Progressing to the next part of the evaluation, I loaded my Steve Stevens Flamingo A Go Go DVD-Audio disk. This disk contains everything from high-energy fast-paced music to soft plucking of the acoustical guitar and is highly recommended for anyone building a DVD-Audio collection.

I started with the second track on the disk "Cinecitta". This track opens with very quiet crickets and birds singing in the surround speakers. A very delicate acoustical guitar strumming in the front is then followed by a single bang of a bass drum. The Denon DVD-2910 reveals the subtle nuances of this opening sequence beautifully. As the track progresses, the strumming of the guitar migrates and then mixes into the surround channels. The Denon DVD-2910 reproduced this effect faithfully. There was a lot of energy in the rear surrounds and there was no audible hiss in any of the recording. I then selected track 5 "Feminova". This track starts out with shallow drumbeats and then a very fast hard pan of a male voice from the front speakers to the surrounds. The Denon DVD-2910 sounded robust and articulated this fast pan with authority. Many of the other DVD players I have had in this system sounded dry and thin with this track. Progressing through the track you will find it mixed with 70's style synthesizer music intertwined in a James Bond style theme. There is one point in the track when a female voice distinctively states "No Never" in the surrounds. I have always heard a hint of distortion in the other DVD players I have used with this Track. However, the Denon DVD-2910 handled this part masterfully and I detected no audible distortion. The whole track sounded neutral, full and precisely balanced.

I think the easiest way for me to describe the way this player sounded with DVD-A is: it is wonderfully neutral going along about its job faithfully reproducing the track as it should be with no obvious colorization and it does not omit any content of the information provided on the disk.

SACD: Police Every Breath You Take
I loaded in the Police SACD Every Breath You Take. This is a fine sounding SACD with lots of various songs by the Police. I selected the first track "Roxanne". Sting's voice was dead center in the front sound stage and there was a lot of detail in the surround channels. I did however feel that the bass seemed a bit dry in the mix. I concluded my listening evaluation with some other selections and really enjoyed the spacious and accurate sound of the player. The Denon DVD-2910 proved once again that it is a potent performer. It was very smooth and articulate and it sounded very natural with SACD maybe even a little laid back. All the speakers were very quiet between tracks and during soft passages and there were no glitches. Over all it was a very satisfying listening session. I can say that overall I was pretty impressed with the sound of SACD from this player.

Redbook CD Listening Evaluation
For this part of the two-channel listening evaluation I wanted to do something a little different. My desire was to compare two very competent DVD players in an A/B listening test. I rigged up a Radio Shack passive analog switcher and connected one set of inputs from the switcher to the Denon DVD-2910 mixed Analog R/L output and one set to a Yamaha DVD-S1500 mixed right and left analog output. The switcher's main R/L output would then be terminated to the receiver's DVD analog input. The Yamaha DVD-S1500 is about $300 cheaper than the Denon DVD-2910, but it is no slouch in the audio department and its Redbook performance is stellar for a $449 DVD player. As I proceeded, I verified that channel levels were the same and that there was no degradation cause by interference or physical cable issues. I inserted my trusty AVIA DVD into both players and used my SPL meter and the test tones on the disk to level match. The Yamaha was more than 2.5 dB down. I made note of that and continued with the listening evaluation increasing the volume on the receiver 2.5 dB every time I used the Yamaha DVD-S1500 to ensure that levels were identical. Volume can be very deceiving when evaluating any piece of equipment. If the volume is louder it is human nature to perceive that it is better - it's just the way we are psychologically wired. I placed my copy of The JVC XRCD sampler into one machine at a time and began to listen. I selected track 4 In A Sentimental Mood by Ernie Shaw. I listened to this track very carefully more than a dozen times switching DVD players as fast as they would load. Each time I wrote down what I heard. The following is the direct result from my listening notes. The Denon DVD-2910's center is very focused with lots of air. M usic comes across as being very balanced and there is a deep sound stage, well-articulated bass, and a very low noise floor. There was a slight hint of sibilance. I would characterize the sound as neutral but ever so slightly laid back. Please be aware that the observational differences between these two players are not night and day but they are noticeable. The Yamaha was not as focused and centered as the Denon DVD-2910. It had a more forward presentation and notes seemed to decay faster. I also felt it had a slightly shallower sound, indicating a bit less detail. There was a little more noise with the Yamaha DVD-S1500. If I had to grade the two I would give the Denon DVD-2910 an A+ (Excellent) and the Yamaha DVD-S1500 a B+ (Very Good.) The Denon DVD-2910's Redbook performance exceeded my expectations. Until recently I have always recommended that serious audiophiles that using their system for Home Theater applications and two-channel listening use a dedicated CD player/transport. I actually think that the DVD-2910 performs well enough for me to abandon this advice and I can without reservation recommend the Denon DVD-2910 as a one-box solution for the audiophile that combines home theater with serious two-channel listening.

MSRP: $720