Denon DVD-2900 repairs and mods

pmckeealaska

In another thread I mentioned that my Denon DVD-2900 seemed to freeze up when playing some DVD-A's in surround sound only. Other than that, it's still a fantastic player and since I dont really listen to much surround sound music anyway, it doesnt usually bother me. At any rate, I have read a lot about places that will do modifications on these babies to make them perform better. Do you know if any of these places would also look at fixing my player in addition to doing some modifications? Just curious. I figure if I'm going to send it in to get fixed, I might as well get it modded as well. Two birds with one stone and all! Thanks for any help or advice.

ben62670

I mod them, but the DVD issue is probably a firmware issue.

pmckeealaska

Well, I described my problem to Denon and they said there wasnt a firmware update available for my model and that it probably needs to be sent in for repair. It does seem strange though that it doesnt have the skipping/freezing problem on SACD's in surround sound or DVD-A's in 2 channel. In fact, it only seems to do it on a few of my DVD-A's when in surround sound. Some of the DVD-A's play just fine in 5.1. I jusst cant imagine what it might be if it isnt some sort of optical lens issue??

At any rate, what kind of mods do you do ben? Is there a common kind of mod thats done or one in particular that gives you the most bang for the buck? I'm really happy with the quality of playback on my 2900 but I'm always interested in improving upon it if its affordable from a cost/benefit perspective.

dorokusai

CDP/DVD players are not difficult to do modest mods and if you search well enough you'd be surprised at how much is plug and play. At some point, you really need to take away the scared to open it up factor and get yourself a soldering iron and start hitting the DIY forums. There's not much I would send out to someone else to get modded anymore especially a loudspeaker crossover.

pmckeealaska

If you knew how completely incompetent I was at ANY handy work, you wouldnt be saying that to me

Yes, I have a fear of messing with a $1000 piece of equipment. I'd rather send it out to be done by someone who knows what they're doing.

Does anyone have an idea of price range for mods done on the 2900?

ben62670

$100 goes a long way with the mods. New opamps, caps, and resistors.

dorokusai

From mild to wild......$100 to $3k.

I'd shoot an email to Matt Anker @ sacdmods.com....Chris & crew @ partsconnexion.com or Underwood Hi-Fi if you want some serious, established modifications. If you want to get it done by Polkies, there are a couple here, including myself. It's not rocket science.

pmckeealaska

Thanks for the suggestions guys. At this point I'm torn about whether or not I should send it back to Denon for repair as they suggested. If I could find a place that did both repairs AND mods, that would be the ideal place to go. At any rate, I'll contact the folks suggested above to get their input. Right now, I'm enjoying my new Aja SHM-SACD so much I'm loath to be away from my Denon for any length of time!

F1nut

Considering that the used market price for that unit is around $200.00, you may want to think twice about repairing yours.

Here's a modded Denon that started life as a better player to begin with, http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1290547585&/Denon-Sale-Or-Trade-DVD-3910-u

pmckeealaska

I've heard a 3910 before and personally liked the sound of my 2900
better. I understand the used market price and it's a good point, but I still love my 2900'and don't really want to part with it at this point. I am torn between the cost/benefit of repairing and modding and older unit, but again, I just really love the sound of this baby! Ugh...what to do!

kawizx9r

That player Jesse linked looks promising, I'd probably opt for that instead but thats just my .02

Also, if you really want to mod your player...why not purchase another 2900 and send it out to get modded (either by one of the modders listed above or a fellow Polkie).

Get it back and compare. If you like the modded one, keep it and sell the stock one or vice versa. That and maybe the 2900 you purchase might not have the DVD-A surround sound playback issue so that'd be a plus!

The 2900 can be had for cheap, I see them pop up on the 'gon quite often.

I'd still prefer to grab that modded 3910, one of these days (when I get back into 2-chan)......................

pmckeealaska

That unit does look nice but from a cosmetic standpoint, I dont really want a silver unit amongst all of my black components. I'm sure that sounds petty to some, but hey, I like what I like. And again, the 2900 sounds superior to the 3910 by my ears.

I did find a place that sells the firmware upgrade for the 2900 for $15 so maybe it IS a firmware issue. If so, $15 would be a cheap fix for the issue I'm having. That might explain why is plays some surround DVD-A and not others.

simm

I too have a 2900 that I love but that has issues with a few discs. It skips on my SACD versions of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Alison Kraus and Union Station Live. Had a couple of DVD's that will lock up on it- I think the last Bourne DVD and a couple of Sopranos episodes. No issues with any of my DVD-A discs. Does this sound like a laser issue? Any ideas on repair?

