Good God Rob, it's hard to believe that you are actually using the same unit as the rest of us. When I read reviews like yours I just have to laugh, especially when I read an area like others used... (They all blow?) he,he, ha, ha... What an idiot.

price, features

overall sound

Aside from the convenience of operation, which is very good, this player is pretty poor. I agree it sounds "bright, forward and grungy." That's not hi-fi snobbery, either, since my comparisons are nearly equally prices players from Maranz, Rotel, et al....

If you are of the Fisher electronics set, then I would agree this player is a step up, if not, why not spend another $100 and get a player that exceeds this players tonality (thin), soundstaging (narrow) and perspective (very forward)? I did and suggest you do the same.

Of course now someone will insult me because I said something critical about this player. go ahead, and say what you want, but the ears do not lie!

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, Rotel, Maranz, Cambridge Audio, Adcom

Sound quality/ price ratio.

Build quality, Abhorrent customer service!

I bought DCM-460 in October and it has become a neverending nightmare. CUSTOMERS BEWARE... Denon does not care about serving their customers or their reputation. At first, the unit sounded fine. In fact, I enjoyed the fairly warm and detailed presentation. I missed the smoothness and air around the instruments that more expensive players offer, but for a changer and for the price it was great. About a month later it began to make a strange, mechanical howling noise when on the last tracks of long CD’s. This problem only got worse over the next month until it would howl, skip, and inevitably shut off on the last tracks of these CD’s.
I brought the unit into my local Denon service shop on January 7th and described the problem. They serviced it and returned it to me 2 weeks later. I brought it home to find the same problem, totally unchanged by 2 weeks of service. I brought it back to the shop and they shipped it off to Denons headquarters in NJ. During its vacation in scenic NJ, I had been trying to get ahold of someone who could tell me the status of my player and its repair. I left 5 messages without a call back. I finally found a direct line and talked to someone who managed to transfer me around to a bunch of unhelpful people. And there it remained for over a month before they sent it back to me. The note read, “no problem found - no repairs completed”. Once I got the unit back, I was furious. I called back and described the problem and inquired why noone had tried to communicate with me about the problem. The rep promptly tansferred me to the west coast location rather than her supervisor. The west coast people asked me to send it in again (I am out ANOTHER 15 dollars for shipping) and they would fix it in 3-4 days. This became 5 days, then seven days. I was told it would ship on Friday, March 17th (Again, I first brought the unit in January 7th). I called on Monday, March 20th for a tracking number to find that it had not shipped yet. Their final resolution to my 3 months without their cd player was to ship it back to me 2nd day air.
Today, Wednesday, March 22, I recieved my CD player. It seems to be working fine, but for how long? I’ll try to keep everyone updated.

So there you have it. 3 months, 30 dollars shipping, 10-15 dollars in phone calls, and countless hours out of my day later I have the unit. Through this entire experience, I had tried to be helpful and understanding even sending detailed, cordial notes detailing the problem (not to mention the CD’s the player would not read). For my civility, I have been disregarded and lied to. Unless you like DIY projects, do not buy Denon. CUSTOMER BEWARE!!

Similar Products Used:

NAD cd players, Cambridge audio, Rega planet..

Durable (its lasted 5 years), Coaxial Digital Output, Good Sound

Alpha Processors

I have had this thing for 5 years and I think I know it pretty well. I had a problem after one year with the laser burning out but that was fixed after a couple visits to the repair center (typical Denon service).

The good: Ability to change 4 discs with the fifth one plays. Good build quality. Digital Outputs. Decent sound using Alpha processors. Great sound using digital outputs.

The bad: Denon service.

Okay, I love this machine overall. Up until a couple months ago I used the analog outputs on this unit because my Technics receiver didn't have digital inputs. I always like the sound, it was better than anything else in the sub $500 range and it was the only way to get pseudo 20 bit resolution when I boutght it. It is much better than anything I have used. I don't have any experience with audiophile stuff but I don't have any need for audiophile quality (I drive a regular car not a Ferrari too). It is a quality CD changer.

