Exemplar Denon 2900. WOW Need owner advice.

I asked this same question a couple of weeks ago and received no
response. I leave mine in stand-by mode. The tubes are
"off" in this mode as far as I can tell.

I use the Pure Direct mode by shutting off the video and digital output
and display as recommended to me by John. I honestly can't say, though,
that I hear a difference.

FWIW, I've found the Exemplar gets a bit hot in my cabinet (Salamander
with perforated door and open back), so I'd recommend keeping it on an
open shelf. John says the heat isn't an issue, but I still wonder. When I
had the player on top of my cabinet, heat was no issue. In fact, it only
got slightly warm.

Also, I recently noticed some vibration from the Denon during SACD
playback. Some quick research revealed this has been an issue with the
Denon 2900. It's not a John Tucker issue, and it apparently doesn't exist
on all the 2900 players. I had my Exemplar on a Sistrum SP-003 shelf,
and while it sounded excellent, the Sistrum exacerbated the vibration
issue to the point I was going to replace the drive. But, with the
Exemplar off the Sistrum, the vibration much less noticeable.

Sean, it's apparent to me the Sistrum was amplifying the vibration. Almost as if the player was sitting on a drum head. Odd. But, before the amplitude of the vibrations had a chance to build, the sound was very nice.

Tbg, while I believe you hear what you hear, your statement that

There is a very obvious improvement with
everything off.

does not mirror my observations,
and therefore others should be advised that they may or may not hear
any improvement. I am also using 7062 tubes.

This week, I'm going to treat the tubes, connectors, etc. with CAIG De-
Oxit and Pro Gold. I'm interested to hear the difference.

Well, Tbg, I know of one other in this thread, Eldartford, who has also heard no discernable improvement with video and digital off, so I can surmise we aren't the only ones.

Audiotop at $316/kit is way beyond what I'm willing to spend for cleaner and protectant. Since my ears don't appear to be as golden as yours, I'll start with my $40 investment in CAIG products and go from there.

Wow! Cleaned all the contacts today...tube pins, IC terminations,
speaker terminations with CAIG DeOxit and then used CAIG ProGold. It's
like new unobtanium interconnects were put in the system. Just the best
tweak ever imaginable, and all for less than $40 shipped!

TBG, send me your Audiotop to try. I'll pay for shipping. Then, we'll
know.

Steve, I don't want to know...

...I just don't want to know...

...please make the upgraditis stop!!!

BTW, does this mean the APL 3910 has been bettered by the Exemplar
3910?

...no...I don't want to know....

Yeah, but what happens when the 7920 ans 9920 are released? :)

...Oh, God, make it stop...

The best time I ever had in my stereo listening life was back in the 70's when I had a Sansui receiver, Pioneer turntable and KLH speakers.

I may go contrarian, and exit the hi-fi racetrack. I'm kinda tired of chasing the rabbit.

Smilin, You've seen the photos? :)

Budrew, from the Exemplar website:

Tubes: - 5965 standard, 6829, 7062, E180CC, or CV8431 optional
(direct plug ins)

My Exemplar 2900 has a small static pop when I press play. JohnTucker
told me this is normal, and actually something that is endemic to Denon
2900 machines and is magnified by the modification. The static pop is
pretty quiet.

My machine makes another pop about 20-30 seconds after powering it
up. John tells me this pop is the tube stage turning on once it has fully
powered up. My terminology may be a little off here, but this is
essentially what is happening. This pop is a little louder than the static I
described earlier, and I simply mute my preamp for a minute or so after
powering up the Exemplar so that the tube stage has its chance to
become fully operational. It also will make a similar pop when its turned
off, and I mute the preamp again before I turn off the Exemplar.

Hope this helps.

Tbg, the increasing frequency whoop is exactly what I get 20-30 seconds after I power up the player. That's why I leave the preamp in mute for a minute or so after power up.