 Denon DVD-1920 DVD Player
When
I opened my humble little retail store, The Audiophile, back in 1973,
Denon was a small company just entering the country. Giants like
Yamaha, Kenwood, Pioneer, Marantz, and others dominated the receiver
market. But I was a tweak and always looking for something better. My
lo-cal rep would drive up on his moped to Venice,California, with the
latest Stax headphones or a few other top-notch toys and a new moving
coil cartridge from Japan. “Hey, check out this new Denon DL-103
conical moving coil cartridge.”Conical? How could that be good? We
would spend the afternoon listening in my high-end room to see how it
stood up to the hottest cartridges of the day. They also had a few
integrated amplifiers, but who would ever be interested in Denon…too
much competition.
But
after 30 years of delivering some of the finest electronics in this
category, Denon has earned a reputation second to none, consistently
producing A/V receivers that are ranked at or near the top of the
industry. And while the company’s premier models often command a
premium price (for example, their AVR-58o5mkII costs $7,000), Denon’s
newest, the AVR-2807, is priced at an affordable $1,099. I also
requested a matching DVD player (DVD-1920 at$369) to test the combo, so
let’s see how this duo works together.
Unique Features DVD-1920
The DVD-1920 uses a 12-bit, 108 MHz video D/A converter to faithfully preserve the delicate low-level signals often lost during D/A conversion. It can upgrade DVD video signals to near-high-definition images for superior picture quality—you will get clear, rich, natural-looking video from all of your DVDs. In addition to these features, the HDMI port supports multichannel DVD-Video and DVD-Audio output when connected to HDMI compliant equipment. For sound, it is high-quality audio D/A conversion and Digital Bass Management that will bring out the best of not only Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio discs, but your entire CD collection as well. It also offers Progressive Scan technology using DCDi by Faroudja, which can process around twice as much video data and represents a vast improvement over the interlaced scanning method used in TV broadcasts and other conventional media. There’s also manual IP detection mode selection, so even if a DVD-Video disc was mastered with the wrong progressive flag, or without a flag, the user can select a mode (Auto1, Auto2, and Video1, 2, or 3) to enjoy a higher performance of picture quality.
With 24-bit, 192 kHz High Resolution Audio D/A Converters, the DVD-1920 provides color component video (Y, CB/PB, CR/PR) output that ensures fine color detail with today’s high-end video monitors and large screen projectors that feature component video inputs. Finally,there is support for CD-R/RW format. It plays finalized CD-R/RW discs (single-session or multi-session) containing MP3/WMA9, as well as reading still photos in the Kodak Picture CD or JPEG format taken by a digital camera.
Installation/Setup/Ease of Use
I
have been a Denon owner many time sover the past 30 years, and what I
love about their products is the ease of setup and
operation—straightforward connectors that are easy to use and get to.
The marriage of these two units makes it a joy to set up. I replaced a
review sample of my Harman Kardon AVR7300with an older DVD player. I
used Accell HDMI cables and other Monster and Audioquest favorites. The
single remote capability and the simplicity of the layout made the
operation a no-brainer. There was little need for the owner’s manual,
except for the Audyssey MultEQ XTauto setup/calibration that I wasn’t
familiar with. I used the Tannoy Arena system I reviewed for the
April/May 2006 issue, as it is still in place,and I am having a hard
time giving it back.
Final
TakeThis is the best part for me as I am not much of a gear head… I
love the music. After a little warm-up period, I jumped in with all my
favorites, and I noticed an immediate difference from what I had been
listening to. The weight of this receiver controlled the bass and image
beyond my expectation. The biggest improvement was the delivery of the
image from the DVD-1920. I felt as if I was experiencing a depth and
sharpness from my display that I hadn’t seen before. They are known for
their stable power supplies, and it reminded me of separates
performance, and the Faroudja processing was definitely noticeable.
There was also an improved image in the very highest frequency, seeming
to eliminate a slight veil I had heard prior to this test. I had
recently listened to a few other lower priced receivers from the
competition, but Denon has delivered a real winner. What I want to
emphasize is that the feature/benefit package Denon has delivered on
this duo is really great for a price under $1500!! If you are looking
to upgrade your home theater and want separates, or even if the
mega-receivers are out of your league,join me in owning an awesome
combo that will bring the theater home.
Specifications |
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DVD-1920 DVD Player
MSRP: $369
Denon Electronics (USA), LLC
www.usa.denon.com | |
