clear picture, great sound in both 5.1 and dts, easy to use on screen menus, very reliable and so far, trouble free!

the remote is little, but otherwise is fine

last month, i purchased the sony 530 upon the recommendation of my friend. Within the first 5 days, i noticed the lip-sync problem twice and the disk had a little trouble reading one or two movies. After reading MANY reviews and comments on all the dvd players, I decided to quit messing around and get the denon 2500. naturally, i returned the sony 530 with no problem.
i paid $538 for the denon 2500, but it was money well spent. exceptional picture and sound, in both dts and 5.1 channel.
i would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a dvd player that is of quality build and plays great!

Similar Products Used:

sony d-530 dvd player

clear picture, great sound in both 5.1 and dts, easy to use on screen menus, very reliable and so far, trouble free!

the remote is little, but otherwise is fine

last month, i purchased the sony 530 upon the recommendation of my friend. Within the first 5 days, i noticed the lip-sync problem twice and the disk had a little trouble reading one or two movies. After reading MANY reviews and comments on all the dvd players, I decided to quit messing around and get the denon 2500. naturally, i returned the sony 530 with no problem.
i paid $538 for the denon 2500, but it was money well spent. exceptional picture and sound, in both dts and 5.1 channel.
i would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a dvd player that is of quality build and plays great!

Similar Products Used:

sony d-530 dvd player

clear picture, great sound in both 5.1 and dts, easy to use on screen menus, very reliable and so far, trouble free!

the remote is little, but otherwise is fine

last month, i purchased the sony 530 upon the recommendation of my friend. Within the first 5 days, i noticed the lip-sync problem twice and the disk had a little trouble reading one or two movies. After reading MANY reviews and comments on all the dvd players, I decided to quit messing around and get the denon 2500. naturally, i returned the sony 530 with no problem.
i paid $538 for the denon 2500, but it was money well spent. exceptional picture and sound, in both dts and 5.1 channel.
i would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a dvd player that is of quality build and plays great!

Similar Products Used:

sony d-530 dvd player

clear picture, great sound in both 5.1 and dts, easy to use on screen menus, very reliable and so far, trouble free!

the remote is little, but otherwise is fine

last month, i purchased the sony 530 upon the recommendation of my friend. Within the first 5 days, i noticed the lip-sync problem twice and the disk had a little trouble reading one or two movies. After reading MANY reviews and comments on all the dvd players, I decided to quit messing around and get the denon 2500. naturally, i returned the sony 530 with no problem.
i paid $538 for the denon 2500, but it was money well spent. exceptional picture and sound, in both dts and 5.1 channel.
i would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a dvd player that is of quality build and plays great!

Similar Products Used:

sony d-530 dvd player

Make no bones about it, the Denon DVD-2500 is an upscale Panasonic A320. That's not necessarily a bad thing since the early Panasonics were some of the best around in terms of performance and vaule, and the newer ones are even better. As I understand it, this one starts out as a 320 clone on the motherboard (with identical remote), then upgrades some of the audio components, uses some of Denon's select D/ACs, and gets some internal chassis makeover (I read about the full details in What Hi-Fi). Based on units I own (currently at 3) plus others I've tried, I can compare this one to the Panasonic A110, Panasonic A120, Panasonic A310, Yamaha DVD-S795, Kenwood DVF 9010, Pioneer 606, and Pioneer 414. Note that the Yamaha is also a Panasonic clone and is based on last year's A310--the 2 I tried exhibitied the same decoding difficulties with certain MPEG downconversions as reported for the A110 and A310 (though I understand this is not necessarily universal).
Feature-wise, you might as well be buying a Panasonic A320--they're virtually identical. The quick start feature is REALLY nice...any FBI warning/copy protection title is over before you can even sit down after closing the cd drawer. You can adjust the picture characteristics from the remote (presets and manual user settings), and it's got the same virtual surround sound settings as the Panasonics (an interesting if somewhat limted effect if you've got a surround setup already, but effective if you're just using your TV's speakers for a low-intensity exeperience). The Denon offers the same FF features as the Panasonics, including smooth picture FF and audio during 2x FF. I've had no layer switching or pixel troubles on this deck thus far, and the DTS soundtracks have played flawlessly. RSDL discs spin though the layer change faster than the Kenwood did, and just a hair quicker than the Panasonic or Pioneer I own. The MPEG downconversion problems that plagued the first Panasonics have been fixed for the next generation MPEG-2 decoders which are also used in this Denon player--no "banding" effects on Man With the Iron Mask here. So why bother getting the Denon and not just spending a little less for the seemingly identical Panasonic?

My impression is that Denon is typically regarded as a superior product because they tend to focus more on quality built in under the hood than flashy cosmetics or useless features (at least, I thought so of my previous Denon CD changer and receiver). I'd have to say this is the case here as well. The player itself is what you might call "no frills," there are just a few basic buttons on the front panel and the remote serves it purpose but little else (the similarly sized and smallish buttons makes remote navigation difficult in the dark). True to some of the other reviews I've seen here, the unit felt a little light, but MUCH more solidly built than the new Panasonics upon which it is based, and much more so than some of the other "plasticy" decks including the Pioneer and Kenwood. Even between the Denon and similar Panasonics, the picture is notably cleaner and better defined in the Denon. The same discs on my Pioneer 606 also look just a bit better on the Denon, reds aren't quite as harsh and the picture seems a hair clearer, at least when putting the decoder through its paces (like the Paxton jacket test at the beginning of Twister).

