Denon DVD-3930 SACD Issues

VXR8

Hi all,

Unless the SACD I insert is an SACD only, it appears that Hybrid discs are not always recognised by my player and it defaults to the standard 2 channel layer. Reading on other forums, I understand that there are issues with the lasers on these players, but I also noted that there are upgrades in firmware (not sure how to check the current version). Anybody else had similar issues or have any hints and tips to rectify this issue? Just purchased this second hand off of eBay Oz and believe it will now be out of warranty.

PS - utilisng the Denon Link for the surround sound too, not that that should make any difference.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

tcrossma

My 3910 has settings to control what happens on a hybrid disc... choices are SACD, 2-channel, or CD. On mine there's a button on the bottom right of the front panel that scrolls through these selections. You might want to make sure you have the correct selection enabled.

VXR8

tcrossma wrote: »

My 3910 has settings to control what happens on a hybrid disc... choices are SACD, 2-channel, or CD. On mine there's a button on the bottom right of the front panel that scrolls through these selections. You might want to make sure you have the correct selection enabled.

Hi tcrossma,

Yes - I have the setting at "Multi". It has that same button for CD / SACD set up on the remote as well - in my case it is Multi, Stereo or CD. I have even tried changing it as the disc is loading from multi back to multi to try and see if that works - no cigar unfortunately.

I have however found out that I have firmware revision 8284-3. The latest I could find so far is 8284-9, so that may assist the bug I have. I need to confirm though that that update is applicable for my unit, prior to the upgrade (certain serial numbers are OK to upgrade).

Thank you anyway for assisting.

tcrossma

If you utilize either the multi-channel analog (or even the 2-channel analog) connections from the 3930, do you get output from them? Just trying to help narrow down the issue between a processing/Denon-Link issue vs. the player being unable to read the disc correctly.

VXR8

tcrossma wrote: »

If you utilize either the multi-channel analog (or even the 2-channel analog) connections from the 3930, do you get output from them? Just trying to help narrow down the issue between a processing/Denon-Link issue vs. the player being unable to read the disc correctly.

2 channel output works fine, but haven't tried the multi channel analogue - will have to give that a shot. Thanks for the tip.

obieone

My Denon rcvr. had a few 'hidden' features that were never fully explained in the O.M., and I had to contact tech support, so....
I'd recommend reading the fine print in your owners manual. There MAY be a note about certain discs, not being able to play via hdmi, and needing to use 6 ch. analog?
Good luck.

tcrossma

VXR8 wrote: »

2 channel output works fine, but haven't tried the multi channel analogue - will have to give that a shot. Thanks for the tip.

If the 2-channel outs work when listening to a hybrid SACD (when your player is set to Multi), then I'd say you have a Denon-Link issue. The player downmixes the multi-channel to the 2-channel analog outputs simultaneously, so if those are working you know the player is reading and processing the disc.

So I would say its either a setting in the configuration menus (I don't use Denon-Link but I know there's a ton of settings in there related to the denon link), or a firmware issue like you were thinking.

Good luck getting it tracked down.

jon s

Sad to say, the Denon 2930CI/3930CI is a unreliable unit... I have one which has failed on me three times since I bought it... The unit would not output to HDMI a week after purchase. I was able to exchange for another one. Three months later, the laser assembly failed. Sent it in to Denon and it took two months to fix. Two months after that, the new laser assembly failed again.

If you look at the AVS Forum, their Blu-Ray players suffer from laser failures as well. What irritates me is while Denon claims to be a high-end manufacturer, their warranty is one of the worst, only one year. Sony's ES line has a five year warranty, Marantz and Pioneer Elite is two years.

Ever since Denon started making their stuff in China, they have been poorly built. They issued a firmware online for their receivers which bricked them, causing owners to send the units back to New Jersey. Not a good record.

VXR8

tcrossma wrote: »

If the 2-channel outs work when listening to a hybrid SACD (when your player is set to Multi), then I'd say you have a Denon-Link issue. The player downmixes the multi-channel to the 2-channel analog outputs simultaneously, so if those are working you know the player is reading and processing the disc.

So I would say its either a setting in the configuration menus (I don't use Denon-Link but I know there's a ton of settings in there related to the denon link), or a firmware issue like you were thinking.

