I'm in the prosses of dumping my current DVD player. Had nothing but problems with it.
I was set to buy the 990 pp but after this DVD player blew a bass driver, for the 2nd time,can't chance it no more. My 1st DVD player blew it 1st, the dealer sent me another and now, after 2 months the 2nd unit did the same. ( loud pop in speaker)
I'm lookin at Denon 2910 and a Marantz 6600 or 7600.DVD-A is a must,SACD is a plus.
Any exsperences with these models, and more important, problems .
I'm sending faulty DVD player, under warranty
,back to the US Dist.Even if they say they fixed it, I won't chance using it again.
I don't want to mention Dist. until we work this out.
My blown bass driver/s were Monitor Audio GR-20.
Contacted Kevro Intl( NA dist) and told them of the problem. There are sending new driver at no cost. Thats service, I have no warranty, they know it was the DVD player that caused it. Real good people.

I've got a couple of questions that might help folks offer some thoughts. What type of TV are you using? (Curious about the size, type, and if it includes DVI or HDMI inputs.) Also, perhaps less inportant but very curious question: what player are you replacing that has been killing your speakers?

My TV is a Panasonic Plasma 37". I has no HDMI or DVI hook ups. My reciever is a HK 635,which I plan on replacing with the 990 some day.It's alittle quirky at times,but nothing major.
My malfunctioning DVD player is a Cambridge Audio 540D. When I get those "pops" I was using Digital feed through a RCA connector.
I also own a CA 640C cd player and like it alot, thats what convinced me to buy the 540d.
Let me just say also that I purchased it through Audio Advisor. When I told them of the problem on the 1st 540D the promptly replaced it with another, being that it feel into the 30 day trial period. Now it's well past 30 days so I'm dealing with Dist.
HDMI or DVI is not that important right now, but somedayt I may upgrade my TV. Blue ray and HD DVD I'll wait on till things swing one way or another. Hell by then there could be another next greatest thing.

If I could offer my 2 cents, I have the denon 2910, and use it to play DVD-A's and muti channel SACD's, it works great and is fairly easy to set-up, I upgaded[In my opinion] from a pioneer elite DV-45. I have'nt heard the Maranz, so I don't really know about them but have had the Denon for about a year and no problems [knock on wood].

I also have the Denon 2910, and cannot be happier. This is really an excelent dvd, cd, sacd and dvda player. If you are not in a hurry, you should wait for the 2930 that should be out like next week. its the newer version of the 2910.

the 2910 is such a good player, that Sound Advice (out local Tweeter) does not carry the higher line Denons, they are special order only.
audioholics 2910 review

Seeing how everyone is 100% for the 2910,I choose to go Marantz 7600.(only because it was at least $ 100 cheaper ,$450 NIB.)
Seeing how nobody has one of these Marantz DVD players, I'll let everybody know what I think off it.I don't know much about electronics so a review by me will be minimal, like , does it work ?
Thanks for all the help, please don't hold it against me for going the " cheaper route" ( which in my exsperences could end up being the more exspensive route.)
Bill

Let us know how the 7600 works out. Since Denon and Marantz are both part of the same parent corporation (D&M Holding), it'd be curious to hear about a comparison between the two. The 7600 doesn't share a rear panel layout with any Denon players, but the specs seem very similar to the 2910 as far as DAC's and other options. For $450, it sounds like a good choice. Definitely let us know what you think of it.

Had the Marantz DV7600 for a few days now.Was pleasantly surprised to find that it will play DVD+R as it wasn't mentioned in the specs as a playable format.So basicaly it plays everything.
Comparring it to the CA 540D, the DV7600 has a much better picture.
On the audio side, CD's, the 540D is more than a match for the DV7600. This is not an issue as I use a CA 640C for CD,s I had considered selling the 640 C if the DV 7600 could duplicate it's performance. Thats not happening.It didn't happen with the 540D either.
For DVD -A the Marantz sounds cleaner but bass mngt is an issue right now. The CA 540D has better bass mngt (or I need alittle more time in setting up the bass features of the DV7600)
(I have no SACD's to test as of yet.)
The Marantz owners mmanual is very informative, and you need it. It's the most complicated menu setup I've exsperenced for A DVD player. On the upside, the CA 540D owners manual leaves you hanging.It's the worst I have ever seen but, after some time the the 540D menu is very friendly to the user.
The CA 540D build is top notch, the remote is made of brushed allumnium, no back light. The Marantz build is OK, remote looks cheap but is laid out very nice, no back light.
I must say if the CA 540D wasn't plagued with the "popping" issue, it would be a great unit for the price.
The CA 540D is presently on it's way to th Dist. for warranty work.If it comes back it will likely be relegated to a back-up roll in our workshop playing CD's only. What a shame! It can't be trusted by me no longer. Hopefully the Marantz 7600 will be a trusted companion for years to come.

I own a Marantz DV-9600 (and a DV-9500) which has a smashing and very musical sound in SACD and DVDA mode, with i-link offering a very small improvement.
However, handshaking i-link with the SR-9600 often failed, forcing a reset of both units.
Movie sound is also quite good, can't remember how the Pio fared here...

The PQ is also quite good, with a slight improvement in hdmi over Component.
But as I remember the Pioneer DV-989 (it has a different name in the USA) was even better in hdmi (but not as good as the M. in Component).
This is strange, since it's rumoured that Pio makes all the Denon and Marantz video boards...
That said, even the expensive DV-9600 shows artefacts sometimes (greenish patches in near-black).
But this may relate to less-than-perfect black settings...that's not very easy; using the AVIA disc leads to exaggerated brightness in my case.

I have finally set up the bass managment feature up to my expectations.I had to set channel level on all speakers to -4 setting the sub at +6.This has given me the best effect so far. ( Hsu VTF 3 MK II)

I have added another fan to my componet rack as this Marantz runs very warm, which I understand is common with Marantz.
Any sugestions on quite/effective fans?
I am currently using old computer fans which seem quite enough, just need more airflow.