Univeral player: McCormack v. modded Denon v. McIntosh v. others?

cstpeter

I've decided to upgrade my digital front end...I've realized the Denon 2900 is holding me back. I need DVD playback; SACD and DVD-Audio are a bonus, but not necessary. I would greatly appreciate any input.

Options I've considered so far are:

• Modwright tube mod to the Denon
• McCormack UDP-1 (which is essentially a modded Pioneer, as I understand it)
• McIntosh MVP851

Listening to Beck Mellow Gold on the McCormack right now and it sounds pretty darn good (demoing it from a local shop). Looking for used gear, under 2K (the cheaper the better, of course).

Again, any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT: What the hell is a univeral player? Sorry for my poor spelling in the caption, don't know how to fix it.

Emlyn

I found the Denon 3910 to be a much better audio player than the Denon 2900 I had. The Denon also adds HDMI or DVI upsampling of DVD video to 1080i at an excellent level. The 3910 may also be a better candidate for modding through Underwood than the 2900 was. OneCall is clearing out new 3910's for $725 shipped.

tryrrthg

I'm partial to McCormack. VERY solid gear at a reasonable price. Steve McCormack is a pleasure to deal with too. Solid player all around.

SCompRacer

I am in the Modwright camp at present with a Platinum Level Signature Truth Mod with clock upgrade 999ES. They usually sell in the $1600 range if you don't elect to mod your 2900. The clock upgrade is a must have.

I can't afford one of Dan's 9100ES's right now, but my friend Norm brought the new tube rectified power supply Dan is offering as an option. It is a real worthwhile upgrade ($500) to consider either now or down the road, if you go the Modwright route. I'd invite you over for a demo but I have sent mine in for the upgrade.

EDIt: The tube rectified PS is for either the Denon or Sony players. There is an ad at Audiogon for a Modwright Denon 3910 and the seller claims it bested the Modwright Sony 999ES he had. It is over $2K though.

Systems

The McCormack is a great unit and it is a modified Pioneer.Another possibility is a used Lexicon RT10 http://www.lexicon.com/support/brochures/rt-10_brochure.pdf

halo

I heard (and saw) SCompRacer's Modwright modified Sony. I was there when Norm brought over the tube PS & IMHO it made a difference in a good way Super :cool: player.

reeltrouble1

In case you see one fall off a truck into your lap somehow with a super deal, Meridian and Esoteric are at the top of my shortlist for Universal players.

If you are not going to do High Resolution Music a Universal player just does not seem to be what you might want.

That mentioned 3910 at 725.00 is quite a deal, but its high resolution ability is what makes it such a Value.

RT1

cstpeter

Thanks for the input. I'm still mulling it over. The McCormack is sounding pretty sweet, but I can't help but wonder what the Denon would sound like with tube mods.

Reeltrouble, Meridian and Esoteric are out of the picture, alas. Also, I would like to have DVD capacity, thus the universal player. I also have several SACDs, but I guess my main concern is excellent redbook playback....hmm, if that's my goal, maybe I should be looking at CD players and forget about the DVD requirement.

reeltrouble1

Ding we have a winner!!!!!!!!!!!! I would get a generic dvd and a nice CD player, I still like the Jolida for Redbook, but there are many many out there which are high quality players. Thank goodness I am not a videophile, my eyes are lousy, but the ears still got it.

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cstpeter

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I have to give an update:

After trying various sources, my search is over. I've decided to stick with the Denon 2900 and add a DAC--the PS Audio Digital Link III. I'm fully satisfied (for now). Might be a synergy thing with my PS Audio amp, but the Digital Link kicks **** in my system. My CD's now sound warm and open--more like my vinyl rig than digital. And I still have DVD and hi-rez capabilities.

I'll give myself a month until I'm itching for a new upgrade. What next? Tubes I guess.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

reeltrouble1

I liked the Dodd MLP with that Denon.

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