Hi Guys - hope you don't mind a review of a new CDP.
It was time for me to upgrade my cheap CD player, so I had asked Walter at Underwood HiFi if he had "an affordable" SACD unit. He suggested his modified Denon 1930CI. He sells these without modification for around $300 give or take, and the modded version runs $800. I wasn't too excited about a Denon unit since they've become so
pedestrian. But since I've had good experiences with Walter, I trusted his word and went with the modded version.
(See http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mod_denon.html#Anchor-Th-22803 - this is for the 1920, but I assume the 1930 has the same modifications.)When I received it, I was somewhat put off at the plastic enclosure and its overall lack of weight, maybe 11 or 12 pounds. Not sure why, but I expected it to be a bit more beefy or heavy. Probably because I consider $800 to be a good chunk of change.
You guys who know me, know that I work out of my home and due to the nature of my business, often have a decent amount of free time between sessions, certainly enough for a CD every now and then. I've been doing a good amount of critical listening thru this thing lately on my EL-34 setup here in my office and have been very, very surprised at the dramatic difference between this and the old Sony transport I was using thru the Scott-Nixon DAC. Ok, so the Sony was a Circuit City purchase, but sounded really nice when run thru the DAC, but these two components (which together cost just about the same $$ as the Denon) have
nothing on this modded Denon.
You've all had the experience where you hear new things in recordings you know like the back of your hand, and that's what I'm getting with EVERY disc I listen to. The soundstaging and "airiness", (if that's a word) is quite dramatic. Not just a little bit better;
dramatic. The music coming thru the modded 1930CI completely envelops me. Separation and detail is striking - as is the overall presentation of the music. Sometimes I'm surprised that I'm listening to the same CD that I thought I was so familiar with. It's that different. And again I stress, this is no "small" difference, but a totally new experience.
I have one caveat that I still haven't quite made a decision on. The presentation is
so different from what I'm accustomed to, that sometimes, instruments that I was used to being right there in the forefront have been pulled back a little, while at the same time another instrument might have taken a step forward in the layering order. Listening again last night, I noticed this every once in a while with the piano in a Pat Metheny piece or two, and with some lead guitar on an old Genesis tune here or there. And again, I'm undecided as to whether or not this is a negative or a positive. I guess as with all of this, it's totally subjective.
So if anyone was in the same boat as me, wanting to upgrade an inexpensive CD player without jumping into the really big bucks, this is a solid contender. It does exactly what I hope for in all my audio upgrades; it adds to my listening enjoyment, and in no small way. I'd be interested in hearing it on a different system(s) and comparing it to much more expensive units . . .(Scott . . ?)
Even with the minor caveat, I'm very sold on this unit. And though I purchased it for 2 channel, it plays pretty much any format under the sun, including DVDs, SACDs, MP3, whatever.
BTW, additional mods are available for this unit. More info at his web site.
The family's going out for a while, so I gotta run - I have more listening to do!