Good luck getting it tracked down.

Thanks - actually it was only a 2 channel SACD only that I played that way, so no need to down mix - Denon Link appears to work OK with everything else, such as DVD-Audio and DVD-Video soundtracks (DD and DTS).

VXR8

jon s wrote: »

Sad to say, the Denon 2930CI/3930CI is a unreliable unit... I have one which has failed on me three times since I bought it... The unit would not output to HDMI a week after purchase. I was able to exchange for another one. Three months later, the laser assembly failed. Sent it in to Denon and it took two months to fix. Two months after that, the new laser assembly failed again.

If you look at the AVS Forum, their Blu-Ray players suffer from laser failures as well. What irritates me is while Denon claims to be a high-end manufacturer, their warranty is one of the worst, only one year. Sony's ES line has a five year warranty, Marantz and Pioneer Elite is two years.

Ever since Denon started making their stuff in China, they have been poorly built. They issued a firmware online for their receivers which bricked them, causing owners to send the units back to New Jersey. Not a good record.

Thanks jon,

I'm getting that impression. My AVR 3808 is made in Japan and is a quality product. For the "high end" dollars paid for the DVD-3930, it should also be top notch, no matter where it is made. I'll keep soldiering on and contact my local tech support.

Thanks again.

comfortablycurt

Just to clarify...you ARE aware that not all SACD's have multi-channel mixes...correct?

VXR8

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Just to clarify...you ARE aware that not all SACD's have multi-channel mixes...correct?

Hi Curt,

Certainly am. I am referring to Pink Floyd DSOTM, Roxy Music Avalon, War of The Worlds, Tubular Bells etc, which are all hybrid discs with Multi-channel layers. The Denon 3930 lights up an SACD light on the display when it detects ANY SACD, but this isn't happening on hybrid SACDs all of the time. The SACD only that I have, Synchronicity by The Police lights that up instantly (2 channel only btw) - the aforementioned don't always and this is my issue - it isn't recognising the SACD layer on the discs.

Thanks for your input anyway - it all helps.

VXR8

Can I also add, that my $160 USD Oppo DV-980H performs flawlessly reading the SACD layer on these same discs, so why can't a so called "high end" player outperform that???

obieone

NEVER associate $$$ with quality. Remember the Cadillac Cimmaron:rolleyes:
Hell, I have to send my Pioneer BDP-51FD back for warranty, because it won't transmit DTS HD MA:o

tcrossma

I don't know about the 3930, but my 3910 is a heck of a fine player. Anything can break, regardless of price though.

To the OP, I wish you luck on getting things sorted out. With the additional info you provided about the behavior of reading SACD's, I'd say you're either looking at a firmware (hopefully) or hardware error.

comfortablycurt

I'm inclined to agree with tcrossma. It could be a firmware issue...have you checked for firmware updates?

If that's not the case, it could be an issue with the player itself. You might want to contact Denon and see what they have to say, and see if you can either send it in for repair or exchange it for another unit.

Is it still under warranty?

VXR8

tcrossma wrote: »

I don't know about the 3930, but my 3910 is a heck of a fine player. Anything can break, regardless of price though.

To the OP, I wish you luck on getting things sorted out. With the additional info you provided about the behavior of reading SACD's, I'd say you're either looking at a firmware (hopefully) or hardware error.

Thanks - will keep you posted

VXR8

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I'm inclined to agree with tcrossma. It could be a firmware issue...have you checked for firmware updates?

If that's not the case, it could be an issue with the player itself. You might want to contact Denon and see what they have to say, and see if you can either send it in for repair or exchange it for another unit.

Is it still under warranty?

Yes, I have contacted Denon today and they advised that the lasers can sometimes require aligning / replacing. There is also additional software updates. Mine is 8284-3 and the latest is 8284-a (8284-4 through to 9 has also been released since my version). I'll try and upgrade it and see how we go.

Thanks to all who have assisited thus far with your contribtions - it is appreciated.

VXR8

Just an update, I upgraded the software last night from 8482-3 to 8482-9. The latest is 8482-a, but that cannot be downloaded and is an "service only" option through the RS232 connection on the player. Unfortunately, no difference, so off to a repairer it goes.