Anyone using 2900 + DAC?
lomic
Posts: 407
With all the recent talk of DACs I'm finding it harder and harder to wake up every morning thinking "Geewiz, I don't have an external DAC!"
Of course with a $1000 Universal player I have to naturally be skeptical of an outboard DAC making a huge difference unless I spend $1000 on a Benchmark DAC-1, which isn't going to happen since I'm saving up for a HDTV right now. So, anyone had experience in the $300-400 price range that is a substantial or at least notable upgrade to the 2900's internal DACs? Thank ya.
Of course with a $1000 Universal player I have to naturally be skeptical of an outboard DAC making a huge difference unless I spend $1000 on a Benchmark DAC-1, which isn't going to happen since I'm saving up for a HDTV right now. So, anyone had experience in the $300-400 price range that is a substantial or at least notable upgrade to the 2900's internal DACs? Thank ya.
Dodd Audio ELP [ Tubes ] // Harman Kardon AVR330 // Parasound HCA-1203A // Denon DVD-2900
Polk Audio LSi9, LSiC, LSi 7 // HSU STF-2 // Signal Cable Interconnects (SG BW/A2/MP)
Polk Audio LSi9, LSiC, LSi 7 // HSU STF-2 // Signal Cable Interconnects (SG BW/A2/MP)
Post edited by lomic on
Comments
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I'm using a Parasound DAC2000 Ultra (bought used) with my Denon 2900 via a glass fiber optic cable. I was satisfied with the Redbook CD performance when I was using the 2900 with a Denon 3803 receiver, but once I went to a separate preamp I could tell its CD performance was lagging behind a good stand alone CD player's. I did find the CEC CD3300, which is around $600 now, to be a much better CD player. The Parasound DAC, which was designed for Parasound by the UltraAnalog company, is better still, but it should be considering it originally cost $2K when it came out about ten years ago.
I don't, however, think the problem is the DACs in the 2900, but rather the implementation because the 2900 contains mostly inexpensive parts in its audio section. The money in this model went into the video section. Denon's 5900 model's analog audio section is upgraded in almost every respect and performs much better than the 2900 even though it uses DACs that are comparable in performance to the 2900's. The big difference is in parts selection and power supply.
I'd suggest it would be difficult to get better CD performance than the 2900s for $300 to $400 in a new CD player. You may have to look a little higher in cost. Another option is to consider sending the 2900 off for modification. Looking for a used DAC is another option. The Silicon Image video section for film-based DVDs in the 2900 still isn't bettered by anything near its price range using component video cables so it's definitely worth keeping and working with.
