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Need your thoughts on Denon 3910 vs McCormack UDP1

I'm a 2 channel fan who has just expanded to 5.1 with all McCormack electronics, with which I am very pleased. I just bought the 3910 over the UDP1 because of probable better video, more connection and adjustment flexibilty, and lower price.

Early impressions of the 3910 sound quality leaves me unexcited. It just sounds generaly mid-fi, when compared even to my 6 year old Classe CDP.5 which kills it for musicality.

So my options are either trade it back within a week for a UDP, which everyone that has heard it seems to rave about, and accept the no DVI/HDMI, less controls etc. Or eventually send the 3910 in to one of the major mod places, which everyone seems to rave about, and hope it sounds as good as a UDP.

My main frustration is that it seems I have to make this crucial decision without any possible way to actually compare the sound of a UDP to a modified Denon - what would you do?
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Showing 2 responses by avguru

avguru
116 posts
 
I'd increase my budget and go with the Esoteric DV 50S ($6,000 but you can find a deal on a used one for around $4,900). Handily beats the UDP-1 in redbook and has great dvd playback (on the level of the better Arcam players) including DVI output.

A cheaper option would be to either check out the Arcam DV 29 which is a great redbook player, has unbelieveable video, DVD-A and DVI outputs. No SACD. Or, Marantz has a brand new universal called the DV 9500 (replacement for the 8400) which considerably improves on the redbook performance of the 8400 (which was good to begin with) and better video. Retails new for $2,000.

Good luck!
avguru
116 posts
 
Labtec,

The Esoteric was designed to sound better in balanced mode so you HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT BALANCED to hear it at it best. All the reviews that have been done (as well as the owners manual) explicity state this. The Electrocompaniet EMC 1UP and the Ayre CX-7 also sound better in balanced mode and the owners manuals for those respective units point that out. Its amazing to me how many people use this player or demo it with cheap pre/pro's or receivers that don't have balanced inputs.

Secondly, you have to experiement with the different filter settings on the unit. You can considerably tighten the bass by using the middle filter (FIR). Again, the Esoteric owners manual states the bass will tighten with the use of this filter.

I did find the UDP-1 bass to be tight and well defined but at the expense of bass slam and impact. Bass slam is also important with drums as you can better hear the impact of floor tom toms, kettle drums and other orchestral instruments.

Many audiophiles eschew bass slam because they don't want to hear a lot of bass in their music. They mistakenly associate it with rap or hard driving bass lines that can overpower the music when the truth is deep,tight bass with impact benefits the whole sonic soundscape. Bass and drums are the anchor for most types of music including jazz, blues R&B and country.

AB the two units again and let me know your impressions.

AVGURU
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