Denon DBP-2010

@ whit3kr0w,

if you're lookin for a better bdp than the denon but not as expensive as the Sony try the pioneer bdp lx52, it's brilliant!

Is there a review of the DBP1610 coming soon?

I was thinking about buying this one instead of Denon 2500BT, since most opinions in forums say the DBP-2010 is a more capable machine than the 2500BT, but now I am a bit confused. Maybe the 2500BT is currently a 4 star product as well?

The 2500BT was a more expensive player at the time of his review, this means that with 5 stars should be better than this one. But I'm just a bit confused now

For the price of around £600-£700 which Blu-ray player/transport should I buy?

Thanks Andy, but I think I might get a Sony S760. It seems it's the one to go for Although the Denon 2500BT is costing as low as �330. But I think I should invest in the Sony. I believe it's a good partner for Denon AVR-2310.

Very nice comments guys.

Too bad the Blu-ray best buy for £600+ costs £1100 (

Sony BDP-S5000ES). I was thinking about spending £700 tops, and with the Sony BDP-S760 at £400 I believe it's the best choice currently. Although I wouldn't mind spending £600 or even £700 for a better Blu-ray player even if it doesn't have as much good value as the former.

The Denon 2500BT is also much cheaper at £499 from some suppliers. Does this mean that Sony is still the best option being only £99 cheaper?

I don't really care about Profile 2.0 and most issues with discs were already fixed on the 2500BT. Also I will buy an amplifier/receiver to match the player I buy, so a transport is good enough for me. Also I thought that going for a transport would be the best option if I am to get a good AV receiver.

Decisions, decisions...

whit3kr0w: Bear in mind that in the fast-paced world of Blu-Ray the 2500BT is quite an 'old' machine. Better players come out almost every quarter and the price/quality ratio gets better. The early adaptors will have paid around a grand for Profile 1.0 machines that were not much use less than two years after purchase!

What I'm getting at is that the price of an older machine is a tricky orientation point. The 2500BT is only 1.1 and has had loads of problems with discs from Universal in the past. It is also only a transport: your receiver has to do all the decoding. Some may argue that the 2500BT was more like a high-ender in terms of build quality and internal component quality. But given that Denon is one of the brands where it usually makes more sense to visit a dealer than surf for bargains (in terms of customer support and guarantee conditions) why not find a store where you can compare the two?

Don't forget there is a world beyond Denon though. Although I spent a few days earlier this year baiting What Hi-Fi (and seeing most of my posts unsportingly deleted) about the old Pioneer LX-81 vs Sony 5400ES issue, I do agree with them about the BDP S 5000ES - agree to the extent of having bought it

I am overall pleased with the DBP-2010. The build quality is as you would expect and the unit has a very classy look. The remote is cheap and tacky but of no consequence as most will not use this and replace with a universal remote, however the remote is functional and easy to use should you want to retain it.

For movies the picture and sound are excellent. Combined with a AVR-2310 and Monitor audio RX6 (Radius rears) this makes a impressive set up that will have you on the edge of your seat. I got mine for £500 on promotion at my local store. Loading time is still painfully slow, but no more so that others I tested.

CD play back is awful but significantly better than others around this price range but awful nevertheless . The music sounding like it is being played through mud. I think the CD playback would be ok if you are used to listening to compressed MP3s or have it in the background while doing house work. But if you value quality CD playback you will still need to use a dedicated player. I use a Cyrus CD 6 played through a 8vs2 with a Switch box for the front L&R which works very well and gives me the best of both worlds.

@Mr Blu  About 'the world beyond Denon' is smaller than I would have believed some months ago. At least if you don't own a truck full of money, and keep focus on 'mainstream' solutions & brands.

Like many people, I prefer to have the AVR and  BD from the same brand, first of all for the perfect match of aesthetics (not unimportant when also the wife comes into the picture), but also since this still seems to have the least glitches in teaming up components regarding features, connections, codecs, remote controls,...

Focussing on both a quality video and also audio (CD) playback, only Denon is offering this match in the most credible manner as also Pioneer does - eventually Sony (let's believe the Whathifi five star judgement for once).

For all the other ones, BD's appear to be more a 'side effect' and  video technology was not even a far expertise a very short time ago. F.i. a Yamaha or Onkyo AVR combined with their native BD's feels to me as a mixed bag. Others like Marantz may have some good AVR's, but the quality BD is pricewise out of scope, so they also drop off as solution. Quite a few brands like Rotel, Arcam, ... offer really excellent AVR's but still no matching BD's. Cambridge Audio has yet to proof the magic of their 650R/BD fit - for which I'm not fully convinced since their previous AVR's could not fill in the full scope of the features.

This taken in account - Denon, Pioneer or Sony seem to remain the only valid candidates for the 'perfect match' approach.

The Denon DBP-2010 is key for the sales of a serious part of their AVR's as well. Already missing the fifth star for the 'not so inexpensive' AVR 3310 and 4310, this is unfortunately less good news, and making the choice a bit harder. Maybe the prices is to high? Maybe firmwares needs a significant update?

Until a few months ago, I was living with the idea that Denon was the obvious choice if you want to go for the best AVR/BD combination. I've been using Denon since the first money I ever gained, more then 30 years ago and as I'm renewing my video/audio equipment over a couple of weeks, I was getting ready for the AVR3310 or 4310 + the DBP2010.  Now I'm very close to decide on the actual purchase... I'm getting very confused with all those 'not five stars' ratings for premium Denon equipment. Admit: this is still a considerable amount of money to spend for some electronic stuff, and suddenly, it appears that nothing can go wrong with our mass consumer stuff manufacturer Sony.  Look at the Whathifi conclusions for the STR-DA5400ES and the BDPS760 - if six stars would have been possible, they would also had gotten them when I read through your lines. To be honest I recently listened at at friend to an older 5000 on the same speakers as mine (B&W 603/4), and in a shop to a 3400 was not so impressed. They sounded listening to CD music for me coolish, tending for me a bit too much to higher midrange and trebble.  Dear folks from Whathifi, is it really true that in the premium budget level, in a close comparison Sony slashes the Denon's / Yamaha's / Onkyo's in both AVR's and BD's, even for 'normal' audio?  It's so hard to believe, if you take this message back to most hifi-stuff resellers, they laugh at you with this conclusion, but ofcourse their margin could be the most important driver to keep us away from Sony...?

Im a bit curious....

Denon2010 and Oppo831 was given the same score.

Does this mean that 2010 would have left with

5 stars with a price at 400£?

That depends..

The 2010 is the best of the two.

In respect to colourgrade, pq and functionality.

The 2500 has the best buildquality and weihgt...

The 4 star rating is because of PRICE/performance.

The performance is very good, and the looks are far better than Sony760 and Oppo831.  :)

Give that Denon2010 had a price close to 400-500, and the player would have the 5th star...