[pauloregan]

I am about to purchase a Denon 4308 at the weekend and I'm thinking of getting a DVD player at the same time.

I haven't had a good dvd player before.

I am thinking of the 3939 but is this overkill with the 4308 ???

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by pauloregan

I am thinking of the 3939

Can you tell me where you are planning to buy this model from please?

[pauloregan]

Oops. Should be the 3930.

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by pauloregan

Oops. Should be the 3930.

I just wondered if it was a brand new model that i didnt know about. I couldnt find it anywhere,so i was genuinely curious as to where you were going to buy it. I thought it might possibly be a US only model.

Anyway...you are going top of the range with the 4308,so money obviously isnt an issue.
At this level....it makes no sense to go downmarket on the DVD player,so i think you should definitely be looking upwards of the 2930....so that leaves the 3930 or the A1XVA. But the latter maybe could be described as overkill,so the 3930 would be a good choice.

Is there any specific reason why you have chosen the 4308 over the 3808?

[pauloregan]

Future proofing really (expansion rather than better features).

I like the 2nd HDMI output and the better Zone options.

The 3808 doesn't allow 7.1 and additional Zone speakers so it wasn't an option.

I know that the Onkyo 905 is cheaper (and some say better) but I can't get away from the firmware updates over the network.

As a XBox 360 owner I know how useful these can be.

[d.waters]

Originally Posted by pauloregan

I am about to purchase a Denon 4308 at the weekend and I'm thinking of getting a DVD player at the same time.

I haven't had a good dvd player before.

I am thinking of the 3939 but is this overkill with the 4308 ???

I thought the 3930 and 4308 were at about the same level and intended to go together. That's what I've got anyway! I also have a 2930 with my 3808.

[pauloregan]

That's just greedy.

[d.waters]

[Ambulance Andy]

Hi Ron, I cannot decide between the 3930 and the 2930 as there seems little difference except for drive unit and DAC. As you have a 2930, what do you dislike about it, to recommend the 3930?

Many thanks.

Originally Posted by Ron240

At this level....it makes no sense to go downmarket on the DVD player,so i think you should definitely be looking upwards of the 2930....so that leaves the 3930

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by Ambulance Andy

Hi Ron, I cannot decide between the 3930 and the 2930 as there seems little difference except for drive unit and DAC. As you have a 2930, what do you dislike about it, to recommend the 3930?

Andy,
The only thing i would have liked to see the 2930 have,is the loading tray of the 3930,because i think it is quite flimsy for a machine of this quality,but is certainly no worse than all standard DVD players.
Personally though, i could never have justified the extra expense of the 3930 over the 2930,because i know i would not see or hear any improvement...at least not with my current set up anyway.

The reason i said what i did in the quote,is because if you are spending £1500+ on a receiver,then it makes sense to match it with an equivalent model of DVD player in the range,thats all.
But of course the 2930 will still work very well.

[Ambulance Andy]

Thanks Ron, in that case it looks like the 2930 for me. I have found the 2930 for £500.00 and the 3930 for £600.00 (not sure on the latter price?) but 2930 sounds like the better model.

Originally Posted by Ron240

Andy,
The only thing i would have liked to see the 2930 have,is the loading tray of the 3930,because i think it is quite flimsy for a machine of this quality,but is certainly no worse than all standard DVD players.
Personally though, i could never have justified the extra expense of the 3930 over the 2930,because i know i would not see or hear any improvement...at least not with my current set up anyway.

The reason i said what i did in the quote,is because if you are spending £1500+ on a receiver,then it makes sense to match it with an equivalent model of DVD player in the range,thats all.
But of course the 2930 will still work very well.

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by Ambulance Andy

Thanks Ron, in that case it looks like the 2930 for me. I have found the 2930 for £500.00 and the 3930 for £600.00 (not sure on the latter price?) but 2930 sounds like the better model.

Hi Andy,
The former is good price,you wont find much cheaper than that anywhere,but the latter sounds waaaaaay!!! too cheap for a new 3930.

An important point to note when buying any of these 2 players - authorised Denon dealers are not allowed to sell them mail order,they are collection only.
You can find certain internet sites that will send them to you,but they are not authorised dealers,and you will not get the Denon 2 year UK warranty if you buy from them.
Just something to think about,if you didnt already know this.

[Ambulance Andy]

Thanks Ron, I will let you know what I decide.

[rulocal]

Hi Andy,

The former is good price,you wont find much cheaper than that anywhere,but the latter sounds waaaaaay!!! too cheap for a new 3930.

http://hifix.co.uk/sku2.lasso?item=e...ffabfd929c67b8



I must say I am tempted for my final DVD player. How much better picture/sound can I expect over a 2930?

