poneer 668 hdmi pq vs denon 2900 ps

[red severn]

i currently have pio 668 using rgb but have chance to upgrade ? to denon 2900 has any one seen these two players running and gave me honest opinion on there performance regards red.

 

[red severn]

Thanks for your replys?

 

[KraGorn]

Maybe no-one has done the comparison you asked about.

From my own PoV I'd not consider the 668 and 2900 as alternates, I see them filling different needs because the 668's main feature for my interest would be HDMI which the Denon doesn't have. From everything I've read I'd expect the 2900 to be superior in most important departments like sound reproduction and video decoding but that's of no interest if I wanted a purely digital video path for which the 668 would clearly be the option to choose.

 

[gmt steve]

I know in the past Denon players have had bug problems, whereas Pioneers are rock solid in the reliability department. That may be a deciding factor, I know it is for me.

 

[gandley]

id take the denon in a heart beat. my sister has one and its great.

 

[Zoidy]

coming from a tosh 9500 owner.. thats a suprise

 

[gandley]

well i was saying that as in, if were a choice between the two.

personaly i wouldnt get either. sides the 9500e isnt that great.
not as good as my A11.
toshiba have a reputation for boosting res but at the expense of other details.( the A11 just does both fantasticly) im aslo not keen on the 9500es progressive mode as it adds a green tinge to the PQ

the 2900 isnt that far behind the 9500e and as regards de-interlacing is the better.

 

[Cool-hand]

the 2200 is said to be 90% of the 2900 at 70% the cost.

ch

 

[KraGorn]

What's the 10% it doesn't have?

 

[gandley]

2200 dosnt quite give the PQ the 2900 does and its not as good sonicly

the 2200 is a very well priced performer and worth a demo

2200 = £449

2900 = £669

 

[Kazman]

I picked the Pioneer 668 over the Denon 2200 and 2900 purely for future proofing.

The abilities of the players are very similar, and any differences would really only be picked up in lab conditions, using microscopes .

The Pioneer brand appeals to me a great deal, and I intend to get a HDMI enabled Plasma screen within the next yr or two.

All depends on what your needs are, one thing is for certain , whichever player you choose out of the Denon 2200/2900 or Pioneer 668/757/868 you will have a solid player , all are fantastic, you will not be dissappointed with any.

 

[KraGorn]

Originally posted by Kazman
I picked the Pioneer 668 over the Denon 2200 and 2900 purely for future proofing.

Blu-Ray / HD-DVD / WM9-HD?

I don't see the presence of HDMI makes it 'future proof' really, unless you postulate that this year will see the demise of component inputs and all displays switch over to HDMI. Seems to me by the time that situation arrives SD-DVD will be dead as a medium for new releases.

 

[gandley]

ever the optimist

 

[KraGorn]

Actually, I'm partly serious about the demise of SD, I expect that as soon as HD-DVD in whatever form becomes available Hollywood will rapidy ditch current DVDs due to their copyability .. I don't expect HD copy protection to be broken as easily as CSS was.

 

[gandley]

the fall 2005

 

[KraGorn]

Yeah, that's what I figure .. so 18 months use is a bit less than 'future proof' in my book if I'm spending more than a couple of hundred quid.

 

[Kazman]

Future proof in the sense that I know my next upgrade path will be an HDMI enabled Plasma, probably the Pioneer PDP504HDE.

By the time Blu-Ray becomes a viable option, or any of the other formats you mention, it will be time for an upgrade anyway

The current DVD format is now so well embedded into society, it will be very difficult for other formats to break into the mainstream, heck even the absolute potential of DVD's using pure digital connections hasn't been realised in the mainstream yet, and DVD has been around for years now.

I think it will be VERY difficult to persuade the general public to upgrade to another format when the majority of people already have their collections built up in the current DVD format. The majority of people (in the UK at least) have only taken up the DVD bandwagon in the last two years or so.

I think the newer future formats have a MUCH harder job than they think.

Picking the 668 was due to the HDMI output yes, but the rest of the features I feel are more than a match for the Denon duo, even if they are deemed to be slightly better in stereo music terms.

I love my 668 *shniff* and if a new super format comes into the mainstream before I upgrade to the HDMI enabled display, then so be it, thats life, and that means I will have a cracking sytem to migrate to the bedroom to make way for the new superformat

 

[gandley]

AAAHHH but you forgot one thing, the next HD-DVD players are backwards compatable. so your old dvds are not defunct

so it will be much easier to get people to upgrade as they dont loose out , they only gain.(which is why dvd didnt have a great take up to start with as we all had heaps of videos)

then the fact that more and more are getting HD ready plasmas, PJs etc. They will be the first to upgrade so they can see what there screen is meant to do.



but who knows, the world might change for the worst as we know it, and this will be the last thing on are minds

 

[Kazman]

Bah humbug

I'm excited about the next gen formats, but I think will take them at least a year or two to be at a reasonable cost to the average consumer.

For now, I'm very happy with what I've got, if HD or Blu-Ray make an appearance, I will be watching their prices very carefully.

The biggest advantage these new formats should have should be to be recordable out of the box, unlike DVD, which only now has become a viable video recording medium in the home.

I was lucky, £290 got me a Toshiba 42WH36P, (my old TV got damaged during a living room redesign, so I paid the difference towards the Toshie through insurance), no HDTV compatibilty afaik (correct me if I'm wrong), but great pictures with PAL Progressive scan. The small expenditure on this TV means I can justify a HDTV compatible display in the near future, and the front runner is the Pioneer PDP504HDE.

Did you check the Digital quality of your A11 on your mates PDP434HDE via DVI/HDMI yet gandley? If so, how was it?

 

[KraGorn]

Originally posted by Kazman
Future proof in the sense that I know my next upgrade path will be an HDMI enabled Plasma, probably the Pioneer PDP504HDE.

Ah, okay, that makes sense, looking at the upgrade of the display, I was only considering the player.

If the Pio 868 wasn't so impossible to get hold of I'd have bought one by now, it was only 'cos I couldn't find one I kept pondering .. and changing my mind.

 

[gandley]

yes we did, it was very good. very noiseless. but not a massive improvment over component. but better for sure

i actualy think that the best optoins for plasma are the pioneer
MXE models.

say you had an old 503mxe. you can buy a input card that gives it an all digital connection(via dvi) pretty much like the 504.
so a nice upgrade path that means your still intouch of latest models.

the next MXE range will be out soon and i think i might get one to get shot of my pany.

 

[hddvdman]

the 868 is a must it hass the best picture and sound repro worth the extra pennies

 

[gandley]

the 868 is a must it hass the best picture and sound repro worth the extra pennies




What are you comparing that to. thats a very broad statement to make.