good for is playing DVD's that I recorded, like old 70's movies. I looked in the manual and Marantz say's this is normal. The salesman at The Stereo Shop didn't mention this when I bought it. I sell TV's for a living and I will never recommend Marantz again.

2. Posted: May 12 2008

   This is by far one of the best dvd / sacd / dvd-A players on the market. I bought this a year ago and am still also amazed at the performance and picture / audio quality it produces. When marantz put there mind to it they can produce some true classics. Highly recommended for both picture and supurb audio quality. ***** stars. i am a big SACD and DVD-A fan and this plays these formats beautifully with solid audio reproduction hard to find in the same price bracket.

3. Posted: Jun 5 2007

   This Marantz Player has no equal.I been an audiophile for many years and never expected to be blown away by this masterpiece.Simply put the best audio and video performance i have ever experience.The dvd audio and sacd playback is absolutely astonishing....every disc plays with perfection.Worth every penny i paid...and highly recommend this unit.

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1. ( 2 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 14 2007

   What a DVD player... outstanding. Nice, good performance, simply excellent. You should buy it. The only bad feature of it... it only reads Region 1, so, if you use to travel around the world and buy DVD's everywhere (as myself) this is not the DVD you are looking for.

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1. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 3 2008

   Equipment used & peripherals: Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver, modified Musical Fidelity X-10D hybrid tube cd clarifier, with two 6922 RCA Bugle Boy vintage vacuum tubes, connected to the front right & left channels of the player before leading to amp, Kef Q series C90 front tower & center speakers, Bose 301 surround speakers, MIT Terminator 3 & QED Kudos speaker cables, Acoustic Research, Audioquest & Ixos interconnects and Panasonic and Monoprice HDMI cables, Sony Bravia KLV-32V300 LCD tv, STAC automatic voltage regulator, isobar and audioprism noise filters/power conditioners. Test discs: Audio discs used are: Denon Jazz Sampler Plus The Audio Tool Box II (Nippon Columbia 1994), Pat Coil: Schemes and Dreams (Sheffield Lab), Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker (Sheffield Lab), Bill Evans Trio: Waltz For Debbie Hybrid Multi-Channel SACD (Naxos release), Bill Evans Trio: Sunday At The Village Vanguard Hybrid Stereo SACD (Analogue Productions), Getz/Gilberto Stereo Hybrid SACD (Verve), The Carpenters Singles: 1969-1981 Hybrid Multi-Channel SACD (A&M/BMG release), Clair Marlo: Let It Go Stereo SACD (Cisco release), Weather Report: Heavy Weather Stereo SACD (Columbia/Sony) and Derek & The Dominos: Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs Hybrid Multi-Channel SACD. Terminator II THX-certified Region 1 DVD was used for video playback. Pros: Impressive and very good build quality, slim, sturdy and stable because of considerable weight, fine aesthetic quality and sexy looking, solid aluminium faceplate, SACD/DVD Audio/Audio EX/HDMI indicator LED lights at front panel, all necessary audio-video connections (gold-plated) can be found at the back panel, detachable power cord, remote control (luminous) keys spaced apart to suit those with big fingers, hi-tech features like cd playback upsampling and audio EX (video circuitry and front panel display can be turned-off for maximum audio performance), up to 1080p dvd upscaling function ( preserves fine details and film grain characteristics of the movie). Cons: Shallow tray wherein the disc fits barely enough, it's very easy to misload and potentially scratch your precious disc, big and strange-looking remote in which the keys are organized unconventionally and takes time to get used to, display window and LED display is somewhat small, remote control's range is a bit limited (60 degrees side-to-side), player transport/response is a tad slow, typical of Philips made DVD transports. More expensive compared to other mid-priced players. Operations manual, although as thick as a book (in several languages), the explanations are somewhat abbreviated and makes you think this is intended for advanced users who had previously owned SACD players. Actual Performance: This unit was designed primarily as an SACD player with dvd capabilities seemingly as bonus (in other players, this order is reversed). It needs a good run-in (preferably 24 hours or more) before actual and serious listening because bass and treble performance is a bit soft and laid-back straight from the box, although midrange is already superb and somewhat better than actual (live) performance. `Couldn't wait for more time, I started an extended listening and viewing session. After 12 hours run-in, bass performance is still leaner but a lot deeper compared to my Pioneer DV 600AV (maybe its bass, as tuned by Pioneer is a bit overblown). Midrange that's already superb seems to get better, Karen & Clair's voices are those of angels, percussion instruments opened up and came alive, its natural decay seems longer than what I previously heard with other players when using the same discs, the roughness of air blown though the tenor saxophone is distinctive, Oh! The pure sound of Fender Rhodes synthesizer, the crispness of piano enthralls to no end, ambient background noises (Waltz For Debbie and Sunday At The Village Vanguard were recorded with live audience) are clearer, the chatting, laughter and glasses clanging accurately reproduced, the roughness/vibration of acoustic base is right in your face and the energy and passion of the blues (Layla) will thrill you to the bones. My cd's, some of them I owned for the past thirteen years, came up with details I haven't heard before, through HDMI and even better when upsampled to 88.2 khz through the analog outs. In short, this player reproduces heavenly midrange, incredible detail and superb dynamics! Video performance is very good. Fine details and film grain were preserved. But noticeable is the slight blurring on fast-moving objects (this player doesn't support 24/60p, unlike my PS3). Blacks are really deep blacks, excellent! Video upscaling to 1080p of my PS3 is a bit better but this player beats my Pioneer DV 600AV hands down! Recommendation: Don't use laid-back and dark sounding interconnects. While they produce a superb midrange, they will further dampen the bass and treble details. Conclusion: This is a superb player, much, much better than all the players I owned, notwithstanding the few "design flaws". My verdict is pure and simple: buy it! It's worth every penny of its price!

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