However, I recently purchased a Sherwood receiver with digital inputs and that makes a big difference. The Alpha processors aren't IN MY OPINION up to par with the DACs on the Sherwood. I used the song Supervixen by Garbage to discover the difference. At several points during the sond, all sound stops suddenly and pics up a beat later. The Sherwood DACs were much better at reproducing the sudden stop and start than the Alpha DACs. However, sound is a purely subjective experience and my experiment was not very scientific so I could just have expected the digital output to sound better.

As for those who want to insult this changer, get a life, its only music and not everyone wants to spend Billions for their music just as not everyone drives a Porsche, Ferrari, etc. In addition to all that, maybe just maybe you expected the "superior" cd player to come out on top so you just believed it to be better. It probably is better but I don't think the difference is as pronounced as you want us to believe. Finally, different components interact with each other in different ways, some have strengths that play to other components weaknesses and others have weaknesses that add to other's weaknesses. BTW, when you do these A/B tests you should really calibrate the output to be the same volume since studies confirm that all other things being equal, most humans consider the same music to sound better when its louder.

My rating for this CD changer is a solid 4, 80%. Its not perfect or sonic nirvana but it will satisfy, kinda like a Snickers Bar.

Similar Products Used:

Various Mass Market Crap (I mean that in the nicest way possible)

Excellent Separation, Very warm but sharp sound reproduction.

Unknown

This is one of the finest sounding CD players I have ever listen too. Breath taking separation and just gives you a feeling of being right there. Only other CD player I have listen to that is as good sounding or better is a Philips CDC-751 very hard to fine. But very happy I purchased this Denon 460, love it! I also don't get the loud CD changing sound that other have stated in there reviews! Thanks Denon!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Yamaha,

Greatest separation I have ever heard on a CD Player!

None!

I saw this review and had to take a minute and say what I think after owning one for over a year! This is one of the finest and sweetest sounding CD player I have ever listen too, just pure joy! Try one you will love it!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Pioneer,

Smooth sound.

Loud disk change.

I have had this changer for over two years and have been completly happy with it. It has a much smoother sound then the Sony it replaced. Price considered its a 5 star piece.

Similar Products Used:

Sony CD changer.

I purchased my Denon DCM460 3 years ago as part of a home theatre system.Before its puchase I compared it to simulary priced models of Harmon Kardon,
Onkyo,Pioner Elite, and Sony ES. These other players just didn't sound as
full or natural as the 460. Either sounding crystaline, etched, or tizzy
on vocals. For a $400.00 player I would say its sonics are simular to
a Adcom750, Cal Audio Labs MKII, or Rotel 990. The 460 will not better
these players but will give you a taste of their sound at 1/2 or 1/3 of
the cost.

I received the DCM 460 for a christmas present from my parents. I was upgrading from an old Pioneer 6-disc magazine changer and immediately noticed the difference. The 460 produces rich, deep, and detailed sound......and the unit itself is top construction quality. Very highly recommended!

Excellent Sound

Playing complete CD recording and service

I was very happy with the device until about a year ago. I have about 500 CD's, many of them classics and opera. About a year ago on some of the longer recordings I began to experience the last track skipping backwards, accompanied by a "whirling" noise. I took the player into the recommented Denon service center. They claimed to have fixed the problem by realigning the laser. They told me the discs I was having problems with were "marginal", that is, at the limits of tracking ability of the machine. Needless to say, I am still experiencing the problem. Before taking the unit back again to the servicer, I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this problem. I am unable to find anyone at Denon to talk to to either confirm or counter the serviceman's claim. It's hard for me to believe Denon wouldn't design their CD players to a broader tracking specification in order to accomodate these longer major brand recording. I would like to contact Denon, but cannot find a phone number of e-mail address.

Similar Products Used:

JVC Single CD Player