If you read the literature on Denon's site, they talk about "improved parts for better sounding audio." I'd have to say that the Denon "audio guts" do make for a more pleasing audio experience, maybe not noticably during movie soundtracks, but definitely when using the DVD player as a CD player (or even just a transport). I didn't notice any of the harshness sometimes associated with using a DVD player as a CD player, sound was clear and smooth without being overly bright or edgy. One thoughtful poster said this is the right choice for someone willing to spend a few extra dollars for well-built product. I would agree. I only paid $399 new through the military, so price wasn't as big an issue for me, but I would still choose it over the slightly lower priced Panasonics and Pioneers, and definitely over the higher priced Kenwood and Yamaha players. I've had nothing but positive experiences with Denon and this player in particular. It does lack a 6-channel output, but my guess is that anyone considering the Denon won't be using an on-board decoder anyway. Otherwise, I've found it to be an exceptional "mid-priced" DVD player, with all the essential features I'd need, that also happens to double as a very good CD player.

Great Sharp Picture
Excellent on-screen menus
It's not a Pioneer

Remote
Kind of Light

I liked this Player right out of the box..It's got
a great picture with nice color tones...The fast
start and on-screen menus are great..I don't
get the Downconversion business..Although
the guy who commented on it shows
up in a lot of different reviews???Overall A Good Buy!!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DVD-414

Picture & sound, Features, Excellent GUI, No lip sync problems !!

None

After first buying a Denon 1000, and being very disappointed I exchanged it for this player. Which although an older player, is far better than the 1000. The 2500 has Panasonic internals and I believe the 1000 is Denon's own attempt of a DVD player (stick to av. amps Denon !!).
I cannot fault this player and would highly recommend it if you can still find one for sale!!.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic 350, Pioneer 606, Denon 1000.

Relatively inexpensive compared to the SONY 7700, compatibilty with Denon AVR-3300.

Very small angle in which the remore is effective.
SONY remote for VCR also stops the Denon (from almost any angle). When playing CD's it often stops mid-track about one third of the way through the disc and needs to be restarted after trying to find the last track listened to.

Overall this seems to be a nice unit with clear pictures and good soundtracks from VCD's and DVD's. The music from CD's is good, but it often stops in the middle of a track and goes back to the start mode. I then need to find the track that it was playing and select it before resuming my listening.

It is also very sensitive to signals from the SONY remote for the VCR and stops playing the disc and needs to be restarted. The angle-of-effect of the remote is also very narrow and requires several attempts to get the desired effect from the machine.

The factory-set mutli-code capacity is very useful.

Luckily I have a separate CD player that I can connect to the amp-receiver or I'd be looking for another DVD player that was able to play a CD without any interruption.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Great Picture, Sound, Compatibility with other equipment

none so far

I got my 2500 with the 3300 and have to say that it has been stellar. None of the problems that are mentioned about other brands. I'm new to HT and very pleased with all the equipment my saleman recommended save the 3300. Already did a review on it.

Similar Products Used:

none too scared

Internally this is a Panasonic. Nice GUI, fast operation, 96khz/24bit audio output, good remote, good build quality, atractive design, gold plated connectors, detailed manual. PAL-60/NTSC selectable via GUI, solid video and audio performance, quiet operation.

Poor power tolerances caused Dolby Digital skipping, cannot be Macrovision disabled easily.

I was looking for a European player that output RGB video via a SCART connector. This older model Denon was availble for evaluation.

VIDEO:
RGB via the SCART had the same Macrovision problem as other newer players. It fouls up the black levels on my Loewe Ergo 16:9 TV (Q2400 chassis, Version 3.2 software. Refer to my Marantz 7000 review). S-video was OK. Otherwise the image is very nice as I'd expect from a Panasonic player. (I used to own a A130). This player also has video equalisation (no sharpness tweak) and presets for CRT, projectors, etc. Luckily there is a 'normal' mode which allows you to go au naturale.
(2 x SCARTs - 1 x RGB video, S-video, composite)

AUDIO:
Very nice. This is acutally a mid-range player that retailed for about $1500 Australian. The sound is spacious and detailed when listening to Dolby Digital 5.1. BOOGIE NIGHTS sounded excellent, with a convincing, glossy sound stage and no distortion. This player outputs 96khz/24bit sound via the RCA jacks. I did not test CD-R/RW but I assume it's the same as my other partners in crime have mentioned. I also did not test CD sound too extensively. Bascially this player sounded better than the Metz DE-71 (a Pioneer 515/717).
(coaxial and optial out, analogue outs, all gold plated)

REMOTE CONTROL:
Better than most! I liked it. It is very Panasonic-like, with easy to find menu buttons, with Enter in the middle, and easy to use Play-Pause-Stop and skipping functions. My old joystick Panasonic remote should have worked with this player too, which I would have done if had kept the player.

MODS:
Region Free with both manual and automatic selection, so it's RCE compatible. The macrovision could be disabled by doing some button pushing in Standby mode, but it returned if you skipped chapters quickly. Pressing Pause disabled Macrovision again.

OVERALL:
A very nice player. Pity about the power glitch. If the fridge came on, or someone flipped a light switched, the player tended to drop the Dolby Digital sound for a split second. May have been fixable with a power board, but no other player did this so it's obviously a wiring design flaw. This confirms the advice I got told beforehand that this player skipped. I marked down the ratings because of this.

Operationally this is a very good player: fast, quiet, good slow motion and chapter navigation, quick layer changes, and so on. If you are familiar with Panasonics you'll know what to expect. This Euro model player was a Champagne gold colour.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 717, Marantz 7000.