[tmcg]

The 3930 gets good reviews, for its all round capability on cd audio,dvda and sacd. If you are only interested in DVD playback then a cheaper player will do the trick. Also I think the upscaling capability of the 4308 is the same as the 3930, so you are paying for same capability twice.

I just purchased the DVD A1XVA and when paired with my 4306 the picture is nearly as good as HD, but i was looking for a one box solution for high end audio too.

Also found the Denon link is useful - one cable from player to amp.

And finally just to make you wish you had delayed your purchase of the 4308, the 5308 has just been launched in the USA...

[spooney]

Originally Posted by tmcg

Also I think the upscaling capability of the 4308 is the same as the 3930, so you are paying for same capability twice.

Sorry, this is wrong. The 4306/8 scaling capapilities are inferior to the 3930, who`s Rialta chip is the best you can get for money

Originally Posted by tmcg

And finally just to make you wish you had delayed your purchase of the 4308, the 5308 has just been launched in the USA...

The 4308 is availble since a few months but far more expensive than the 4306 comapred to list price. If you need WiFi and more streaming formats, yes, 4308 otherwise you could safe a huge amount of money and finance most of the player.

[RichardJ]

I've seen the 3930 on offer at under £600 in a couple of dealers this week so think it may be a dealer-wide reduction, possibly in the run up to their release of the 2500 and 3800 blu-ray models (which are v.expensive).

Regardless of the reason, this is a fantastic price though, tempted myself !!

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by rulocal

http://hifix.co.uk/sku2.lasso?item=e...ffabfd929c67b8

I must say I am tempted for my final DVD player. How much better picture/sound can I expect over a 2930?

I had a look at that,and couldnt believe the 3930 was so cheap...so i looked to see if i could find anything wrong. It is only available in silver,and that company do not appear to be listed on the Denon dealer network(although they seem to be sticking to the collection only rule),but apart from that it seems fine.

To be honest,unless you have it hooked up to a large,high quality display,then you might not notice any improvement in picture quality over the 2930,but for only £86 more,IMO it is a no brainer,i would go for the 3930 purely for the superior Realta chip....but i would need to have it in black.

[spooney]

Originally Posted by Ron240

only £86 more,IMO it is a no brainer,

I wouldn't even think twice

[rulocal]

Originally Posted by Ron240

I had a look at that,and couldnt believe the 3930 was so cheap...so i looked to see if i could find anything wrong. It is only available in silver,and that company do not appear to be listed on the Denon dealer network(although they seem to be sticking to the collection only rule),but apart from that it seems fine.

To be honest,unless you have it hooked up to a large,high quality display,then you might not notice any improvement in picture quality over the 2930,but for only £86 more,IMO it is a no brainer,i would go for the 3930 purely for the superior Realta chip....but i would need to have it in black.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Denon-DVD-3930...QQcmdZViewItem

Will there be a noticaeble PQ/SQ improvement between the 2930 and 3930 on my system?

Cheers

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by rulocal

The seller is actually Peter Tyson, who are a very decent online retailer.

Yep,Peter Tyson is an authorised UK Denon retailer...so its strange that he appears to be breaking the collection only rule for this player.

Thanks for the link,but i already have a 2930(black) that i bought 11 months ago for £550.

I kind of wish i was in the market for one now though.

[Ambulance Andy]

So the Realta chip is far superior to the 2930 chip, why please?
Also I have read a few reviews stating that the 3930 video processing is inferior to the 2930?

I still cannot decide.

Originally Posted by Ron240

i would go for the 3930 purely for the superior Realta chip....

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by Ambulance Andy

So the Realta chip is far superior to the 2930 chip, why please?
Also I have read a few reviews stating that the 3930 video processing is inferior to the 2930?

Reon as used in the 2930.
Realta as used in the 3930.

Traditionally,the difference in price between these 2 players has been around £300,and a significant chunk of that is down to the chip....but now the difference is available at only £86.
I personally would not pay the former,but i would have to be crazy not to pay the latter,assuming i was considering a machine in the 2930 class. Most people here,in the same position, woud not think twice about this.

I dont know where you have read reviews that say the 3930 is inferior to the 2930 but i can guarantee they would be very rare and hard to find.

[Barzo]

I demoed three players in deciding to buy a replacement for the Marantz DV-7001 (which was having problems with dropout through HDMI with R1 discs). They were:

Denon 2930
Denon 3930
Marantz 9600

I had gone in with the view that I would end up purchasing the 2930, as (a) it was the cheapest option and (b) I doubted I would see the difference in processing on the more expensive players.

After a few hours of demoing, the 2930 was out, and the decision was between the 3930 and the 9600. The 2930 has a noticably less filmic image than the other two players (depth of field, colour registration, etc) - it was always easy to identify when it was connected. Now, that probably has little to do with the processing in itself, but it was a clear and visible difference. Difference between the 3930 and 9600 was more marginal - I prefered the 3930 image, but I would not say it was necessarily better.

