Denon DVD-3910 SACD / HDCD Player in Black

Conradicles

Time to sell some of my goodies. I have many positive transactions here, and those who have bought from me know my packing is superb.

Here is a Denon DVD-3910 that sounds fantastic. Built like a tank. Plays Redbook, HDCD and SACD among other formats. All functions work and overall presentation is great. The main flaws are scratches next to the HDMI input from the previous owner, and the remote is missing the battery cover.

Other than that, there are a few very minor nicks I tried to include in the pictures. I have many other pictures that can be sent upon request.

Original manual, remote, and power cord included. If you need any additional cables (HDMI, Denon Link, IEEE, Component, etc.) just let me know and I will throw them into the mix for free.

$160 shipped via FedEx or UPS and I will eat the PayPal fees.

bikerboy

I'm interested. I want to ask Scompracer about it and getting I2S out of it. I'll let you tonight if I hear back from him. Thanks.

SCompRacer

Nice solid player! Easy to get I2S/DSD out of. Check out PCM1796 data sheet for chip pinouts.




Just be aware DSD shares I2S circuits but DSD swaps R and L channel so you gotta engineer a fix for that. I used Twisted Pear OTTO II digital switch. A mechanical switch on back of Denon controls OTTO to export DSD with channel swap. Power picked up from board on chassis floor under where I mounted OTTO II. OTTO connects to Twisted Pear Teleporter set to send, one in DAC set to receive.

chumlie

See, No problem.

bikerboy

I'll take it. Pm me your info. Thanks.

[Deleted User]

good pickup. congrats!

maingey

Hold on, so what's the mod that you just showed above? Can it be done to a 5910?

Conradicles

PM sent. Thanks bikerboy.

SCompRacer

maingey wrote: »

Hold on, so what's the mod that you just showed above? Can it be done to a 5910?

With this mod you are taking I2S, the serial communication between player transport and internal DAC, and exporting it to a better DAC. I2S has clock separate of data where SPDIF has clock embedded with data (R and L channel) and the DAC must sort it out.

I2S can sound better than SPDIF but it comes down to best implementation. I2S has three lines. Bit clock line, Word clock line - also called word select (WS) or left right clock (LRCLK) and at least one multiplexed data line. DSD (SACD) has clock, left and right channel. You DAC needs to have proper inputs for I2S and native DSD for this to work. I2S and DSD may share some circuits to audio chip in the player thus reducing number of wires to connect and needing signal switching for proper signal output.

Many factors at play here. Type of DAC chip, (some decode SPDIF better than others) and keep the I2S run short (inches) and use LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signal) modules for send and receive between player and DAC. One meter or more without LVDS modules can cause latency issues with I2S. You get up to 100 feet between DAC and player with Twisted Pear Teleporter modules.

Provided you can get a data sheet for your player’s audio chipset, you can do this mod to any player. Even a SB Touch. Without data sheet, it takes a scope and looking for the right signals to chipset. You need a volt meter to measure where to snag power (5v), or install a separate power supply. You also have to watch for any reversal of R and L channels when playing DSD on shared I2S lines. The data sheet will show chip inputs/outputs and you have to figure it out.

My photobucket page with added pics of 3910 mod.

http://s417.photobucket.com/user/scompracer/library/Buffalo III DAC?sort=3&page=1

maingey

@SCompRacer I actually largely understood that. Never knew this could be done. Thanks!

Conradicles

Sold.

bikerboy

Got home from the annual one week mtn bike trip and this was waiting for me. Packed in bomb proof materials and seems to work fine. Now to get the I2S connection so I can get dsd out of it via I2S. Should sound great. Looks like the sony 333es will get sold in this box. Thanks, Conradicles.

cincycat13

Congrats on landing a great player. I really like mine. As a footnote...this is one of the few players that will play copied SACDs.

SCompRacer

You can find a data sheet on the PCM1796 pretty easy. I also have a repair manual with schematics for the 3910. 33MB so a pain to email though. Let me know if you want it.

The circuit numbers on my 3910 board to the pins you want are...double check the wiring though.

R301 - LRCK
R302 - DATA
R303 - BCK
R304 - SCK
Ground - I snagged one side of near by cap.

There are tiny solder pads just before the chip. Someone was thinking of us DIY-ers...lol



My wiring color codes are:

Black - Ground
Blue - DSD Bit Clock
Red - PCM Bit Clock
Green - PCM DATA & DSD Left
Brown - PCM Word Clock & DSD Right



OTTO II is wired for I2S on one side, DSD on other. Note the Brown - Green DSD R & L channel reverse on OTTO (remember pin out reverses from side to side, B1 and B2). Red PCM bit clock, Blue DSD Bit clock. I only connected Ground to PCM side since all grounds are tied in OTTO.

OTTO OE and Grnd jumpered. Resistor gnd and S or Low. IIRC, then with switch closed, DSD outputs.



I uploaded another pic showing where I snagged 5 volts for OTTO/Teleporter. EDIT. The board I took power off is HDMI out. I am not sure if it affects picture quality. This 3910 is music only, never checked, don't care.



The OTTO DSD/I2S switch.

Conradicles

bikerboy wrote: »

Packed in bomb proof materials

Glad it arrived great...I knew you would like that packaging!

headrott

bikerboy wrote: »

I'm interested. I want to ask Scompracer about it and getting I2S out of it. I'll let you tonight if I hear back from him. Thanks.

Indeed! I tapped the DSD signal from my DVD-5910 and ran the wires to a RJ-45 jack I installed and run pure DSD to my DAC I built. It works great, and is relatively easy to do. Rich has already shown you the tap points, the soldering is pretty tedious and requires a steady hand because the tap points are very small. Other than that, you will have a great transport/player in the DVD-3910.

SCompRacer

headrott wrote: »

I tapped the DSD signal from my DVD-5910 ....

Kewl! What chip set is in the 5910?

The Denon 2910 and 3910 are fairly easy due to chip set used (PCM1791 in 2910 and 1796 in 3910). Earlier players required more wires for I2S and DSD due to chip used.

headrott

SCompRacer wrote: »

headrott wrote: »

I tapped the DSD signal from my DVD-5910 ....

Kewl! What chip set is in the 5910?

The Denon 2910 and 3910 are fairly easy due to chip set used (PCM1791 in 2910 and 1796 in 3910). Earlier players required more wires for I2S and DSD due to chip used.

Rich, it's got the PCM1792 DACs in the 5910. It took me a very steady hand to get the solder joints perfect. I would still like to add some transporters to the DAC and the 5910.

I think I remember PM-ing you saying that all SACD's play perfectly through the RJ-45 jack, except for the Peter Gabriel SACD's. The signal lock is very intermittent with only these SACD's. I have no clue why though. It loses the lock with all 3 of the Peter Gabriel SACD's I have. No other SACD's I own have this problem.

Any clues as to why it only be all 3 PG SACD's I own, and only those SACD's?