F1nut

Alison Kraus and Union Station Live

Those SACD's issued by Rounder Records are prone to playback issues.

simm

I had no idea that it could be a disc issue. I'll have to see if I can get access to another SACD player and see if same issue exists on it.

F1nut

There are numerous reports of various hybrid discs having playback issues on just about all the SACD players out there. Therefore, what doesn't play in yours may play in a different machine, but not play in yet another.

One thing to try, clean the lense with a Q-tip soaked in Wnidex, then blow it off with canned air.

simm

Never having tried to clean the laser, is it pretty simple?

dorokusai

Windex leaves a residue....you should be using straight alcohol(not 70% type) but it's your gear.

Ricardo

Matt makes some good mods, but sacdmods.com seems to be down.

dorokusai

He's still doing college if I recall and used to only do work when he was available.

F1nut

Windex leaves a residue....

First I've heard of that.

pmckeealaska

Well, I've been looking at the various mod websites and I dont think I really want to spend more than maybe $300 max on any mods for my 2900. For those that have done the mods on this unit, what would $300 get me?

TSheaZ28

I have a 2900 and love it for SACD. Lately though, if I put a Redbook cd into it, it will not read any of them. I have googled to see if there is any fix, but I could not find any info of fixing, just seeing that it was a known issue. Has anyone here have the same issue and found a remedy?

pmckeealaska

This sounds like a firmware issue. There are places where you can get a firmware update disc for out of warranty 2900's. I forget the place specifically, but google it. Also, try using a cleaning disc. That might be part of your issue. It didnt work for me, but they're cheap and should be part of a DVD cleaning collection at any rate. Good luck and let us know what (if anything) works to resolve your issue!

skrol

I have a DVD-2910 that I picked up as a store demo. It had problems reading several disks but I was able to clean the optic successfully. The cleaning disks did nothing. I had to disassemble the transport and manually clean it. I figured that I had nothing to loose since it would cost more than I paid for the unit to send it out for repair or to buy an new transport for it.

First, I used a can of compressed air to blow away any dust or loose particles. Then I used a micro-fiber cloth for camera lenses and shaped and end into a loose ball and very lightly wiped the optic with nearly no pressure. I gave another light blast of compressed air and re-assembled. It worked wonders. I am hard pressed to find a disk that this thing will not read.

I am not sure what material is used in the optic and if there is any kind of AR coating. I would be cautious about using chemicals. If you opt for chemicals, I suggest something for camera lenses or eyeglasses that will not harm coatings.

Another word of caution... Laser diodes tend to be very ESD sensitive. Use a wrist ground strap and minimize contact.

Stan

DaveHo

My 2900 has the Redbook CD reading issue as well. Do you have a soldering iron & desoldering braid? Member billbillw pointed out that it's probably the pick-up which can be had for less than $20. I ordered this one off ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360309723883&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

It came in 3 days. Now I just need to get around to installing it. The soldering iron & braid are needed to remove 2 solder blobs that are put in place on the pickup to prevent static discharge issues.

-Dave

TSheaZ28

I did use a DVD lens cleaner, but it did nothing. I haven't tried manually cleaning the lens yet, might do that this weekend. If that doesn't work, looks like the whole drive is pretty cheap! Thanks DaveHo for the link, will be useful. I do have decent soldering ability. I'll let everyone know how it works. Thanks again!

pmckeealaska

So if i were intersted in trying to do the mods for my 2900 myself, what equipment would I need exactly? even though I'm loath to try and do them myself, the costs for mods that I'm seing online seem to be way too steep for me (anywhere from $750 to $1750!) and if I can do some myself and reap some sonic benefits, so much the better. Advice from those on here that have done mods on the 2900 would be greatly appreciated!

billbillw

Ricardo wrote: »

Matt makes some good mods, but sacdmods.com seems to be down.

dorokusai wrote: »

He's still doing college if I recall and used to only do work when he was available.

When is website was still up, there was a note saying that he took an officer commission in one of the armed services. He is definitely not available anymore.

kawizx9r

Ben has. He can mod it for you as well, I'd just talk to him if I were you.

ben62670

Seriously substantial improvements can be had on that player for $150. Ask George about the OpAmps he modded his Adcom 600 DAC.