If you can get a brand new 3930 for the price suggested, you would be mad imho to even consider the 2930.

[eric pisch]

avland are saying the 3930 is discontinued and are linking to some monster BD combo player for £1400

http://avland.co.uk/denon/dvd3930/dvd3930.htm

http://avland.co.uk/denon/dvd3800bd/dvd3800bd.htm

[rulocal]

Originally Posted by Barzo

I demoed three players in deciding to buy a replacement for the Marantz DV-7001 (which was having problems with dropout through HDMI with R1 discs). They were:

Denon 2930
Denon 3930
Marantz 9600

I had gone in with the view that I would end up purchasing the 2930, as (a) it was the cheapest option and (b) I doubted I would see the difference in processing on the more expensive players.

After a few hours of demoing, the 2930 was out, and the decision was between the 3930 and the 9600. The 2930 has a noticably less filmic image than the other two players (depth of field, colour registration, etc) - it was always easy to identify when it was connected. Now, that probably has little to do with the processing in itself, but it was a clear and visible difference. Difference between the 3930 and 9600 was more marginal - I prefered the 3930 image, but I would not say it was necessarily better.

If you can get a brand new 3930 for the price suggested, you would be mad imho to even consider the 2930.

The decision becomes harder if you look at the second hand price of the 2930.

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by rulocal

The decision becomes harder if you look at the second hand price of the 2930.

This is true...but is no different to anything else if you are considering second hand.
To be in this market,you are usually working to a budget that would make the brand new price a much less attractive option.
For this reason,i would be very likely to buy a second hand car...but for electronic equipment,i would always prefer to buy new where possible - this way you have a full manufacturers warranty,and the peace of mind that it has not been used before.

Im sure we would all agree - 600 quid for a brand new 3930 is a superb price,and on current prices, would make a new 2930,a very questionable purchase.

[Ambulance Andy]

Ron,

You are a top man, thanks. Not sure where I read the 3930 review, except for the thread below.

There are good reviews for both models at www.homecinemachoice.com but of course the best reviews are found on avforums.com as you guys have the actual machines.

So the 3930 is the best. Thanks for the hyperlinks relating to the Reon + Realta chips.

************************************************** ********


Re: Denon DVD-2930 vs. Marantz DV7001 // Silicon Optix vs. Faroudja


Quote:
Originally Posted by marcus68
Are these sorts of tips in an organised threat somewhere?

Marcus

Not that I am aware of. I know a few things on how to improve the picture quality within my chain but I need a direct question.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mastaff
I was also wondering about the denon 2930 cf the 3930 - what do you get for the extra 400 quid and is it worth it??

Michael, I had the same question a while ago.
The main differences are: Denon drive vs OEM drive, motion adaptive noise reduction in addition, 400 quid or so premium.
It is also Realta (3930) vs Reon chip. I did extensive search on the internet and the upmost I could get was: The Realta makes a trillion operations a second, the Reon is supposed for all kind of high-end gear (quote Product Marketing Manager of Denon, Internet video).
THIS told me everything : Don't destroy an established high-end market by introducing a cheaper and more recent chip with the same performance.

In all reviews I read the 2930 was considered the best in its class.

Conclusion: To propably notice a small difference in a scene or two or more likely I will not notice being busy enjoying the movie is not worthwhile the premium.

Originally Posted by Ron240

Reon as used in the 2930.
Realta as used in the 3930.

Traditionally,the difference in price between these 2 players has been around £300,and a significant chunk of that is down to the chip....but now the difference is available at only £86.
I personally would not pay the former,but i would have to be crazy not to pay the latter,assuming i was considering a machine in the 2930 class. Most people here,in the same position, woud not think twice about this.

I dont know where you have read reviews that say the 3930 is inferior to the 2930 but i can guarantee they would be very rare and hard to find.

[Ambulance Andy]

Audition booked for Denon2930 and 3930. The guy in Sevenoaks Sound & Vision is not sure I will be able to tell much difference between either model when viewing on my Panny 42" PX60, he thinks the difference is only noticeable with a projector.

However he also stated that there is a £450.00 price difference between the two and why would I want to waste my money when for that money I could go BR!.........Well Mr Sevenoaks I don't want to go BR just yet!

His price for 3930 is £1150. He did also say they were waiting for the 3940 version to be released too!

[spackhead]

I have the 3930 hooked up to a 4306

They are quite simply stunning in the picture and sound department


If you do plump for the 3930 you will not be disappointed.

The forums here even have the multi region hack which works a treat too.


Its a lot of cash for a DVD player, but it is worth every penny.